Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 24983 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24983 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
“Daddy! You gotsta see what Mommy and me founded at da store,” she cried after I unbuckled her from her car seat and helped her out of the SUV.
Silas was doing one of my favorite things, chopping wood without a shirt. His bare muscles gleamed with sweat as he buried the blade in the stump he used to prop up the logs he was cutting. Then he crouched low to catch Clover as she threw herself at him.
“What did you find, sunshine?” He settled her on his waist and strode toward the back of the vehicle, where I had stored our shopping bags. I didn’t even bother trying to take them out because I knew better. If he was around—which was basically anytime except when he was working—then he did all the grunt work, as he liked to call it.
“Our Hawoween costumes!” she shrieked, bouncing in his arms.
After what had happened to him so many years ago, Silas hadn’t been a fan of Halloween. He became a little fonder of the holiday since we’d met so close to it, but his outlook completely changed last week when Clover declared it was her absolute favorite day of the year. My gorgeous husband was determined to go all-out to celebrate the holiday with our daughter, including all three of us dressing up in themed costumes.
“You did?” I pressed my lips together at the worried glance he shot me before focusing on Clover again.
She jerked her head up and down in an excited nod. “Uh-huh.”
He peered in the back of the SUV and murmured, “I can’t wait to see what you and Mommy picked out.”
I beamed a grin at him and bumped my hip against his. “Good, because I promised her that we could try them on when we got home.”
“Then I guess we’d better get these bags inside, huh?” He chuckled and shook his head as he reached into the SUV with his free hand to grab our shopping bags.
“Yippee,” Clover cried, clapping her hands. As soon as we were through the door, she squirmed in his hold. “Gotta go potty.”
He set her down, and she scampered toward the bathroom in the addition we’d built about a year after she was born. We’d definitely needed the extra space once she started toddling around, but neither of us had wanted to leave the home we loved so much. Making the cabin bigger had been the perfect solution. Clover loved her bedroom and playroom…and since she was on the opposite side of us, we didn’t need to worry as much about waking her up when we had sex.
Speaking of…Silas dropped the shopping bags on the kitchen table and yanked me against his chest for a passionate kiss that left me wishing our four-year-old still took naps. By the time he lifted his head again, Clover was racing toward us and chanting, “Kiss, kiss, kiss.”
Our daughter was used to seeing her parents show our love for each other and usually wanted a hug or kiss whenever we gave each other one. Silas lifted her small body between us, and we smacked our lips against her cheeks.
“There you go, sunshine.”
As soon as her feet hit the floor, she went up on tiptoes to reach for the bag with our costumes. “Ready to show Daddy our super-awesome costume idea?”
“Yes!” she shrieked.
“And are you ready to see what you’re going to wear to trick or treat in Screaming Woods, Daddy?” I asked with a grin.
Although he had no idea what was in store for him, he didn’t hesitate to say, “Yup.”
I pulled all three costumes out of the bag at the same time and spread them out on the table. His eyes widened as he looked down at them. Tapping each package in order, I declared, “You’re the socket, I’m the plug, and Clover is the light bulb.”
Clover pointed at her chest. “'Cause I’m your sunshine.”
“You definitely light up our world,” he agreed.
She nodded. “Like sunshine.”
He grinned down at her as he brushed a lock of her pale blond hair away from her forehead. “Exactly.”
His easy acceptance of a family costume that was a play on the electricity coursing through his veins proved that his days of defining himself by it were long gone. Now he was just Silas Adler, beloved husband and father.