Chapter 17 How Did She End Up Sleeping Here?
Gabriel walked back and met the gaze of the little one with teary eyes. He cracked a smile and said, "Didn't Mommy tell you that you should not sleep with strangers or boys?"
Danielle, clutching her white teddy bear, felt the glimmer of hope in her eyes fade immediately. She looked at him with a sense of injustice but remained silent.
Indeed, her mother had told her.
"Sleep here. I'll sit by your side and pat you to sleep," Gabriel said, his heart melting as he watched Danielle's tears swirling in her red eyes. He took the teddy bear from her arms and placed it beside the pillow. "Lie down and sleep."
"Okay!"
Danielle's face brightened into an immediate smile. She sniffled her reddened little nose and hurriedly lay down. Her small hand reached out from under the covers to grab Gabriel's larger hand as if fearing he might suddenly walk away. Blinking her big eyes, she thoughtfully asked, "Aren't you going to sleep? Aren't you tired?"
Gabriel usually kept his distance from others and had never spent time with children before. Yet, despite being only four years old, Danielle's cute and understanding nature evoked an instinctual desire to treat her tenderly.
He gently squeezed her soft little hand and reassured her in a deep, soothing voice, "I won't sleep; you go to sleep nicely."
Holding onto the corner of the blanket with one hand and Gabriel's hand with the other, Danielle looked up at him and suddenly said with a beaming smile, "Your hand is so warm." After speaking, she obediently closed her eyes.
A few minutes later, Gabriel thought the little girl had fallen asleep, but then Danielle suddenly opened her eyes again. She glanced at Gabriel's face and said, "Besides Mommy and Caroline, you're the only one who has ever lulled me to sleep. Could you be my daddy?"
Gabriel looked down at this innocent child and let out a helpless smile. He pinching her hand again, he skillfully changed the subject to, "Who's Caroline?"
"She's the lady Mommy hired to take care of me. Mommy calls her Caroline, and so do I. But it seems she had to go home because of some family business. Mommy said she'll be back in a few days." Danielle's voice trailed off as she was clearly struggling to stay awake. Chatting and fidgeting playfully for a little while longer, she finally settled down quietly.
At five in the morning, Jessica hurried back home. Her first instinct was to rush to the children's room, but she did not find Danielle in her small bed. She turned around, only to be startled to see the door to the master bedroom ajar.
Her mind stalled for a moment as she walked in to find Danielle sleeping soundly on the large bed in the main bedroom. The man who should have been lying there was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking as if he hadn't slept at all through the night. His eyes were clear and alert as he turned towards her upon hearing her footsteps.
Jessica hesitated, "Why is she sleeping here?"
As she spoke, Jessica's expression was chaotic. Her hair was damp as if she had been caught in the rain, her clothes partially wet, and her voice had a nasal quality that suggested she might have caught a chill.
Gabriel gestured with his eyes toward the bathroom, "Go take a hot shower first."
But Jessica was still focused on her child, "She..."
"She woke up scared by the thunder, saw you weren't there, and couldn't go back to sleep. So she came over to my side," Gabriel explained succinctly.
"Oh," Jessica let out a sigh of relief, "Mackenzie just opened a studio nearby. It had recently been renovated, and they've been airing it out every day. The staff forgot to close the windows against the storm when they left yesterday evening. In the middle of the night, Mackenzie called, worried about the computers and documents inside. Since I live close by, I went to help shut the windows. But the typhoon intensified and trapped me inside the studio until the winds calmed down this morning before I could make it back."
After sharing her ordeal, Jessica's eyes returned to Danielle, who was lying in bed with her little hand holding onto the man's. Her emotions were indescribable at that moment, and ignoring the suggestion to shower, she walked over and said, "Let me carry her back to the children's room."
Gabriel didn't object. As he was about to lift his hand, Danielle, still deep in sleep, suddenly whimpered and tightened her grip on his fingers.
