Chapter 10 - Home
One Year Later.
The Texas sun was warm, but the breeze coming off the lake behind our new house kept the afternoon perfectly cool.
I stood on the back porch, holding two-year-old Liam on my hip while Maya chased a butterfly across the manicured grass. They were happy, healthy, and completely unaware of the darkness that had surrounded their birth.
The French doors opened behind me, and Sarah stepped out, carrying two glasses of iced tea. She was wearing a simple white sundress, and the diamond ring I had given her the second time I asked her to marry me sparkled in the sunlight.
“They’re wearing themselves out,” she smiled, handing me a glass.
“Good,” I laughed. “Maybe they’ll actually sleep through the night.”
I set Liam down, and he instantly waddled off to join his sister.
I wrapped my arm around Sarah’s waist, pulling her close against me. She rested her head on my chest, listening to my heartbeat.
“We did it,” she whispered.
“No,” I corrected her gently, kissing the top of her head. “You did it. You kept them safe when I was too blind to see the truth. You are the strongest person I have ever known, Sarah. And I will spend every day for the rest of my life making sure you never have to be that strong again.”
She looked up at me, her eyes shining with tears of genuine happiness.
May you like
The lies were gone. The ghosts of the past were locked away in a federal cell.
All that remained was the truth. And the truth was, we were finally home.
