Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 93284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
She opened her mouth, most likely to deny it when Gabe said “Thanks, Chey.”
With that he walked over to his bike, swung his leg over it, started it up, and took off with a roar. I smiled. That boy had it bad, and Ember was about to give him both barrels.
The cab arrived within ten minutes, and the strumpet was off moments later. I was just about to head back to the house when a wet dream of a truck pulled up and parked to the right of the garage doors where there were spots open. It was a black jacked up Chevy truck, 350 engine, duel exhaust, six inch lift and thirty five inch tires.
The man that stepped out of that beauty was someone that I would have gone after if I didn’t have my own tasty morsel standing right next to me. He walked to the back door and opened it, pulling out a sweet little cherub faced baby that was probably around two. She had curly dirty blonde hair, and chubby little cheeks. She was wearing the cutest outfit of camo fatigue pants, sparkly pink boots, and a brown flowered print onesie. She had a sippy cup in one hand, and a handful of t-shirt that belonged to the man in the other.
Sam’s indrawn breath made me look at him, and I raised my eyebrows in question, but he didn’t even glance at me, his eyes were on the man and little girl.
The man walked right up to us and stuck his hand out to Sam.
“Luke Roberts.” He said.
Sam took his hand and gave it a firm shake, and then let it drop. I was still a little puzzled until Sam spoke.
“She looks just like her.”
“Yea, she does. I just wanted to come over here and say thank you for everything that you did.” Luke said.
“No problem. I didn’t want her to suffer. I’m glad they were able to get a hold of you so fast. She’s grown up a lot since I last saw her.” Sam tilted his head in the little girl’s direction.
“Yea. She was a little over five pounds when I got to the hospital. She is nineteen months and twenty two pounds now. It took me nearly a week to get there from the Sandbox, and I remember how small she felt in my arms. I’m glad you got the CO to contact me. Leah never told me I had a baby, let alone that she was pregnant. Makes me wonder if she had ever planned to.”
“You are being rude, Sam. Why don’t you introduce him to the rest of us?” I said.
He rolled his eyes, but complied with my wishes. I took the girls back to the house a short time later. Sleepy kids were no fun. Blaine accompanied me, and we speculated on what had happened that day. Whatever turned out from the Ember and Gabe situation was sure to be entertaining. They were two of the most pigheaded people I knew, and fireworks were about to fly.
∞
SAM
I closed the door to the twins’ room, and padded down the hall, back to Cheyenne. I glanced at each picture that lined the hallway in between our room and their room.
One was our first family portrait of us leaving the hospital three days after they were born. I was in a sling with my arm pinned to my chest. Cheyenne was in a wheelchair with both babies nestled in her arms. There were a shit load of flowers on a cart right beside her that was also overflowing with presents we received for the girls. Cheyenne looked radiant three days after surgery. I, on the other hand, looked tired. I was not used to getting up every hour, and that is what we did the entire time we spent at the hospital. The girls were not good sleepers. They were one of a few who ever cried nearly the entire time; most babies were very calm and sleepy, according to one of our nurses.
The second picture I passed was of Pru and Piper curled up on the side of my bare chest, each had a dog tag fisted in their hands. My hands covered their naked backsides. That was not a good memory, although Cheyenne laughs every time she remembers. We had gone to get their photos taken when they were eight days old. We were just finishing the pose when both girls decided to pee at the exact same time. Piss ran down my chest and pooled in the waistband of my jeans. It was gross. The picture clearly captured the wet on my chest and pants, and my eyes squeezed shut and a grimace on my face. You can see Cheyenne laughing while reaching to take Pru from me. I however, found nothing funny about it.
The third photo was of Cheyenne when she was eight months pregnant. She was topless with her arms covering her breasts. She was standing in a field of bluebonnets. I was kneeling at her feet with my naked back to the camera kissing her swollen belly. That one was a funny memory for me and not for Cheyenne. She had to pee quite badly, and ended up popping a squat behind a tree. I still tease her about it.
The final one I passed was of all my girls straddling my bike. Cheyenne was in her usual Jeans and knit ribbed tank and boots. Her hair was curly and down, blowing in the wind. Pru and Piper were dressed much the same way, except they were wearing onesies with skulls and crossbones, jeans and motorcycle boots. They each had a black headband with huge red flowers on their head. All of them were laughing. This one was my favorite. Everything about this photo was perfect. It made me see how wonderful my life has become.
Life had changed for us since I was shot. We learned to appreciate life a little more, because there was no guarantee that we would be on this earth for much longer. We still fought like cats and dogs, but we never went to bed mad.