He left after saying goodbye to Dad and giving me another glare as he walked out the door.

I leaned back against the doorframe to the living room and watched quietly as Dad settled in, his breathing easier now that he wasn’t moving as much.

Was this really as good as it was going to get for him? How could such a beast of a man lose himself to his own mind?

“Hey, Dad, I have to go up to the mine.”

“The mine? I know that place better than anyone.” He turned his head to reply, looking over the side of the blue recliner he loved.

“Yeah, I know, Dad. I’m getting it ready to reopen for tours, remember?”

His forehead puckered. “Right. That’s right. Dangerous place, that mine. You should take me with you. Just in case you get lost. Hate for anything to happen to you or that Bradley girl.”

The pressure was back in my chest. He knew. In this moment, he knew what was really happening. He was really here.

“We’ll be okay,” I promised him. “I won’t let anything happen to Willow.”

“I know you won’t. That girl is wild about you. You know that, right? Everyone knows. It’s all they talk about in town.” He gave me a soft smile, and that pressure eased to something light and sweet.

“And that’s okay with you?” My keys dug into my palm. Relax. His opinion has never mattered to you before. Except it always had.

“Of course. You two have been inseparable since you were kids. Figured it would come full circle one of these days. Now, be careful up there. Those train cars will still function on the rails, but you know those tracks stop dead past that first ventilation shaft.”

“Yeah, I have your old maps. Don’t worry.”

“Okay. Have fun. Love you, Sullivan.” He gave me another one of those soft smiles and turned back to the television.

There was a two-ton brick on my chest. There had to be, because the air wouldn’t come and it fucking hurt. I blinked furiously at the prickling pain in my eyes and laid my head back on the doorframe.

My first breath came in a gasp, filling my lungs but leaving the pain. That was all mine.

“Love you, too, Dad,” I responded, because it was what he’d expect.

Because it was the truth.

I walked down the hallway and tapped Sully’s picture on the wall. “That one was for you, too.”

My phone rang as I climbed into the Jeep, and Willow’s name flashed across the screen. I started the engine on the second ring.

On the third, I told myself every single reason I shouldn’t pick it up.

On the fourth, I did.

“Hey.”

“Hey, yourself. What are you up to?” I could practically see her smile as her voice filled my car, coming through the speakers.