Christmas morning arrived with a sound that split the quiet cabin in two.
“DAAAAAAD!”
Jeremiah jerked awake with a sharp gasp, his heart slamming violently against his ribs as if it had been startled right along with him. For a disoriented second, he didn’t know where he was. The ceiling above him was unfamiliar, wooden beams, dim morning light filtering through frost-laced windows.
Then his body protested.
His neck ached. His back was stiff. One arm was numb beneath him.
The couch.
He had slept on the couch.
Memories rushed in like a tidal wave. Michelle’s voice, shaking but resolute. The word pregnant. The way she had walked away without looking back.
His chest tightened.
“DAAAAAD! IT’S CHRISTMAS!”
Daisy’s voice echoed again, louder this time, bursting with a joy so pure it alm
