Chapter 36: The Space Between Heartbeats
The rest of the day moved strangely — like the world was half a step out of rhythm.
Brent went through the motions: chopping wood, checking the generator, tightening the latch on the shed door. Emery watched him from the kitchen window, the way his shoulders stayed tight, the way he scanned the tree line every few minutes.
He wasn’t spiraling.He wasn’t panicking.He was bracing.
And Emery felt it like a pressure in her own chest.
Callahan Jr. played on the living room rug, humming to himself, blissfully unaware of the shift in the air. Emery envied him for a moment — the innocence of not knowing when the world was changing around you.
When Brent finally came inside, the sun was dipping low, casting long shadows across the floor. He shut the doo
