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closet. Then she squeezed inside the closet just enough to have a bit of privacy while pulling off her clothes and wriggling into her nightgown.
    For a moment, she recalled that this was one of the reasons why she had arrived at the ripe old age of forty-plus without marrying. Having had no solitude at all as a child, she had been loath to give it up as an adult.
    Though after this invasion, having only one man in her house would seem like a luxury. Even if that roommate was Dirk.
    Savannah emerged from her closet just as Granny was scooping up one adorable seven-year-old in each arm and kissing them soundly on their cheeks. “We already talked about this,” she was telling them. “I told you, when Auntie came to bed, you two were going onto the pallets, like we agreed.”
    â€œWe don’t wanna sleep on the floor,” Jillian whined. “We wanna sleep with Auntie. She’s warm and soft, like a big cushy pillow.”
    Granny set the oldest twins onto the floor first, then reached for the younger ones.
    â€œNo. Bogeyman bite me!” Wendy wailed as she lifted her pudgy baby feet high, avoiding the bedroom floor as if it were studded with red-hot spikes.
    â€œNo bogeyman is gonna bite anybody while I’m around,” Gran said, setting the youngster on the pile of soft quilts and comforters. “If you see hide or hair of him, you just let me know. I’ll bite him .”
    â€œOn the heinie?” Jack wanted to know.
    â€œI’ll bite him on whatever’s handy,” Granny assured him. “Now you younguns cuddle down there and get quiet. I don’t wanna hear nothin’ more outta any of y’all, except some serious snoring.”
    Savannah marveled at how quickly they obeyed and how deliciously, deceptively angelic they looked as they snuggled close together, like a litter of puppies, under the tulip quilt that Gran had made so many years before.
    Savannah could recall sleeping under that quilt herself when she had been about that age.
    Some of the colors might have faded a bit, and a few of the ribbons had come untied, but it was all the more precious for the passing years. And it warmed her heart to see the next generation cuddling under it as she and her sisters and brothers had before.
    â€œCan the kitties sleep with us?” Jillian asked.
    Savannah lifted Diamante and Cleopatra off the bed and deposited them in the middle of the squirming brood. She could tell by the baleful looks the cats gave her that they wouldn’t be lingering long. Hopefully, at least until the kiddos were snoozing.
    Savannah tweaked one of Jack’s curls. “If you mistreat those cats, boy, I’ll jerk a knot in your tail. Maybe two knots. You hear?”
    He nodded with a devilish grin.
    It wasn’t a “promise” that she put a lot of stock in.
    As Granny turned out the nightstand lamp, Savannah carefully set the tiny wedding cake figurines, side by side, on her dresser, then climbed into bed next to her grandmother. And even though it was lovely to be able to sleep alone after so many years of sharing everything, including her bed, Savannah had to admit it was comforting to be enveloped in a loved one’s warmth and their endearing scent.
    Gran’s had always been the fresh-scrubbed fragrance of bath soap, hand lotion, and rose-scented talcum powder. It was a smell that always made Savannah feel safe and loved.
    â€œTough day for you, huh, snookums?” Gran said as she reached over and grasped Savannah’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
    â€œNot one of my best,” Savannah admitted. “But I guess all’s well that ends well. We caught the guy and, last I heard, the fire department’s got the blaze eighty percent under control. Most importantly, nobody got hurt.”
    â€œMaybe nobody got burned, but you were hurt. And your Dirk, too.”
    Savannah fought back some tears that stung at the backs of her eyes. “I’m