Page 110 of When to Call a Blitz

We moved after Emmett retired, finding a nice home in the country with plenty of land for Juniper to run around and be a kid.

Theodore passed away right before we moved, which was tragic. She had become one of our favorite animal friends, and she even stayed inside the house sometimes.

It wasn’t until she waddled up to us, clearly pregnant, that we realized Theodore was, in fact, a woman.

We have one of her grandchildren to this day, who has had her own family out back. Although it’s still illegal to technically have them as pets, we’ve set up a second chicken coop out back for them to make a home in. If anyone asks, there was just an invasion, and we’ll take care of it.

We have it all planned out.

Juniper’s favorite part is the chickens though. She spends most of her days outside with them, reading in the grass under the sun.

Emmett’s favorite part is the ten-car garage, where he works on any car he can find. Honestly, I’m starting to think that he somehow finds the cars with the absolutemostissues. But he loves to hang out in there, working with his hands.

And he worksmewith his hands at night.

And in the morning.

And sometimes, during the day.

My favorite part though?

The dark room that Emmett set up for me.

I decided to take Isla up on her offer and started showing my photography off athergallery.

I’ve made millions off it.

People with money love art of all kinds. They’re willing to spend crazy amounts of money on a canvas with a brand new pigment.

But I wasn’t expecting them to spend as much as they do on photography.

When I started up again, I quickly decided that I really hated doing portrait photography. People tend to not appreciate it as much ever since phone cameras got so good, and it started to make me hate my craft.

So I switched to sports photography and fine art, frequently taking photos at Juniper’s track meets.

The two are so different that it gives me a drive to keep going.

It wasn’t until my mid-thirties that my own career took off and I really realized what I wanted to do in this life. I was more established, had a support system, and most importantly, I loved myself more. I gave myself permission to do what I love, and that made all the difference.

Sometimes we’re all in such a rush to get to our destination that we refuse to remember that there are stops along the way.

My second favorite thing, though, are the crystals lining the house. Emmett decided to fully embrace them and has his own collection.

Another knock comes from the door, and Isla walks through with Leo and their little one, Blue. Champ runs in after, the hair on her snout turning more and more gray.

“Where’s the baby!” Isla immediately asks, looking around.

I smile. “She’s down for a nap. She’ll probably be awake any second now though with how loud the guys are talking.”

I flip a couple of pancakes, laying them out on a plate. “How’s she doing?”

“She’s alright. You know how babies are,” I say smiling at Blue.

Isla and I got pregnant around the same exact time, and we had our babies only days apart.

Not only are Juniper and Elara growing up together, but Charlotte and Blue will too.

We picked out our baby names together as we sipped mocktails at Lulu’s.

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