Late that evening, after all the official work was finished, Eric listened to the rain against the operations center window.

He could still hear Ashley’s small voice saying that her daddy had promised thirty minutes.

He hoped that someday the memory of the call would no longer be the first thing she remembered when it rained.

PART 20

By early winter Andrew had regained much of his strength.

His headaches had lessened, and he had begun a gradual return to work with adjusted duties.

He was still attending appointments and still learning to accept that recovery could be uneven.