“When she got sick enough to need someone there, Tiny, Wynnie, or Alice would help out. But during the last few months, Tiny’s brother Axel was diagnosed with lung cancer, and he and his family were back and forth from Maryland. Axel died a month before my mom. But they were there during the last few hellish weeks. Tiny, Wynnie, and Alice hovered near the end. My mom was taking so much medication, she slept most of the time. She wasn’t eating. I was afraid to fall asleep, afraid she’d be dead when I woke up. I’d carry her into the hobbit room to see the paintings and sit with her in the rocking chair. She was too weak to move, but she’d manage a smile and then conk out. Eventually we moved her bed in there.” He lowered his eyes, shaking his head. “One night after a fight, I forgot my phone and wallet, and when I went back to get them, I found Doug balls-deep in my girlfriend on the side of the building.”

“That’s awful. You trusted them and your mom was dying.” No wonder he tried so hard not to let anyone in. “I hope you beat him up and gave her hell.”

He shook his head. “They weren’t worth it. I grabbed my things and got out of there. Alice called on my way home and said my mom had taken a turn for the worse.” Tears glistened in his eyes, bringing tears to Tracey’s. “I ran faster than I’d ever run in my life, blew through the front door.”

Tears spilled down Tracey’s cheeks.

“It wasn’t like you see in the movies, with last words and all that shit. She was delirious, and it was like she was fighting death. I climbed into bed beside her and held her, told her it was okay to let go. I don’t know how long it took, but she fought with everything she had, and then…” His jaw tightened. “At least she died in her elfin-magic room, surrounded by her favorite things.”

His glassy eyes drew tears from hers. “I think you were her favorite thing.”

He nodded and pulled her into an embrace. “I miss her every minute of the day.”

She missed her mom, too, but she would never compare her ache to his pain. She didn’t know if her mother was alive or dead, but she knew one thing for sure. Diesel never would have chosen a woman over his mother and walked out on her the way she had. “Thank you for telling me about her. Now I know where you learned to be such a good man.”

He drew back with a perplexed expression. “I fought illegally, and as soon as I buried my mother, I climbed on my bike and took off. That’s not a good man.”