Susan watches the men as they worked outside in the cold. She felt sorry for them. She goes to work ordering the hay, and the feed the animals needed. Her belly has gotten bigger and she feels more tired than usual. The bear was lying near her desk as she worked on the paperwork.

Her parents had finally left for their trip she and Carol Ann had given them for Christmas. Her left wrist was hurting her. It still bothers her when the weather changes. Her doctor had said she was making great progress both physically and mentally.

Dark places still bother her some and she always carried a mag light with her. When she goes out at night around the ranch. She carries pepper spray and an asp baton with her. She knows no one will attack her on the ranch, but she feels safer having some sort of weapon with her. The damage done to her leg has healed, but she needs to use a cane when she walks.

Her childhood friend Kelly, who lives in Texas. She was pregnant with her second child. She misses her friend a lot. They grew up together and learned how to ride horses at the same ranch. Kelly was the closest person; besides Carol Ann who she considers as a sister.

Susan winces when she feels one of the twins kick her kidney. She had two months left before she was supposed to give birth. She was ready right now to have the kids drop out of her. She had an emotional roller-coaster about having the kids. They came into the world because of a violent event, but she couldn’t blame them for that.

The rest of the day goes by smoothly and by the time it was quitting time. She was ready to go and have dinner with her sister. Carol Ann was home and working on her homework.

“Hey, sis. What would you like for dinner tonight?” Susan was thinking about making stew tomorrow.

Carol Ann looks up form her books when she hears her sister’s voice.

“How about we toss a pizza in the oven?” Carol Ann knew they could either make a homemade pizza or open a few of the frozen ones.

“Pizza sounds fine.” Susan grabs a large supreme pizza out of the freezer and put it in the oven. Before puts it in the oven to cook, she adds a
little more to it.

While the pizza was cooking. Susan makes a chef salad for her and Carol Ann. Susan watches as Carol Ann does her homework while waiting for the pizza. After a few minutes, she hears the timer she set for the pizza go off. She pulls the pizza out and let it cool, before cutting it into slices. She sets it on the table between her and Carol Ann. She looks down at Bear who was watching her. She had filled his food bowl up.

“You have food.”

He just sits there and watches her, and Carol Ann eat. Both give him the crust off their slices. Neither one of them could resist Bear and he knew it. After dinner, Susan cleans the dishes and kitchen. She heads into the living room and works on the quilt she has been making for the twins.

She heads to bed after checking Carol Ann’s homework and answers a few texts her adopted parents sent her. They also sent a few pictures of their vocation. Her parents were enjoying the place.

Susan was happy that her parents were enjoying themselves. She heads into her bathroom and fills the tub up. She enjoyed just laying back and soaking. She looks at the scars from where they had to open her arm up to operate on it.

Bear lays down in the bathroom on the rug and waits for Susan to get out of the tub. Susan just smiles at her little-mixed mutt. He’s been enjoyment to have around her and can’t wait to see how he takes to the babies. She closes her eyes and enjoys the warmth of the hot water. She feels the baby kick again.

“Boy, you tykes are active today.” Susan couldn’t believe how active the babies were.

Most days, they weren’t so active, but today they were. She wonders if they were going to be born prematurely. She soaks for awhile and when the water starts getting cold. She raises off and gets out of the tub. She slips her favorite nightgown on and heads towards her bedroom.
She brushes her hair and crawls into bed. She grabs the book she’s been reading and for the next few hours, she reads.

Susan slowly falls asleep reading her novel. She closes her book and turns the lights off. Jake had put a nightlight in her bedroom, so she felt safer. She still had some nightmares of the night she was rape, but not as frequent as she uses too. She pulls Bear up to her and holds him while she slept.