Free Til We Meet Again by Pamela Clayfield

little angel,  Annabeth.  She is survived by parents Frieda and Mark, siblings Faye and Steven and predeceased by her grandmother, Mary and older brother, Donald.  She was with us only a short time but we will love her for all eternity.
    Katie gasped.  “What happened?” she wondered out loud.
    “Could have been anything.  Lots of babies died in those days.  Only midwives delivered babies in the home and Grace was pretty stressed out, maybe the baby was just malnourished or something,” Dean said.
    “I feel terrible for her,” Katie said.  “First she loses the man that she loves, finds out she’s pregnant with his child and then loses her baby.  Looks like she was giving it to the MacKays—it would have been awful enough watching someone else raise her child,” she said as tears streamed down her cheeks.
    Dean pulled her into his arms.  “It is awful but you can’t let this get to you this much,” he told her as he ran his hand over her hair.
    “I know, but I just can’t imagine it,” she replied.
    “Why don’t you go home, get some rest and I’ll be home as soon as I can,” he told her.
    “I… well…” she stammered.
    “You were tired, and sick, this morning, why don’t you go home.”
    Katie smiled and nodded slowly.  “Can you make copies of these?” she asked.
    Dean nodded and led her to the staff room so she could get her coat.  He helped her into it and when they got to the door she stopped.
    “We came together this morning,” Katie said.
    “Yes we did and I plan to again later,” Dean whispered in her ear.
    “You’re bad,” she told him.
    “I know,” he grinned.
    “I’ll stay, I’ll just curl up on the sofa in your office and wait,” she said.
    “Okay, but I’ll finish up as soon as I can and take some work home with me” he said and led her to his office instead where he helped her back out of her coat and hung it over his own.
    Katie nodded, appreciative that he would do that for her.  She stretched out on the couch and Dean covered her with the blanket he kept draped over the back.  He knelt down beside her.  “I’m going to go make those copies for you, you go to sleep,” he said.  He bent his head and kissed her gently.  It took all of his energy to leave her as he had the overwhelming urge to make love to her right then.
    Katie nodded and closed her eyes.  It felt better than she thought it would and she heard him leave the office, turning out the light behind him. 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 7
     
     
     
     
     
    Grace couldn’t believe what was happening. She had been so happy when she had found out she was pregnant with Donald’s baby.  She would have a part of him with her always and she was sure it was meant to be.  She had grudgingly agreed with the MacKays that it would be best if they raised the baby as if it was theirs as nobody would believe what had happened to her and they didn’t want her to get a reputation.  She had also decided to not tell her parents about the marriage so she couldn’t tell them about the baby either.  The pregnancy had gone well and everyone was shocked when, only a few days later, the baby got gravely ill and died.  With the death of her baby, she just couldn’t stop crying.  She had never felt so desperate, never felt as low as she did. 
    Mrs. MacKay had reassured her that it was just how new mothers felt after they had a baby.  It was the change in sleep.  Grace knew it was more than that.  She had lost everyone that had ever mattered to her and her parents were forcing her to return home now that they knew the baby that she was supposed to be looking after had died.  They had no idea that it had been her daughter, their granddaughter and they would likely never know. 
    She was packing her things and kept walking past the window.  She had come to like looking down at the little cottage as her