Chapter 15: Choosing Home
The next morning dawned pale and quiet, the kind of morning where the world seemed to hold its breath. Emery woke to the soft murmur of voices drifting from the kitchen — Brent’s low rumble and Callahan Jr.’s bright chatter. For a moment she lay still beneath the quilt, letting the warmth of their presence settle around her like a second blanket.
When she finally stepped into the kitchen, Brent looked up, his expression softening in a way that still startled her. “Morning,” he said, sliding a mug of coffee toward her.
Callahan Jr. beamed. “We made pancakes! Papa let me flip one and it almost hit the ceiling!”
Brent shot him a look. “It did not.”
“It almost did,” Callahan insisted, grinning.
Emery laughed, the sound easing the last remnants of sleep from her
