Free Hope Everlastin' Book 4 by Mickee Madden Page B

the woman.
This man didn't possess the attention span to traipse through the
psychic channels for very long at a time.
    A thought occurred to
Cuttstone and he stopped mutilating his palm. Grinning, he laid the
dirk on the table and leaned closer to the flame.
    Perhaps the woman and man
were allies, sent by the Guardian to aide him in his unending
quest. Since their arrival, static clogged most of the psychic
airways. Connery had been cut off from mentally locating him, cut
off from picking up trace impressions of his presence.
    Allies.
    How far would they be
willing to go to help him to rid the world of Laura Bennett and her
future offspring, and the winged queen of the
infestents?
    If only the Guardian would
stop sending him cryptic messages.
    A cold draft swept through
his hideaway, extinguishing the flame and plunging him into pitch
darkness. He remained motionless, not even blinking, mentally
scrambling to remember if he had thought or said anything that
could have offended the Guardian.

C hapter 4
     
    Except for an occasional
crackle or pop from the fireplace, quietude mantled the house like
an old, faithful security blanket. The rain had stopped. Lachlan's
eyelids drooped more from contentment than fatigue as he watched
Beth nurse their son.
    With his back braced
against one of the decorative walnut foot posts, his sleeping
daughter cradled against his bare chest, he wondered if life could
get any better than what he had now. In one respect, it was a
little scary. He had more to lose. In the past, all that could be
taken from him was his life and his estate. In death, though, he
had managed to hold on to not only his belongings, but also a
semblance of life.
    His gaze shifted to regard
his daughter. Pale peach fuzz covered an otherwise pink head. Blond
eyelashes and eyebrows. Her nose was barely bigger than his
thumbnail, her mouth a darker pink and pouty. She was a tiny
replica of her mother, with one hand poking out of the pink
blanket, the gracefully spread fingers twitching against one
rounded cheek. She had been the one to awaken and exercise her
lungs to be fed. Surprisingly, the boy had slept through the
ruckus.
    When their daughter had her
fill of mother's milk, Beth had asked Lachlan to hold the squirming
bundle. He'd panicked at first then hesitantly nodded. Now, with
the baby's warmth against his chest and bare arms, he couldn't
believe he'd ever been afraid to touch his children. It felt
amazingly natural to hold his daughter, as if he'd done it a
hundred times.
    Straightening his right
leg, he looked up when Beth chuckled and commented, "Are you trying
to entice me into jumping your bones again before your son's belly
is full?"
    He frowned at first then
glanced down at himself when her gaze pointedly flicked to his leg.
For a moment longer, he puzzled her remark. Dawning brought a deep
blush to his cheeks. Before Beth had handed him the baby, he'd
haphazardly draped one corner of the top quilt across his lap. His
bent left knee was visible and most of the right leg. Now he looked
as if he was posing, but in truth, he wasn't. With her second
chuckle, he peered at her with a mischievous glint in his
eyes.
    There she sat with their
son attached to her left nipple, only the top of his dark head
visible behind the sheet she had draped over her right shoulder to
hide her nakedness from Lachlan. With her damp hair a mass of curls
framing her face, and her round eyes sparkling with happiness, he
had never seen her look more beautiful or desirable.
    "Darlin’, twouldna be
proper for our daughter's faither ta—ah—come up, so to speak, while
he's holdin’ her. So I say to you, love o' ma life, tarry no' wi'
our son's feeding. The sooner they're both fed and snug in the
crib, the sooner you and I get back to the business o'
lovin’."
    "You forgot one
thing."
    He considered her
lighthearted manner with a tad of wariness. "Oh?"
    "Their diapers will need
changing before they return to the crib."
    A blank look fell