Chapter Ten
1379 Words
"Mom, I want to go home. Why are we here? I hate it here" whines an unhappy Shelly as Sawyer places an old wool blanket on the cot they had been given to sleep on.
So many were in the room with them. You could hear talking all over the room. It was sure going to be hard to sleep.
"Sorry sweets. We have no home to go to at the moment" sighs Sawyer as she sits down on the cot.
"I am scared mommy" Shelly whimpers as tears come to her. Sawyer pulls her daughter closer to her and hugs her.
"We have been through so much baby girl. We can get through this to" promises Sawyer as she hugs Shelly.
"When will our home be fixed?" worries Shelly.
"I don't know baby girl" sighs Sawyer.
"Try to get some rest" Sawyer demands to Shelly.
"No" Shelly snaps.
"Water? Crackers?" a man walks by offering them a water bottle and a package of crackers with peanut butter on them.
"Thanks" Sawyer says gratefully taking the snack for later.
The man nods before wandering around checking on the others. At least they knew some of the others from the apartment complex. They were not totally alone.
"Mommy I can't sleep here" whimpers Shelly.
"Why not baby girl?" asks Sawyer.
"There are strangers. I don't know them. They scare me" whispers Shelly. Sawyer understood that they had no privacy at the moment. And that would be hard to deal with.
"I know. I will stay up. You go to sleep. I will watch over you" promises Sawyer.
"All night?" wonders Shelly.
"All night" agrees Sawyer.
Shelly snuggles up in her mother's lap as Sawyer sits on a cot. Sawyer places a wool blanket over Shelly. Sawyer strokes her daughter's hair as Shelly looks around her. Shelly lets out a tired yawn.
"Go to sleep baby girl" Sawyer says softly. "Nothing bad will happen" she promises her daughter.
At last Shelly closed her eyes. Falling asleep on Sawyer's lap. Sawyer yawned. She glanced over at the clock. It read one the morning. Sawyer was never going to get any rest. She had to go out and find a job. And find a new place for them to live. She wondered if any of their things made it out of that fire? Sawyer's eyes drooped slowly down.
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"Mom! You promised you would not sleep" pipes up Shelly suddenly.
"I am up! I am up" says Sawyer as her eyes pop open wide. She had thought Shelly went to sleep. Apparently not yet.
"You promised mommy" warns Shelly.
"I won't sleep. Cross my heart" vows Sawyer as a yawn escapes her lips. "Now go to bed" she warns Shelly. Shelly nods. She closes her eyes once more. She yawns. Sawyer sighs. It was sure going to be a long night here. Her eyes flutter shut. She fights to keep them open.
"Sawyer? Shelly?" she hears someone call their name. She looks up. To her surprise she sees Donovan standing in front of them.
"Mr. Spencer!" cries a happy Shelly who was still wide awake. She rushes over to Donovan and hugs him.
"Hey kiddo. I saw you on the news! About the fire. Are you both alright? I was so worried when I saw the news" Donovan says as he hugs Shelly.
"We are fine. We have no place to live now" mumbles Shelly.
"Come to my place. I have plenty of room. Come stay at my place" offers Donovan kindly.
"Oh please mommy! I want to live with Evan and Norton!" begs Shelly. "I hate it here"
"No, we cannot impose on Mr. Spencer like this" Sawyer says sternly shaking her head no.
"I will not take no for an answer. You need me. Come stay with me" he demands to her.
"I don't work for you Mr. Spencer. I won't come live with you" she mentions.
"Come on. Please forgive me. I got rid of Quinn. I am sorry. I had no idea she was going to do that. That was not my fault. Are you really going to hold that against me?" he asks her. His pretty brown eyes look at her sadly. She feels her heart soften.
"I don't know" she says as she yawns.
"Please mom!" begs Shelly hopefully.
"I have a room with a cozy king size bed just waiting for you two" he offers.
It did sound tempting. She was so tired. Of everything. She wanted to sleep.
"And I want you to come back to work for me. Evan misses you" he points out.
"Evan! Where is Evan?" wonders Sawyer.
"With Quinn. She is leaving for Paris in the morning. She will be out of your hair" he promises.
"One question" she asks him.
"Anything" he says.
"If you did not want me to know you were having a date with Quinn, why did you hide it? Why not just tell me you had a hot date? It is none of my business whom you date?" questions Sawyer.
"Well, I was not sure if you would watch Evan for me. Quinn came un announced. I was not expecting her" he explains. She nods.
"Alright" she sighs.
"Oh mom. Forgive Mr. Spencer. Come on let's go" begs Shelly.
"Fine" agrees Sawyer. She smiles as Donovan smiles back. Donovan holds out his hand to her to take. She takes his hand into hers. His touch was soft and inviting. He helps her up off the cot.
"Come on home" he says softly. She nods. He leads Shelly and her out of there. He places his arm around them both. "You sure have had a rough night" he tells them.
"My home is ruined" whimpers an unhappy Shelly.
"I am so sorry for that" Donovan says softly. He leads them out of the place to his limo. As soon as they sit down Shelly climbs in his arms. He holds her close. She snuggles up to him and falls asleep. Sawyer smiles as Donovan smiles down at Shelly.
"Someone has a crush" giggles Sawyer.
"I have that effect on the ladies" remarks Donovan. "I am happy I found you both tonight. I would not have gotten any sleep until I found you"
He smiles as he looks right directly into her eyes making her breathless. A warm smile flashes right at her. His eyes twinkled happily. She found herself smiling back at him.
They did not say another word on the limo ride back to his place. Shelly was asleep for the night it looked like as she snuggled up to Donovan. Once the limo parked outside his home Sawyer went to carry her daughter inside.
"Allow me" he offers. He picks up Shelly. Carrying her inside for Sawyer.
Sawyer's heart aches happily at the sight. She wished Shelly had this kind of relationship with her real father. Sadly Shelly never did. Never would. Sawyer wished Shelly had this kind of bond with a father figure in her life.
"You two can have the guest room on the second floor" whispers Donovan as he carries in Shelly. Sawyer shuts the front door behind them as they come in.
"Thank you for everything Mr. Spencer" she replies.
"Donovan" he reminds her.
"Huh?" she asks.
"Call me Donovan" he demands to her. She nods.
"Alright Donovan" she says softly. He smiles as he leads the way to the guest room. It was near Evan's nursery. The room was large. There was a private bathroom in the bed room.
"Oh this is lovely" says Sawyer.
"I hope you will enjoy your stay here until you get back on your feet" he tells her. He lifts back the blankets as he lays Shelly down in her new bed. He tucks her in. He smiles at Shelly.
"I really am thankful you are both safe. I don't know what I would do if something were to happen to you" Donovan says softly. He touches Sawyer's arm with his hand as he gazes into her eyes. Making her heart race faster. He touches her cheek with his hand. "Sweet dreams, Sawyer" he says softly before leaving her there for the night.
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- Writer
