Free Love Thine Enemy by Patricia Davids Page A

said sternly. “Cheryl is our guest and she’s sleeping in my room, so you’ll have to be quiet.”
    An identical mulish look appeared on their faces so he knelt in front of them. “You can’t wake her up. Understand?”
    “Yes, Daddy,” they replied together.
    “Good. Now, go get dressed for sledding while I walk Grandma out to the car.”
    The twins took off for the stairs. Picking up Bonkers, Kayla said, “You can ride—”
    “—on the sled, too,” Lindy told the cat.
    Eleanor turned back to Sam. “Bonkers doesn’t look thrilled, does he? Son, I’m sorry to leave you in such a fix.”
    He could see she was genuinely torn about leaving. He draped his arm over her shoulder and gave her asqueeze. “Now, Mom, Becky needs you. Tell her the girls and I will keep her in our prayers. Go. Don’t worry about us. We’ll be okay.”
    She reached up and pulled his head down to give him a quick peck on the cheek. “I know you will—you always are. I wish I could meet your Cheri.”
    “Cheryl, Mom, and she isn’t mine. I told you, she’s a ballet dancer touring the country with her company. She’s been stranded here for a couple of days by the storm, that’s all. If I-70’s open, she’ll be able to get to Kansas City tomorrow and rejoin her friends.”
    “If her foot is broken, she certainly can’t dance.”
    “I know. I’ve been thinking about that. Maybe she could stay and help take care of the girls until you get back? If she can’t work, she might be happy to take the job.”
    “Are you certain you want to ask a stranger to watch the girls, Sam? That isn’t like you. What do you know about her?”
    Not as much as he would like to know, he realized. “It was just an idea.”
    “I’m not sure someone on crutches would be able to keep up with your two little whirlwinds.”
    “The girls can entertain themselves. Even with her leg in a cast, she should be able to manage them with Gramps to help.”
    “I know I’m leaving you in a lurch, but please think this over carefully.”
    “I will. You know me, I never do anything without a lot of thought.”
    “True. Now, walk me out to my car. There are some things I’ll need you to take care of while I’m gone. I have a small list of things for you to do.”
    “Small? Knowing you, it’s as long as my leg.”
    “Nonsense. It’s only as long as your arm.”
    With a laugh, Sam followed his mother out the door.
    At the stairwell, two little girls stuck their heads up and checked to see if the coast was clear, then they crossed to their father’s bedroom still lugging the enormous cat.

Chapter Six
    C heryl woke to a nagging ache in her foot and trouble breathing. It felt like a twenty-pound weight pressing down on her chest. She opened her eyes and found herself staring into the cat’s broad face. A yellow twenty-pound, fur-covered weight.
    “Bonkers, get off.” She gave him a not-so-gentle shove.
    She was in Sam’s room again, she realized, yet she couldn’t remember how she’d gotten here. A slight noise caught her attention, and she turned her head.
    Two identical little girls peered at her over the edge of the mattress. Their chins were propped on chubby hands and their elbows rested on the bed. The cat sat between them watching her with an unblinking stare.
    Cheryl closed her eyes. “Let me guess. Tweedledee and Tweedledum?”
    She opened one eye slowly. The pair remained. They watched her with solemn brown eyes, much darker than their father’s, but their short chestnut hair held a multitude of curls like his. It seemed she was going to meet Sam’s children, after all.
    “Hi.” Cheryl spoke slowly—her mouth felt as if it had been stuffed with cotton. “You must be Lindy and Kayla.”
    They nodded.
    “I’m Cheryl.” Coming fully awake, she sat up and cast a fearful glance toward the door. “Is your grandmother here?”
    “She went to see—” the one on the right started.
    “—Aunt Becky in Denver,” the one on the left