Page 44 of Remember Me

Finn’s face brightens as he takes a whiff. “This smells so good!” He wastes no time digging in. I watch as he twirls the long strands around his fork, my eyes traveling from his tattooed biceps to his contoured forearms. Then to those magnificent fingers. He puts the bundle of noodles to his lips, slurping it up with gusto, and then gulps it down.

“Wow, this is good. It reminds me of a dish my late wife made.” A wistful pause and then he licks a bit of the tomato sauce off his upper lip. A little gesture that sends my libido into a tailspin.

“Thanks for heating some up for me.”

“Sure,” I mutter as he scoops up another forkful.

“How did Maddie do with her lessons today?”

My heart swells with pride and joy. “Oh, Finn, just wonderfully. She amazes me. So much passion. She’s an incredible reader and learner. Far more advanced than I thought.”

A melancholy smile crosses his lips. “She takes after her mother.”

My heart slams against my chest.I. Am. Her. Mother. The words crawl up my throat and burn on my lips. I want to blurt them out, but instead, I bite my tongue and change the subject.

“How was your dinner with Kayla?” God, I hate saying her name, even more knowing what I know about her.

He languidly twirls another batch of spaghetti around his fork, knitting his brows together in deep thought. He ingests the forkful, swallows, and responds with two monotone syllables.

“O-kay.”

The gloom etched on his face says it all.

“I wish she took more interest in Maddie.”

Suddenly, the monitor on the counter sounds.

A frightening combination of intense coughing and harsh breathing fills the air.

“Daddy,” rasps a little voice in between the wheezing.

Finn drops his fork. “Holy Jesus! Maddie’s having an asthma attack.”

My heart leaps into my throat as I jump off my seat and follow him upstairs to her room, each of us taking two steps at a time.

My baby!

Not stopping, we cross the threshold of Maddie’s room and find her sitting halfway up in bed.

“Daddy,” she chokes out, “I can’t breathe.” She can barely get the words out. Her incessant wheezing frightens me, but I force myself to stay calm. I sit down next to her on the bed and do what any mother would do. I hug and comfort her while Finn frantically retrieves her inhaler.

I mask my alarm as she keeps gasping for air, her narrow shoulders heaving with each desperate breath. Her eyes are watering and she can barely talk.

“Scarlet, it hurts so much.”

Her strained words sever me. My heart is cracking. “Sweetie, it’s going to be okay.”

More wheezing. I can only pray I’m right as Finn hurries to her bedside with the inhaler in his hand. He puts it to Maddie’s gaping mouth.

“Breathe in, baby!” His voice is urgent, bordering on despair.

I watch asourlittle girl inhales and exhales several times, but she’s still wheezing. In fact, it’s getting worse. Panic grips me like a tentacle.

“Oh my God, Finn. Her lips are turning blue.”

“Jesus.”

What’s more each time she breathes in, her chest concaves. Tears are streaming down her cheeks.

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