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He startled awake and looked like he didn’t know who she was.
She put a hand on his cheek. “It’s me, Ember. You’re okay. You were having a bad dream.”
She watched him come to realize who she was, and he rubbed his face and wiped at his tears.
“Shit.” He took a deep breath. He hugged her.
She whispered in his ear. “Are you okay?”
He held her for another few moments, then leaned back away from her. “Dammit.”
“Did you remember something?”
He nodded. “My wife.”
Ember was gripped by fear. “Your wife?”
He shook his head. “I don’t have one. Not anymore.”
“What happened, John? What did you see?”
“She died. A while ago. I saw her. I saw the three kids. But they were older. Thirteen. Fourteen.”
Ember hugged him. “John, I’m so sorry.” She pulled back and looked at him. “Do you need me to leave you alone? Do you want me to leave?”
He shook his head. “No. No, don’t leave me.”
She turned around and snuggled into him again. “Do you want to talk about it?”
He was quiet for so long, she thought maybehe’d fallen back asleep, but then he spoke. “She was sick. Cancer maybe. But young. Much too young to die and leave your kids behind.” He was quiet again. “It’s really strange. Because I just saw the facts, but I didn’t feel it. It made me sad, and I felt for the kids and the man. Me. My younger self. But the loss wasn’t there. Dammit, I hate this.”
I squeezed his hand. “I’m here for you, John.”
“I know. I’d be lost without you. I want you to stay tonight. Will you stay?”
“Of course.”
He sighed. “I don’t have a wife. I know I was acting pretty damn confident about it, but there was still a tiny part of me that was afraid.”
“Me too.”
“There’s no one out there waiting for me.”
“Except for your kids, John. Your kids need you. Even if they’re adults.”
“Three kids. Three grown kids. Shit. I hope I raised them properly so they’re dealing with this okay.”
“I have no doubt that’s true.”
Chapter eighteen
"I love you John Sherlock."
John and Ember slept in, then shared a shower in the very small stall in the cabin’s bathroom. The space was about five feet by five feet with a glass shower door and the spray nozzle was mounted well below John’s head.
John laughed. “Wow. This is a very interesting experience.”
Ember soaped his back. “I don’t know. I’m enjoying myself.”
