Page 457 of The Tempted

I call the baby Pea.

The first time I took my time with her.

Lauren.

Yeah.

Just making sure you’re real.

When I realized I had dreams and they were all of Kitten.

Don’t look at me like that.

Like what?

Like I’m a dream.

Starting to wonder if you are.

The last words she said to me.

Choose Pea

I watched as Kitten and Pea were wheeled away from me and into an operating room that was waiting for them, one last memory burned into my brain and to my heart.

A doctor introduced himself to me, but I couldn’t tell you his name if my life depended on it. Nor could I tell you everything he said as I heard every other word.

She lost a lot of blood.

Too much.

Your wife is going into shock.

Your baby is in distress.

Emergency C-section.

Remove the bullets and stop the bleeding.

All the dreams turned to nightmares.

The dream of Lauren.

The dream of Pea.

The dream of us.

It all hung in limbo along with their lives.

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