Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 111860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
Kaison had graduated from just such a medical school that afternoon. He still had many years of study in front of him . . . a residency, his licensing exam . . . but he was so proud and excited to be one step closer to being an integral part of a trauma-treatment team that was based on the work of what had once been known as Project Bluebird.
He heard the front door open down the hall and footsteps heading toward where he now stood, at the large kitchen window. He turned and smiled when his father entered the room.
“I thought I’d find you here.”
Kaison wasn’t surprised to see his dad. His parents had a knack for knowing what he and his sister were going to do before they’d even decided themselves. It made him feel known—loved—but it’d also made it frustratingly difficult to get away with anything when he was younger. “I wanted to say goodbye to these rooms.”
His father smiled, coming to stand next to him. “Me too. I’m going to miss this place. But . . . the new location is pretty darn sweet.”
“Yes, it is.” They’d recently secured a facility forty minutes outside the city that was on an acre of land. This home had served its purpose beautifully, but it was time to expand. The new property would have walking paths and benches and plenty of space to park the vehicles used to transport newly recovered patients to the beach, or the woods, or any of the places Jermain Finchem had believed were healing to the soul. Jermain, sadly, had passed away ten years before, but his son still worked with the aftercare team and created a safe place for youth in the TL. The new facility would have a whole wing devoted to the arts and a garden three times the size of the one here at the house. It was going to be wonderful, but Kaison knew a part of his heart would remain here, where he’d first witnessed so many miracles.
“Your mom told me she was pregnant with you right here at this window,” his dad said.
Kaison smiled. “And you freaked.” His dad had told him that he’d intended to stop the DeMarce genes from continuing on. The story didn’t bother him, not only because his dad had clearly been unsuccessful in his mission but because he’d felt his father’s unconditional love all his life. Not a day had gone by where he didn’t feel wanted. He had not a doubt in his mind that his father cherished him and his sister beyond words.
“Freaked.” His dad chuckled. “In a word, yes. It knocked me sideways.” He paused, a small smile on his face as though the memory was a sweet one now. “I ran out of here and got in my car and—probably unadvisedly—started driving.”
Kaison looked over at him. “I didn’t know that part. You left Mom just . . . standing here?”
He clenched one eye closed in a mock grimace. “I did.”
“Where’d you go?”
“I ended up in Muir Woods.”
“Ah.” Of course he had. His father loved that area. So did he. He’d gone there a few times over the years as well, when he needed the solace of those sentient trees, their unseen energy infusing his cells with a certain harmony that he had no clear way to define but knew was as real as the rough bark on their massive trunks he could see with his eyes and touch with his fingers. Maybe it was in the genes. Or maybe it was that his parents had taught him where to look for magic.
His dad set his hand on his shoulder. “I stood there, staring up at those trees, and then I just started to laugh.”
Kaison raised a brow. “So you lost it?”
“I laughed with awe.” He shook his head even as his smile grew. “I’d vowed I’d never be a father. I’d promised not to allow the DeMarce name to continue, or to let my grandfather’s blood flow through a new generation. I’d vowed and promised and planned.”
“And yet . . . here I am,” Kaison said.
His dad grinned, squeezed his shoulder, and then dropped his hand. “Yes, here you are. You and your sister. Both a reminder that something greater than me is at work. A reminder that it’s okay to surrender. That’s what I felt that day, standing there in the mist with the knowledge that all my fearful plans had crumbled and you were on your way, despite me.”
He took in his dad’s profile. God, he was so lucky to have parents like the ones he had. He loved them, but even more, he admired the hell out of them. He wanted to live his life as they had—risking and fighting for others who had no way to fight for themselves. What else was life about, if not that?