Page 40 of Embattled Ever After

John frowned and shook his head. “No way. It won’t get that big.”

“Do you know how big you were when you were born?”

Shannon knew this was a potentially sensitive subject, because John’s mother had abandoned him on the steps of a church when he was just a little boy. Whether he admitted it or not, it still affected him.

“Yes. I was eight six when I was born.”

Her eyes widened. “Wow. You were a big one.”

He shrugged, a smile splitting his mouth. “What can I say?”

Giggling, she pressed a kiss to his mouth and rolled out of bed. “I’m going to go shower. Want to join me?”

“Nah, go ahead. I’m going to lay here a few more minutes until my alarm goes off.”

Suiting actions to words, he flopped back against the bed, then tugged the comforter up over his chest. Gray Cat, laying at the bottom of the bed growled at the disturbance. Shannon grinned, her life feeling so right. It was time for them to move into the next stage of their lives.

She woke the puppy—Carmella?—from her pen and let her outside on the leash to go potty. Shawn, the neighbor kid, had scooped her out a couple of paths through the snow to the grass, so she did her business quickly then ran back to Shannon. “Good girl!”

Patting the wet snow from her paws, Shannon dropped her to the bed with John as she headed to the bathroom.

Shannon took her time in the shower. Squeezing the coconut lime verbena shower gel bottle over her hand, she paused to inhale. Yeah, that smelled good. Her appointment wasn’t until nine, but she wanted to be more than ready. As her first time visiting the doctor, she was sure she had pages of information to fill out. Even that couldn’t diminish her mood though.

By the time she’d left the bedroom to go make breakfast, John was swinging over the side of the bed to his wheelchair. “I’ll go get cleaned up. I’ll be there in a few.”

Shannon leaned down to give him a kiss, feeling so grateful that they had connected. John Palmer was still a little rough around the edges, but those edges made him unique and she love every one of those edges.

They ate a warm breakfast of oatmeal with fruit, then cleaned up the dishes together. Shannon gave the cats food, and put the puppy in her new kennel with a couple of toys, then went to the living room to tidy it up a bit. The waiting to go was going to kill her.

Then, finally, it was time. They bundled into John’s truck, the automatic lift letting in cold air while they waited. She cranked the heater, wishing they’d warmed the truck sooner. She shuddered with cold as she dragged the seatbelt across her body, but John didn’t even seem to notice the weather.

Other than being in the chair, his legs paralyzed, he was the strongest man she knew. Or maybe the most stubborn, she thought with a giggle.

“What,” he demanded defensively, coal black brows furrowed.

“Nothing, honey. I was just thinking how stubborn you are.”

“I’m not stubborn,” he countered. “I’m determined and motivated.”

Shannon laughed, leaning over to press a kiss to his lean cheek. He’d actually shaved today, and cleaned up a little more than normal. He appeared to be nervous, too.

The medical complex was crowded when they pulled in, so, with a grumble, John pulled into the handicapped spot at the front of the lot. Then he leaned over and dug out the handicapped placard, placing it to swing on the swing on the rear view mirror.

Shannon knew he hated the visible symbol of his disability. Normally, John would have parked at the edge of the parking lot, where cars were sparse and there was plenty of room for his driver’s side lift to operate. It didn’t bother her if it made him happy. One of her deepest secret wishes was to see John regain use of his legs, even just in part. With the medical advancements being made all the time, she didn’t think it the wish was entirely out of the realm of possibility.

Opening the door wide for John’s chair, Shannon moved to the placard with the doctors listed in white letters. “Dr. Wehrum is on the third floor.”

They rode the elevator up, found the office and signed in. As expected, she was handed a clipboard with a stack of forms to be filled out. John parked beside her chair as she dug in and grabbed a magazine to read.

“What the hell…” he mumbled.

Shannon glanced over to see him reading a breastfeeding manual. Giggling, she told him, “You need to read that and let me know if there’s anything interesting in there. I plan on breastfeeding our child.”

When she glanced at him again, it was to find him looking down the V of her shirt, to the cleavage that had grown in the past couple of months. His dark eyes glinted with fascination. “Just how big do you think those will get?”

Shannon snorted. Typical man. “I’m sure they’ll go to double Ds at least.”

When she glanced at him again, he stared at her hard, trying to decide if she were joking or not.

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