Sean wanted to hold her, but she wouldn’t let him. She didn’t want him to soothe her pain and calm her misery. She wept until she fell asleep from exhaustion. When Teresa awoke the next morning, she realized she couldn’t move. She became aware of the warmth of Sean’s body, his slow breathing, as he held her in his arms. She didn’t know when he’d come to her, but knew that she’d had a dreamless, healing sleep and felt renewed. She stared at the face inches from hers, lying on the pillow. He looked very young and defenseless in sleep, which surprised her, as had the strength of his anger when Michelle accused him of having another motive for being with her. She hated how Michelle misjudged him. She remembered tearfully recalling the death of her parents and her friend Bess and how Louisa’s passing tore open those wounds. But she knew his touch had stopped her from falling apart. She tried to carefully ease herself out of his arms, but his eyes slowly opened. “Ready to eat something?”
