Free Dawns Everlastin' (former title: Dusk Before Dawn) Book 2 by Mickee Madden Page A

snow began to fall on him. He
quickly descended, closing the hatch behind him.
    "You bleedin' cleg," he
muttered testily, storming into the second floor hall. "I'll
throttle you, Lannie, I swear!"
    He was about to enter the
room he'd been using when he glanced down the hall. His scowl
darkened out of impatience. Laura had implied she was going to bed,
but he knew he wouldn't sleep a wink until he saw for himself that
she was asleep, and with the boys. Grumbling beneath his breath, he
strutted down the dimly lit hall, a palm rubbing the stubble on his
jawline. The bedroom door was open when he arrived. He was about to
step past the threshold when his bleary vision zoomed in on a tall
figure standing by the bed. After a moment, Lachlan Baird followed
Roan into the hall, closing the bedroom door behind him.
    "Good o' you to make an
appearance," Roan grumbled, running a hand through his thick,
disheveled hair. His bloodshot narrowed. "It would have been nice
to have had a wee help wi' those little monsters in there," he
added in a hushed tone.
    "I returned as soon as I
could," Lachlan said calmly. "Suppose you fill me in over some
scotch."
    Roan's expression went
deadpan. "Scotch?"
    "Aye."
    * * *
    An icy cold, internal caress
snapped open Laura's eyes. For what seemed a long time, she lay
perfectly still, staring into the darkness. She couldn't fathom
what had awakened her, or why gooseflesh covered her arms, despite
the fact they were tucked beneath several quilts. At first the
house seemed unnaturally quiet and still, but an inner sense warned
her that something was amiss. Somewhere within the walls of this
bizarre mansion, there was physical movement. It was not something
she could hear or see, but she knew without doubt that something
was happening.
    Her stomach in knots, she
eased out of the bed so to not awaken her nephews then tiptoed
barefoot in the direction of the door. She groped in the darkness
until she found the doorknob and cautiously stepped into the dim
grayness of the hall.
    Two gas wall lamps were all
that provided light. Remaining on tiptoe, she slowly made her way
toward Roan's room, casting fearful looks at the sideboards and
antique tables she passed, as if expecting something hideous to
spring out from them and grab her.
    Then a feminine voice
stopped her in her tracks.
    "You weigh a ton, you big
ox."
    A warble of a laugh
followed. "Tis ma heart-filled joy to have you back, weighin' me
down."
    "Cut the blarney," the woman
said on a sigh.
    “Blarney is the Irish!”
    Laura lit into a run, but
stopped again when she reached the staircase. Her heart rose into
her throat. A woman's white gown and a pair of man's black boots,
were all that she could see ascending to the third
floor.
    "Wait!" she called out, then
was given a jolt when a piteous groan caught her attention. She
looked up to see that the couple was no longer in sight. Another
groan beckoned her from somewhere below, and the thought of Roan in
some kind of distress, lanced her through the heart.
    Moving in swift descent, she
stifled a cry at the sight of him sprawled on the floor at the
bottom of the staircase.
    "Roan!" she gasped, turning
him onto his back. Her trembling hands framed his ashen face.
"Roan, what happened? Are you hurt...or ill—"
    He belched, and she
unwittingly caught a whiff of his breath.
    Amid a stomach-churning odor
of eggs was a distinct vapor of whiskey. Her head reeling from the
fumes, she stared down into his face for a long moment.
    He moaned again. Laura
smacked him on the chest.
    "You're drunk!" Taking him
by the shoulders, she tried in vain to draw him into a sitting
position. "Roan, wake up! You'll catch your death if you stay like
this in this drafty hall! Damn you, Roan—" She slapped him twice on
the cheek. "—wake up!"
    Anger heightened the color
in her cheeks as she looked up the staircase. Part of her wanted to
leave him as he was and let him pay the price later, but she
couldn't bring herself to abandon him.