todaywas a long day

longerthan any day that I could remember

andremembered a lot

therainy season officially started today and not a drop of rain had hitthe ground

butthe grey and menecing clouds the hovered in the sky led little doubtto the ferocity of the pending storm

'itgonna be a doozy' resident smarty pants/bacon stealer archey saidas he looked out the window

buteven though he was inside could still hear him and rolled my eyedropping the last sand bag in front of the pack house kicking itunder the deck

wekept them stored in the dungeons that we never used

itkept them safe from tearing so we didn't have to make new ones everyyear

wekept sand backs to stop the rain eroding the foundations of the packhouse

and ifwater did get in

thesad bags would act as a temporary foundation until it was fixed

"goto bed" I said and he pouted

"butmy story?" and I sighed glancing him over

he wasstill in the clothes he was wearing this morning not at all ready forbed time

or astory

"i'lltell you what" I said through the link huffing under the weight ofanother sand bag, a spare in case any broke or became rotten andwell.. broke "if you've brushed your teeth, put your pajamas on andare in bed by the time i'm finished, I might, might, forgiveyou for stealing my bacon and read you a story"

hisface lit up and he vanished from the window as he retreated upstairsI smiled lovingly

I lovethat kid

myeyes glanced the shawn, a shirt less shawn, I swear this man couldnever do hard laubour without removing his shirt blue purred

"i don't mind"

"again?,this man could be covered in the foulest thing to ever grace thisearth and you'd still be drooling over him like that tennis ball youlove so much"

"WHATWHO TOLD YOU ABOUT MY TENNIS BALL!"I laughed

she loved it as much as archey loved his blankey

speaking of the bacon napper

"i'm going to put archey to bed" I told shawn "youfine on your own?" he laughed winking

"don't worry about me, a few little sand bags won'thurt me with these bad boys" as if to prove a point he flex

and I stared

"ahhhlex?....lexi...ALEXIA!"

I blinked hard shaking my head a knowing smirk gracedshawns face

"whatblue?"

"checkyour mouth" shesaid

"what,why?"

"because the droolpooling at your feet could put the nile to shame"

I turned away from the laughing beta and stormed insidemaking my way to archys room

and as promised he was tucked in to bed the smell ofmint tooth paste scented the air as he breathed in and out

on closer inspection I found him in his pj's

inside out and back to front but pj's none the less

his favorite book settled in his lap as he looked up atme exspectantly I smiled and his face lit up as he held it out to me

I chuckled

sliding onto the bed beside him I pulled the blanketback I slid under taking the book from his small hands I turned tohim

"arms up" I cooed and he frowned raising his arms Itugged the shirt over his head before turning it the right way roundand in before putting it back on

I pulled the blanket back over up and he settled into myside as I opened the book

and as always halfway in he was fast asleep

I slowly moved out from under him laying him down on thepillow I tucked him in pressing a kiss to his forehead I stepped back

only to frown

something wasn't right

I looked his sleeping form up and down

everything looked in order except...

his blankey

I scanned him over again, he was sleeping without it,but now that I think about it, he hadn't had it for a few weeks nowever since...

jackson...

I smiled softly my frown easing he must have somehowconvinced the boy to give it up

and he loved that blanket like an elephant loved peanuts

but knowing archey he probably just gave it to someoneto hold onto

with that thought in mind I drifted from his roomleaving the door ajar on my exit