*Sam*

My eyes open as Nevaeh adjusts her body to sink her head onto my chest. "Good morning," I whisper.

Her troubled eyes lift to meet mine. "Did I wake you?" she asks.

"Yes, but not much earlier than I would have awoken myself." The light filtering under curtains is too faint to ascertain the time. Holding her with one arm, I stretch with the other to retrieve my pocket watch from the night table. "The hour is early yet, but perhaps it's prudent we be on our ...