Page 39 of A Very Grumpy Sheriff

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Then a sleepy cry drifts down the hallway.Our son.

Suri immediately turns toward the stairs.

“I’ve got him,” I tell her.

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

I lean down and kiss her forehead, the same way I have every day for the last five years, the same way I plan to for the rest of my life.

Ella grabs my hand as I start toward the stairs.“Daddy?”

“Yeah?”

She points to the letters.“Which one is your favorite?”

I stop, and my gaze drifts over the stack to the first envelope.The beginning of everything.

I smile.“The first one.”

“Why?”

Because it gave me hope.

Because it gave me her.

Because every good thing in my life started with that letter.

I look across the room at my wife, and she smiles back.Just like always, the sight of her steals my breath.

“Because,” I tell my daughter softly, “it brought me your mommy.”

And that was the best thing that ever happened to me.

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