#Chapter 74: Calm Before the Storm

Elijah Thea’s laughter rang out through the house as she darted behind the couch. Her stuffed bear, newly dubbed Mr. Snuggles, was clutched tightly in one hand. For my part, I had been tasked with “the hunt”—her words, not mine—and despite the sharp ache in my knees from crawling around on the floor for the better part of twenty minutes by now, I was enjoying myself more than I would have liked to admit. It wasn’t often that I had a chance to spend the evening with my daughter, just the two of us. And it was nights like this that I felt as if I could actually let down my guard. “Mr. Snuggles won’t save you forever, Thea,” I growled, doing my best impression of a wolf on the prowl. My fingers flexed toward her as I reached around the edge of the couch, but Thea giggled and bolted away just before I could snag her. “You’re only delaying the inevitable.” “You’ll never catch me!” she taunted, her little legs carrying her across the living room with surprising speed.