Chapter 192

The man’s raspy voice drew the children into the story. Soon, they closed their eyes and fell asleep. It was after midnight by the time Mona was done with the sketches. Ready to hit the sack, Mona went upstairs to check on the kids and found Thaddeus and the two children sleeping on one big bed in the children’s room. The man had one arm wrapped around each child. Thaddeus jolted awake when Bobby turned his body in his sleep. He glanced at the boy, only to realize it was a false alarm. Mona drew close and bent over to tuck the kids in while Thaddeus got up out of bed, bleary-eyed. He stood alongside Mona by the bed and watched the kids. Bobby and Millie had their butts propped up like a caterpillar. It was an amusing sight for the parents to watch. A warm night light lit up the children’s room, giving off a warm and inviting tone. With the light bouncing off the couple, Thaddeus observed his shadow over Mona’s as if he had the woman covered and protected. “How did we know