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“It looks so sunny there” Lily did pout, however

“It is, baby girls” I turned the phone so they could see the ocean

“A, it’s so pretty”

I turned the camera back around “I miss you”

“Nana made chocolate chip muffins,” Jan said in answer

Meaning they weren’tme so much

Nate snorted beside ed hi skills were pretty legendary

“Right, girls, time for judo” Sylvie appeared on the screen and waved at us “Sorry, darlings, but I’ve got to get them to their judo class”

“Of course”

We said our good-byes and a thousand love yous and got off the phone I pouted like my eleven-year-old “I miss them”

Nate grinned “Me too But it’s only been a day”

“I know”

We settled back on our loungers and I’d just picked up the book I was reading when Nate said, “Would you rather be able to see into your own future or the future of everyone you love?”

I placed h the dark lenses ofattoward him “What made you think of that one?”

“I’estured to the book

“Ah Well, okay then I guess I choose my own future”

“Why?”

“Because if there’s so bad in my own future, I could handle that Not the future of the people I love For instance, I couldn’t handle knohen you were going to die That would be a living nightmare”

Nate immediately flipped onto his back and picked up at his book

He didn’t say another word

Or tell me his choice

At his cold abruptness, I was quietly stunned for a ot annoyed “What the hell just happened?”

“Nothing”

“Oh, so happened” I sat up “What happened?”

“It was a stupid question Morbid answers and all that” He tried to wave it off, but I wasn’t for it

“My answer disturbed you for some reason”

“It didn’t” He put his book down and got up off the lounger I sat, stunned, as he pressed a kiss tointo the water for a swim”

I watched hi, healthy, and fit toward the ocean My eyes lingered over the tourists, wondering if any of the wolasses, and knowing they probably were

I got up, tying h to walk around in just my bikini, and I wandered down the beach toward the water to watch hian to swim

Thinking over my answer to our usually fun Would You Rather questions, I could only assu I hadn’t been lying either I would rather knohen I was going to leave this earth than knohen Nate would The idea of losing hiht Life was too short

But did Nate linger on the thought of death?

Peetie’s passing had left an indelible mark on my husband, and I wished like hell he would just talk to s

I waited for hi to talk about this as soon as he eet the chance Nate swam back until he could touch his feet to shore andhi all over his tanned skin My ht there and then It momentarily distracted me from my purpose, and thenat me with those damn dimples

He grabbed the knot onand pulled it loose

“What are you doing?” I tried to stop hi off me before I could resist