Eli nodded. “She was killed less than two weeks ago in a head-on collision.”
“Oof.” He gave his chest a punch. “That’s…wow. I hear a lot of tragic stories, but with a newborn? He’s actually handling it remarkably well.”
Eli nodded. “Most of the time, but Atlas’s grandparents have threatened to try and take the baby, although we haven’t heard anything from them. And while he’s got all of us to help him, he’s supposed to be starting an intensive program at a local college.”
The frown on Dusty’s face deepened, showing some creases…and plenty of empathy.
“Hey, I don’t want to overstep, so tell me to shut up and go home, but…” He put his hands in the pockets of his khaki shorts and settled his gaze on Eli. “Could I talk to him? As you know,I’m a therapist, but grief is kind of my specialty. I don’t want to push, but maybe I could help.”
Eli considered that, then nodded. “That would mean a lot and, honestly, as his father? I feel like I should have the words. Nothing prepares you for this.”
He put a hand on Eli’s shoulder and gave a warm look. “You’re doing amazing, my friend.”
Tessa watched the exchange, vaguely aware of pressure on her chest. How kind he was, and how…cool. He had something—emotional intelligence, she presumed—that was sorely lacking in most men. Most men in her life to this point, anyway.
Just then, he turned to her, almost as if he sensed her gaze on him. He started to say something, but caught himself.
“I’ll be downstairs,” he said, giving a nod as he walked out.
She watched him go, utterly caught off guard by…something.
Vivien leaned in and inhaled softly, sliding Tessa a look that said she knew exactly what that something was. Attraction.
“Shut up,” Tessa whispered as Kate and Eli started talking to each other.
“I’m just sayin’…”
Tessa smiled, but then it faded.
“He has ghosts,” she whispered, meaning his late wife. But maybe those ghosts went back further than that. She didn’t know, but she wanted to.
An hour later,conversation was hushed on the deck, though some laughter had resumed when Meredith returned from the beach with baby Atlas snuggled into sleep again. Everyone had started to relax, but Tessa’s mind kept wandering down to the first floor.
Dusty had been with Jonah for an hour.
Finally, she shared a look with Eli, who tipped his head and gave a questioning glance.
“I’ll go check,” she said, pushing up. “I invited him and he’s my responsibility.”
Eli smiled and nodded, obviously grateful.
She padded down the stairs to the lower level and paused without popping around the wall that hid her. She could hear them talking in Jonah’s bedroom, so the door must be open.
Just as she was about to clear her throat and make her presence known, she heard Jonah laugh quietly, the sound melting her heart.
“I get that,” he said. “But…” The smile left his voice. “It’s that sledgehammer feeling again. Some mornings I wake up and I don’t remember she’s gone. Just for a split second. And then—boom. It knocks the snot out of me, and I feel like I can’t breathe for the rest of the day.”
“That’s the thing about grief,” Dusty replied. “It doesn’t walk through the front door—it crashes through the ceiling. And it doesn’t ask for permission.”
Tessa hesitated, one hand on the banister. She should go back upstairs. This wasn’t her moment to eavesdrop. But something about Dusty’s voice—so gentle, so knowing, so strong and steady—rooted her to the step.
“It’s not like I expected this,” Jonah continued, quieter. “I mean, no one does. But Carly was strong. Like… mountain-climber strong. She knew if she kicked me out—and that wasn’t easy—that I’d finally get my act together, and I did. Yes, everyone in this house helped me, including my dad and Kate, but it was Carly who forced me. And when I came back, she believed in me. She was my whole world.”
“And now you have Atlas,” Dusty reminded him. “To Atlas, you arehiswhole world.”
“I know, man. And I can’t…I have to…” He swore under his breath.
“You can and you will, son,” Dusty said softly.
