Page 33 of When to Call a Blitz

But caring about someone that deeply scares the shit out of me.

We walk in silence and as we get to the house, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and I can see Juniper looking out the front window. She knows we went for a walk, and I have faith that she’s held the house down for the few minutes she was up.

Instead of going in through the front door, I open the garage, checking on things like I tend to in the mornings.

“Holy crap,” Heidi whispers behind me.

“She’s pretty isn’t she?” I ask with a smile.

Heidi grins at me, her teeth biting down on her bottom lip as she looks around the room with curiosity. “I feel like I don’t know you at all.”

I lean back against my work bench, burying my hands in my shorts. “I feel like that has always been the point.”

“Why?”

I shrug, my jaw ticking. “When you let people in, you have more to lose. I feel like you out of anyone understands that too.”

She nods grimly. “Yeah, I do.”

She walks along the car, her finger trailing over the black paint. “Is this your distraction?” she asks, looking over her shoulder at me. I watch her eyes search mine for a moment.

I don’t think before I answer. “For now.”

Because if my heart had its way, I’m looking at my new one.

17

HEIDI

It’s Friday, and all I can think about is the weekend. Cake Sunday is calling my name, and I’m feeling absolutely wiped after running almost every single day this week.

Emmett was with me every step of the way, and although the other days were easier than that second one, they still sucked major ass.

Juniper is dropped off at school, and I can’t wait to get back to the house and do some cleaning so that she and Emmett are set for the weekend.

I start with the bathrooms, wiping down the toilets and sinks, and scrubbing the shower, followed by a deep clean of Juniper’s room and the kitchen.

By the afternoon, I move on to the family room. I’m putting away toys and clothes thrown on the couch haphazardly when I see it. A box sitting under the TV.

And I know I shouldn’t open it. I know it deep down in my bones. I shouldn’t be involved in whatever it is.

But as they say, curiosity killed the cat.

It only takes me a second to convince myself that I literally will not sleep until I uncover whatever it is before I’m crossingthe room, sitting carefully in front of the entertainment center, and slowly pulling the box out.

I set it gingerly on the floor in front of me, and after counting to three, I open the lid.

And I find pictures. So many photos. Beautiful ones.

Wedding photos.

Birthdays.

Photos from the day Juniper was born.

A whole life.

The blonde smiling back at me is stunning. The most gorgeous, infectious smile I’ve ever seen, her blue eyes shine through the dull sheen of photos that haven’t seen the light of day in years.

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