Free Saved by My Blackguard (Linked Across Time Book 1) by Dawn Brower Page B

brighter. Not once since they woke up on that beach did she regret falling in love with him. There was no other man that could make her feel the way he did.
    “Mommy, can I hold her?”
    She gazed down at her other daughter with just as much love. Alys’s green eyes twinkled with delight as she stared into her sister’s crib. Her blonde curls were falling around her shoulders. Her blue dress complimented her porcelain skin and rosy cheeks.
    “Not now, dear.”
    Alys’s tiny bottom lip pushed out into a full pout. “Why not?”
    Evelyn patted her head lovingly. “She’s asleep and we shouldn’t disturb her rest. There will be plenty of time later to hold her at her christening.”
    A private ceremony was scheduled for later that evening. Only the closest of friends and family were to attend. Regina was to be christened and officially welcomed into the Dewitt family. She was the blessing they didn’t think they’d ever have.
    Evelyn didn’t have much to do with her time other than take care of their two little girls. Before she had them she volunteered at a local children’s hospital. One day a baby had been brought into the pediatric intensive care unit, having been abandoned in the emergency room. That little girl was Alys. She’d fallen in love with her the moment she’d laid eyes on her. She knew that she belonged with her and Paul. She begged Paul to pull whatever strings he could so they could adopt her. It had taken nearly a year, but finally she legally was their daughter. Alys had been the daughter of their hearts from the start. For a while she’d been the biggest blessing in their lives as it appeared they’d not be blessed with any other children.
    They made love as often as any healthy couple, but she never became pregnant. She’d started to believe she was barren. It was a fact she’d have been forced to accept in her time. Paul encouraged her to see a doctor and after some treatment she’d been able to conceive. Her pregnancy had been hard, but every moment was worth it when she finally gave birth. Regina was their second blessing, and Evelyn didn’t take any of those for granted.
    Alys stomped her foot. “I want to hold my sister now.”
    At four going on five Alys wasn’t used to not getting her way. Evelyn leaned down and kissed the top of her blonde head. “How about we have a snack instead?”
    She needed to distract Alys before she woke the baby up. She wasn’t too proud to use something that she knew the little girl craved more than her baby sister’s attention.
    She tilted her head and studied her mother. “A cookie?”
    Evelyn didn’t usually allow a treat in the morning. Alys was too smart for her own good and already learned what battles to fight. If she couldn’t hold her sister, then she’d take the next best thing in her little mind.
    “Only one,” Evelyn replied.
    Alys tilted her head and appeared to consider her options. After a moment she held up some fingers on her hand and said. “Three.”
    Let the bargaining begin… Alys took every answer and made it into a debate. Sometimes Evelyn wondered if her daughter was bound for political office. She could sweet-talk anyone into or out of anything. How her mind worked was scary at times.
    “Three is too many. I will give you two.”
    “Okay.” Alys said and skipped toward the kitchen.
    Evelyn followed behind her, thankful she hadn’t thrown a temper tantrum. There hadn’t been one in a while, but that didn’t mean one wouldn’t come at any time. Alys was both headstrong and loving. She knew what she wanted and set out to get it. Evelyn didn’t doubt she’d go far and do great things with her life. Sometimes it saddened her that her biological mother had abandoned her. She didn’t know what she was missing. Evelyn was happy to pick up her slack and give the little girl all the love she could.
    She pulled the cookie jar into the middle of the counter and pulled two out. She leaned down and handed both to Alys.