CHAPTER 39

CHAPTER 39

Mary raised her head from the thick-cushioned rocking chair she had fallen asleep in. A feeling that was both cold and hot tingled in her cheeks and in her hands, and she raised her eyebrows in disbelief. The throw blanket fell from her lap as she bolted up. Bursting into Caty and Bowen’s room, she gasped. Bowen’s body, which had disappeared two days before, had returned.

She grabbed her forehead, trying to work out the worry wrinkles blending with the regular ones, and bent down to touch his hollow-cheeked face. After a few silent seconds she straightened up, her breath flowing easier. He was still alive.

“You don’t have much time left in this world, old man,” she said, still hovering over him. He didn’t flinch, but she hadn’t expected him to. Bowen wasn’t here. She just hoped he would get back to his body before it was too late.