The bedroom door creaks open.
I sit up fast, my heart jumping, thinking it’s Logan.
It isn’t.
Bell pads in quietly, nails clicking on the hardwood as she makes her way over to me.
I slump back down.
“Hey, baby,” I murmur.
She presses her head against my chest, and I run a hand over her fur. Bell usually sleeps with Myles while Ty claims River’s bed, so she must’ve heard me moving around and come to check on me.
Even the dog knows something’s wrong.
A sob breaks free before I can stop it.
I bury my face against her neck and muffle the sound in her fur.
I should’ve told him then.
We were already in counseling. We were sitting in that office every week, talking about our faults, well his faults, but I could’ve just… said it. Thrown my own sin into the ring and let everything fall apart at once.
Instead, I stayed quiet.
I sat back and let him be the bad guy.
I let him carry all the blame while I played the wounded wife, knowing full well I wasn’t innocent anymore either.
I press my forehead harder into Bell’s warm coat, wishing for a rewind button, for some way to crawl back in time and make different choices.
I must’ve dozed off, because the next thing I know, I’m being woken by the sound of giggles.
Little boy giggles.
My eyes blink open, the early morning light sneaking through the curtains. For a second I’m confused, disoriented, until the ache in my neck reminds me I fell asleep on the floor.
I groan as I sit up fully.
Sleeping on the floor is definitely a young woman’s game.
Rubbing a hand over my face, I listen harder. The giggles are coming from the kitchen. Loud, happy, mischievous giggles.
Which means trouble.
Bracing myself for whatever disaster my children have managed to create while I was unconscious, I push to my feet and head down the hall.
Smelling melting butter, I round the corner into the kitchen. And the sight damn near knocks me on my ass.
There, on the counter, sit Myles and River in their pajamas, legs swinging, watching their father whisk eggs in a bowl.
He’s home.
Relief floods through me so fast I have to grab the doorframe to steady myself.
For a second, I just stand there, taking it in. The normalcy of it. The easy domestic scene. It almost feels like nothing happened.
But the way Logan’s shoulders stiffen, just slightly, tells me this isn’t even close to being over.
