The Switch (25 page)
Authors: Heather Justesen
Tia breezed into the fire station on a Thursday afternoon in late June. The past several days had been rainy, so she enjoyed the beautiful weather—sunny and bright. Tristi and Samantha were both still in daycare, and she’d have to pick them up soon, but wanted to take a moment to chat with Danny without them around.
Lisa and her mom had made it to the wedding a few weeks back, and both seemed to be doing well. Glena was home again, as bright-eyed and positive as ever, but she would never walk alone, or drive a car again. Tia had stopped by to visit her a few days earlier. Their relationship would never return to what it once was, but Tia didn’t have the heart to punish them both by wasting the few years Glena had left.
She found Danny mopping out the back of an ambulance. “Hey, there, stranger. Could you give me a lift?”
He looked up, grinning, then set down the mop handle and jumped from the back of the rig. “Why, do you need me to check your pulse?” He pulled her close and kissed her. “You still seem to be breathing,” he said when he pulled away.
She laughed at the corny line, but threaded her arms around his neck. “I’ve been breathing for so long now that I don’t even have to think about it anymore.”
He chuckled. “That’s a relief. You know I’m always happy to see you, Mrs. Tullis, but is there a particular reason you’re here this fine afternoon?” He often called her that, as if reveling in the fact that she was his.
The new name always thrilled her a bit, so she grinned. “Well,
Mr. Tullis
, I thought you might like to know that I got the results back on those tests.”
His grin widened even more, though Tia hadn’t thought it possible. “Negative?”
“I do not have enough copies of the gene to cause Huntington’s disease,” she confirmed. She felt light today, filled with hope for the kind of future she’d always dreamed of. With Danny.
He sent out a hoot of happiness and spun them both around. “That’s terrific news, and it leaves me with just one question.”
“What’s that?”
He lowered his head and spoke low so he wouldn’t be overheard. “How soon do you think we could start trying for another little girl?”
The Ball’s in Her Court
Rebound
Blank Slate
Family by Design
Homecoming
Shear Luck
Along no Longer
He doesn’t Belong
Holding On
POD Like a Pro: An Author’s Guide to Typesetting
and Formatting a book for print
As always, there are a host of people who helped me make this book a reality. A big thanks to my many critiquers who helped me catch problems with my story and build it into something better: Tristi Pinkston, Nichole Giles, Keith Fisher, Shirley Westenskow, Tammy Hansen, Delise Perkins, Mindy Holt and Annette Lyon.
Any shortcomings that remain in this story are purely my own.
And a big thanks to my husband, Bill, who is always in my corner, always my biggest supporter and willing to step in for Web design, punctuation and grammar questions, and puts up with my insane schedule. I love you sweetie!
Heather Justesen earned a BA in English Literature from Southern Utah University, where she met her husband, Bill. She worked in newspaper for several years, and they spent two years as foster parents. They now live in the little town where she grew up in Central Utah, run on their local ambulance as Advanced EMTs and raise a cat, two dogs, and a whole slew of chickens, geese, ducks, guineas, and a tom turkey, which is very vain. When she can squeeze in the time, she gardens and loves to bake. She also writes serial stories for
BigWorldNetwork.com
available in ebook and audio formats.
You can learn more about Heather on her blog:
http://heatherjustesen.blogspot.com/
Or her website:
http://www.heatherjustesen.com/
Or contact her via email at
[email protected]