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and slipped the nightgown over Hannah’s head, working her arms through the sleeves, drawing the gown over her body. She was finished before Taylor giggled and collapsed onto her father’s lap. Charles carried her to a small bed. Each side had a wooden rail extending one foot above the mattress with wooden slats positioned at one inch intervals.
    “Will those rails keep her in?” Maddie asked.
    “No, they’re just designed to stop her from falling out.”
    “Uncle Jesse made ‘em,” Hannah announced proudly as she crawled into her own bed. “Only I don’t need ‘em cuz I’m a big girl.”
    Charles walked to the dresser, picked up two brushes, and handed one to Maddie. “We’d better braid their hair. Otherwise, we’ll spend half the morning untangling it.”
    “Uncle Jesse didn’t braid our hair,” Hannah said.
    “Uncle Jesse didn’t bathe you, either, did he?”
    Hannah and Taylor shook their heads vigorously as grins filled their faces.
    “Yeah, I think he forgot you were ladies.”
    Maddie sat on the bed and brushed Hannah’s silky fine tresses. Watching Charles braid Taylor’s hair, she was surprised he had the skills and wondered if he’d braided his wife’s hair. When the task was complete, he kissed Taylor on the cheek.
    “Give your ma some sugar, too.”
    Maddie kissed Hannah, then bent over Taylor. Taylor’s chubby arms wrapped around her neck, wrapped around her heart. Then she stepped away as Charles brought the quilts over each girl’s shoulders before placing a kiss on their cheeks. Swallowed by the bedding, they looked extremely tiny and vulnerable.
    Charles dimmed the lamp resting on the night table that stood between the beds. “We leave it burning a little to keep the nightmares away. ‘Night, girls.”
    Hannah sat up. “We didn’t say ‘night ‘night to Uncle Jesse.”
    Charles returned to her side, eased her onto the bed, and covered her back up. “Uncle Jesse had some chores he needed to take care of. He’ll be in later.”
    “But I wanna kiss him.”
    “Tell you what. Why don’t you put a kiss in your hand and keep it under your pillow? You can give it to him in the morning.”
    Hannah looked doubtful, but she kissed her palm, balled her fist, and stuck it beneath her pillow. Taylor imitated her sister’s actions. Charles gave each girl one last kiss before escorting Maddie out of their room.
    Once in the hallway, he placed his hand on the small of her back. “We’ll say good night to Aaron, but don’t be disappointed if he doesn’t give you a kiss. When he was four, he told Alice that he’d used up all his kisses.”
    “Used up all his kisses?”
    Smiling, he nodded. “Yep, but I figure in about five years, he’ll discover some he hoarded away.”
    Charles tapped on Aaron’s door. When Aaron answered, he took Maddie’s hand and stepped into the room. Aaron lay in the bed with the covers drawn over him.
    “Thought we’d say good night.”
    “ ’Night.”
    Charles sat on the edge of the bed. “I missed you while I was in Fort Worth. Thought you might give me a hug.”
    Aaron cast a furtive glance Maddie’s way. “Ain’t gonna hug her.”
    “Did I ask you to?”
    Shaking his head, Aaron sat up and slung his arms around his father’s neck. Charles hugged him tightly. “I love your mother, Aaron. My marriage to Maddie doesn’t change that.” Feeling Aaron’s arms tighten around him, he knew he’d tapped into some of the boy’s fears.
    “I miss Ma,” Aaron whispered hoarsely against Charles’s neck.
    “I miss her, too. I think about her every night before I go to sleep, but a man needs more than memories to hold onto at night, he needs more than memories in his life. Someday you’ll understand that a man likes to have a woman he can hold.”
    Aaron released his father. “Uncle Jesse doesn’t have a woman to hold.”
    “He has his dreams, and I imagine buried somewhere within those dreams is a woman. He just hasn’t taken the time to