Next to Me (Triplets book 3)

Chapter 12

Elyse had awakened in Sawyer's arms. He was still holding her tight, and Elyse wasn't in any hurry to move. Her mind went immediately to the woman whose hand Sawyer had been holding the day before. He had told her she wasn't his girlfriend, and she knew she wasn't his sister, so who was she, and what right did she have to hold his hand?

Elyse had to admit that Sawyer had come to her. He had broken down and cried with her, which showed he trusted her somewhat, but he also had an exhausting day and may not have had a choice in the matter.

She turned and looked at his handsome face on the pillow beside her. His beard was growing in, and he looked a little like Gene again. Elyse shook her head. She couldn't keep going down that track; he wasn't Gene and would never be again. However, he had called her Mary the night before. Was it a slip of the tongue or something else? Did he want her to be Mary again?

There was the sudden sound of a car pulling up to the house and a car door slamming, and Elyse rolled over and looked at the clock, remembering it was Sunday. Then she let loose with a sudden word that was not very Christianly and rolled out of bed.

"Language, my dear, and on a Sunday too. What will the preacher think?" Sawyer asked, opening one eye.

"How long have you been awake?" Elyse asked, jumping out of bed.

"Longer than you. I wanted to enjoy the moment before you kick me to the curb." Sawyer rolled over and stretched, watching her as she raced for the bedroom door.

Elyse reached the bottom of the stairs and found her sister, who always picked her up for church, looking around suspiciously.

"Whose car is that out front?" Bethany crossed her arms and looked at Elyse.

"It's a friend. Look, I'm not going to make church today." Elyse looked down at her nonchurch wear and then back at her sister.

"I can tell." Then Bethany grinned.

"Just make my excuses and say I had a tough day yesterday and need to rest, will you," Elyse said as she walked into the living room and collapsed on the couch.

"I heard about that. In fact, the entire county heard about your dramatic rescue. Did you get to meet any of them?" Bethany asked, perching on the chair across from Elyse.

"You know I can't talk about it, Bethany." Elyse shook her head and smiled.

"I think it's fate," Bethany leaned back in her chair and sighed dreamily.

"What's fate?" Elyse frowned.

"You're on the same cruise as Sawyer Richards, and now his parents need you to save them. It's something bigger than we are at work in the universe." Bethany looked all dreamy. "You did say you met him on the cruise when I asked."

"I met him on the last day for like a second." She hadn't exactly lied to her sister. It had been at the last moment, right before he left her, that she had figured out exactly who he was.

"I tend to agree with your sister, Mary," Sawyer said from the staircase where he had reached up and placed his arms on the bulkhead above the final step. The pose displayed all his marvelous muscles and made his shirt ride up to show his spectacular abs.

Bethany's mouth opened and closed like a fish a few times before she let out a very unlike Bethany squeal of delight. "You said you only met him for a second! And why is he calling you Mary." Bethany's eyes bounced between the two of them.

Elyse shot Sawyer a death stare before she directed her attention back toward her sister, who was borderline drooling over Sawyer Richards.

"That's his car! You two were...are..."