Junior remembered the elation of hanging out with his big brother, and what fun they’d had—Hunt telling ghost stories while he and Ray huddled on either side of him eating their hot dogs and sharing that one bottle of root beer because it was all Hunt had the money to buy.

The hurt of knowing what they’d done to Hunt after all the love he’d given them was killing Junior. He wished to God he would just hurry up and die, because most days he was so sad it hurt to breathe.

The sun was sitting on the tree line now. If he squinted just right, it almost looked like it was floating on a sea of green loblolly pines. The breeze finally laid, and the last rays of sunlight were melting like butter on the glass-smooth surface of the lake.

He heard the sound of cars driving up back in the parking area and hoped they didn’t come his way. The sound of voices carried in the stillness, but they were just murmurs. Even though they were coming closer, he still couldn’t hear the words.

He kept watching the curve on the path, and when he saw Ray and then Birdie, he sighed. He should have known Ray would panic. But then he saw Hunt and Ava.

“Dammit, Ray, what did you do?” he mumbled, and started crying.

And in that moment, Hunt saw him as the little brother he’d been. The gentle one. The quiet one. Whatever the hell he’d done that changed him, it hurt Hunt to know how broken he’d become.

He walked up to Junior and put his arms around him.

And that’s what Emma saw when she came running up the path. “Junior! Junior! What did you say?” she cried.

Ray turned, frowning. “He didn’t say anything, Emma. He’s crying. That’s all.”

Emma’s legs were shaking. She was so relieved that she dropped down onto the rock where Junior had been sitting and stared at all of them, wondering what fresh hell was going to happen next.

But none of them were prepared for Birdie’s ultimatum.

“I’ve been waiting for the right moment to get us all together but never imagined it would be like this,” she said.

Hunt still had his arm around Junior’s shoulder as they turned to face her, but then he reached for Ava and pulled her close. “What’s going on, Birdie?”

“Do you remember Elliot Graham?” she asked.

Hunt frowned. “Yes. I used to mow his yard. What does he have to do with us?”