Chapter 21 Try Me

• Lucas
• The birds chirping merrily and the slight breeze of a late morning woke him up from a deep contented sleep. Rie left the door open from the veranda, they both preferred the fresh garden air in the morning to the air conditioning.
• Lucas inwardly frowned and his entire body stilled --realizing something was not right, hoping he was wrong-- without opening his eyes, he gingerly patted the cold space beside him, realizing it was empty, he bolted out of the bed in a heartbeat.