time she was reading she was conscious of Wyatt, sitting beside Dean. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him slip his arm around Dean, letting his hand rest on her shoulder. Awareness shivered through her. But beneath all that, there was a feeling of comfort and belonging. This felt so right. So true.
The storm that had stranded them raged on, but here, in this place, in this moment, peace and contentment reigned.
She finished the last book she intended to read, and the kids clamored for another one, but it was late.
"Sorry, guys, now it's really time for bed," Wyatt said, as if he could read her thoughts.
All three of them looked to Adele, but she shrugged. "Sorry. Dad says it's bedtime."
As soon as she spoke, she realized that she sounded like any wife and mother talking to her children. It was too late to take it back now. Wyatt said nothing as he gathered up the books.
"I'll tuck them in," he said to Adele, giving her a gentle smile.
She nodded, the peace she had felt before seeping back into the moment.
And as he went up the stairs with the children, she felt a tiny yearning to follow him.
"And here's one for you," Adele said, dropping the paper hat she’d just made on Dean's head.
He turned his head left and right as if trying it on for size. "I like it. I feel like a pirate."
"You look exactly like a pirate," she said, gathering up the rest of the newspapers.
It was late Tuesday and Adele had spent most of the afternoon keeping the kids occupied. She didn't want them watching television all day, but it was convenient while she cleaned up and got food ready for supper.
Wyatt had been outside most of the day working on waterers, clearing snow off the yard for the cows so he could feed them. He also had some work to do on the tractor. Apparently one of the bale forks had broken off in the cold weather so he had to weld it back on. She had seen him through the blinding snow at one time trying to push what he could off the driveway, but it drifted in right behind him again.
At any rate it kept him busy most of the day. He came in at lunchtime, snatched a quick bite to eat, and then left again. He needed to get as much done as he could before dark. He had apologized to her, asking if she was okay with him being gone. While she was thankful for the distance his busyness created, she found she missed him. But she couldn't expect him to hang around the house all day when he had work to do.
Just as he left, though, he had given her a careful smile. A small connection. An enlarging of what had happened between them.
"And this is your hat," she said to Maya, who had been dancing about while waiting for her turn. She opened it up and put it on her head.
"This is not a princess hat," she said with a frown, pulling the hat off.
"It will be once you color some stars on it," Adele said.
Maya turned the hat around in her hand then with a heavy sigh set it on the table and pulled out a marker. "I will make it pretty.”
Maria was happy to have her newspaper hat look the same as Dean’s. The two of them were pretending to be fighting with the swords Adele had made out of rolled up newspaper.
The casserole she had worked on was in the oven. She knew Wyatt would be coming in for supper at about six o'clock. Despite the storm that had been the routine of the past few days.
With a sigh she glanced out the window. Though it had only been two days, she felt incredibly house-bound. The kids had been great, though they had begged to play outside. Adele had talked them out of it with promises to make cookies that were now cooling on the counter, ready for dessert with supper.
"Why don't you guys go downstairs with your swords," Adele suggested.
The basement was unfinished and wide open, giving the kids lots of room to play.
"Yay, we can make a boat out of the box," Dean called out.
The little girls were right behind him, and Adele had a moment of peace.
She gathered up the newspapers. A series of pictures caught her attention and made her smile. A little boy sliding down the slide in