Silver Dawn (Wishes #4.5) Read Free

stuff.”
    Gabi alternated her pointed finger between all three boys. “You mustn’t ever go in there,” she warned.
    “We can’t get in,” volunteered Mason, the littlest brother. “The door is locked.”
    Sean elbowed him in the side, which backfired on him in an instant. Mason yelled out to their mother and Hannah appeared on the veranda next door a moment later.
    Perhaps knowing they were up to no good, she ventured over, scolding each of them with a harsh glare along the way. None of the boys questioned her when she ordered them to go home, which made for an awesome show of authority. They skulked back to their yard in total silence.
    “I’m sorry,” she said still walking toward us. “They know better than to play over here.”
    “They’re no trouble,” insisted Gabrielle sweetly.
    Only because we don’t live here , I silently added.
    Hannah stepped up on to the veranda. “How are you Gabrielle?”
    Gabi put her hand to her belly. “Fine. I only have a few weeks to go.”
    Hannah Davis had the perfect disposition for a nurse. She was always cheerful and happy, except when reprimanding her small soldiers.
    Gabi was convinced that her job was the reason for her good nature. “How could she not be happy?” she once asked me. “She sees babies being born every single day.”
    Gabrielle was desperately hopeful that she’d be on duty for our baby’s birth, and made a point of telling Hannah every time she saw her.
    “I’m rostered on every other day,” she replied. “I’m sure I’ll be there at some point.”
    When chat turned to Gabrielle’s ambitious written birth plan, I excused myself and headed to the shed to find the cot. I knew her no-drug-no-pain plan back to front, and it still made no sense to me.
    ***
    It was almost a relief to see that the lock on the shed door was still intact. The Lost Boys might’ve had a crack at getting in, but Adam had it well secured.
    It took a long time to find the crib and all its fixings. It wasn’t exactly hidden, but I was distracted by the contents of Boy Wonder’s man cave.
    It was hard not to feel sorry for Adam. I knew he wasn’t keen on the idea of returning to New York, but Charli had wanted to go. And once he finally got his act together, his pledge to give his girls whatever they wanted was a promise he never broke.
    I thought he was playing it smart. There was no way Charli would stick it out forever. Life on the beach would eventually beckon again and Adam knew it, which explained why the contents of the shed had been locked up instead of sold off.
    “How many spiders have you found?” asked Gabi, poking her head around the doorway.
    I turned back to face her. “None. It’s perfect, except for the little teeth marks on the edges.”
    “Bridget ate the cot?” she asked.
    I carried the white framework over to her. “I’ll touch it up. No big deal.”
    She ran her fingers over the chipped paintwork. “You’re determined to use this crib, aren’t you?”
    “I like tradition. This is an heirloom cot now,” I explained. “Maybe our great grandkids will use it too.” I shuddered at the thought. Chances are, we’d still be around to see it. At this rate, I could be a great-grandfather before the age of sixty.
    “You’re an old soul, Alex,” she declared, smiling.
    I leaned down and kissed her as I passed. “But I’m a young body, Gabs,” I replied. “It’s kind of awesome if you think about it.”
    Gabi caught up to me as I was loading the cot into the back of the car. If she’d hadn’t been there, I would’ve been swearing. I’d surrendered my beloved Ute a few weeks earlier. I was now driving a family friendly SUV. Unlike the Ute it wasn’t cot friendly. Having to lower the back seats to fit it in pissed me off. That meant it wasn’t Alex friendly either.
    Gabi’s voice pulled me out of my silent rant. “You’re a patriarch, Alex.” Her thick French accent made it sound like a seriously hardcore title. “The head