“You’re having a sleepover with me,” Mitch semi-lied.

“It’s not because the bad man is over there?” she asked.

“No bad man is over there, Billie,” Mitch whispered. “You and your brother and aunt are just stayin’ with me for awhile.”

“But I left my teddy over there. I can’t sleep without my teddy,” she stated.

“Tomorrow, we’ll get your teddy. He’ll be here after you get home from school,” Mitch assured her and I hoped Target had a steady supply.

“Okay,” she whispered and burrowed closer.

Mitch held her close and I stroked her back for awhile. When she seemed to start relaxing, I said gently, “All right, baby, let’s get you back to bed and I’ll stay there with you. Will that make you feel better?”

“Can I sleep in here with you and Mitch?” Billie asked in a small, needy voice.

Me and Mitch?

My eyes shot back to his face but his neck was bent to talk to Billie.

“How about you sleep in here with your aunt?” he asked which caused an instant response from Billie, her arms tightened, her back arched to get maximum contact with Mitch’s powerful frame and her voice rose when she spoke again.

“You’re bigger!”

“Honey,” Mitch muttered.

“I wanna sleep in here with you and Auntie Mara!” she cried out against his skin.

“Billie, baby, you’re safe in here with your aunt and I’ll be right out –” Mitch started, his voice soothing but Billie was having none of it.

“You’re bigger! The bad man will be scared of you!”

Oh crap. What did I do with this? She couldn’t sleep with Mitch and I couldn’t sleep with Mitch.

Mitch lifted his head to look at me.

I moved closer to Billie. “Okay, sweetie, listen to me. You can stay here with me and Mitch’ll be right out in the living –”

Suddenly and violently, she twisted.

Her hand coming out and latching onto my hair, tugging so hard it hurt and her face was red and mottled when she screamed at me, “The bad man is coming to get me! Me and Billy! The bad man will be scawed of Mitch! He’ll be scawed! He’ll be scawed of Mitch!”

Good God.

In the face of her little girl terror, I gave in instantly. “All right, baby, all right, we’ll all sleep in here. No one’s going anywhere. We’ll all stay right here.”

She stared into my face then it seemed she collapsed, her hand leaving my hair, her head falling on Mitch’s shoulder, her arm drifting listless down his side.

“Thank you,” she mumbled.

I lifted a hand to cup her face and her eyes closed with relief. My eyes moved to Mitch. I didn’t know what to say or do. I didn’t know if I could sleep beside Mitch but I was pretty certain I couldn’t. I didn’t know what Mitch was thinking. What I did know was that Billie’s behavior scared the hell out of me.

“Do you mind?” I whispered to Mitch and he just stared at me.

After awhile he said, “No.”

“Thanks.” I was still whispering.

Mitch got off the bed and I pulled the bedclothes back. He shifted them in, rolled Billie between us then rolled back to turn out the light. Since it was dark, I heard them moving to get settled and I reached out a hand to feel Billie was turned into Mitch, still holding on. I stroked her back for awhile then when I heard Billie’s breathing turn heavy and her little body relaxed, I pulled away to lay on my back and stare at the dark ceiling.

That was when I whispered, “Mitch, you awake?”

“Yeah,” Mitch replied.

“Sorry about this.”

There was silence.

“Really, um…sorry,” I said quietly.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“She was really scared and I, uh…didn’t know what to do.”

“Mara, don’t worry about it.”

“I feel badly,” I told him softly. “You’re being so nice and –”

I felt the bed move then I saw the shadow of Mitch’s frame looming over Billie’s body toward me then I felt Mitch’s fingers on the side of my face, his thumb on my lips.

“There are far worse things than needin’ to sleep in this bed with you and a scared outta her brain six year old. Like I said, sweetheart, don’t worry about it. Yeah?”

“Okay,” I whispered against his thumb.

“Go to sleep.”

“Okay.”

His thumb swept my lips then his shadow disappeared as he lay back down. Billie moved, nestling into him, still breathing heavily and I hoped that meant she didn’t wake up.

I lay in the dark and stared at the ceiling.

I did this awhile.

Then I called, “Mitch?”

This got me a rumbly, sleepy, “Yeah?”

“Sorry, were you asleep?”

“Not yet.”

I bit my lip.

“You want somethin’?” he asked.

“Um…”

“Mara, honey, we both got work tomorrow –”

I cut him off on a whispered, “She was freaking scared.”

“Yeah.”

“Not right scared,” I went on.

“Yeah.”

“What do you –?”

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

I bit my lip again. Then I said, “Okay.”

“Go to sleep, honey. Everything’s all right right now. That’s all you gotta think about.”

“Okay.”

“’Night, baby.”

“Goodnight Mitch.”

* * * * *

Mitch

Mara moved in the bed, curling into Billie at the same time curling into Mitch. He woke as he felt her move into him.

He was on his back and one beautiful adolescent female and one beautiful adult female were pressed into his side, both their arms thrown over his gut, Billie’s head at his ribs, Mara’s head settling on his shoulder.

Not for the first time he noticed that Mara’s hair smelled unbelievably f**king great.

He stared at the dark ceiling thinking about Mara and her boundaries.

Then he grinned at the dark ceiling.

Then he thought about Mara’s long, shapely bare legs which he remembered seeing in shorts on a variety of occasions during the summers. He’d also seen them on a variety of occasions in a bikini when he’d been at the bar in the clubhouse or on his way into or out of the gym to work out and she’d been lounging by the pool outside. And he’d seen them the morning before when she’d been in a short robe and that cute nightie. The nightie she was wearing right now. The nightie that clung to a lot of really f**king great places and showed most of her equally f**king great legs which went on for-fucking-ever.