Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 72561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Brittany and Channing had opened their own funeral home last year, and now worked whatever hours they wanted.
If they didn’t want to work, then didn’t have to.
That worked out well for our family, because there were times, like today, that I was called out without a moment’s notice.
The beep-beep of the alarm being reset had me turning to find Channing standing beside the door punching in the numbers to re-arm the house.
“Hey, baby. Did I wake you?” I asked as I stepped into her and gave her a soft kiss on the mouth.
She curled her arms around my neck and leaned into the kiss slightly before breaking away. “No, Justice has a fever. We’ve been up, on and off, for about three hours now.”
Concern etched her features, and I put my hand around her neck, bringing her back into the space where she belonged. My arms.
“Is the fever down now?” I asked.
She lifted her shoulders. “Kind of. He’s asleep on our bed. I couldn’t get him onto his own without him screaming.”
I ran my cheek along the top of her head, letting my beard run against the soft locks of her hair.
Justice was mostly a healthy little boy. Until you got to the asthma attacks.
We’d known there was a chance that he’d have asthma, but that first time he’d had an attack, I’d never been more scared in my life.
He’d been six months old, and I’d taken him out to the park with me. Channing had been at work with Brittany when all of a sudden Justice started freaking out.
His eyes went wide, followed shortly by the wheezing inhale. His ribs started pulling in while he used his accessory muscles to help him breathe.
It was truly the most terrifying thing I’d seen.
I’d, of course, seen Channing have them multiple times in the past. I’d seen what they did to her, and how they brought her down.
Then to see that on my own child had asthma knocked me for a loop.
Luckily I’d been there with not only Trance, but Kettle and Sebastian as well.
They’d kept me calm, and we’d arrived at the hospital where Justice became the newest user of an inhaler.
Now we kept one in every vehicle. I kept one in my pocket, regardless of whether I was working or not, and Channing kept one in the diaper bag and her purse.
“Alright, baby. I’ll be there in a minute. I just want to check the house real quick,” I said as I let her go.
She nodded, walking quietly across the foyer and disappearing into the living room.
Her long white gown flowed behind her airily, and her brown hair, a good deal longer now, floated around her shoulders and waist as she swayed.
Shaking my head to clear it, I walked the house and double-checked the windows, locks, and doors.
There’d be no loving going on in the Rector house tonight, unfortunately, but that was okay.
Sometimes love wasn’t about intimacy. Sometimes it was about just being with the person you loved. Knowing they were close. Feeling their skin on yours. Smelling their scent. Laughing with you.
That’s what I had with Channing.
Peace.
Love.
And forever.