“It’s not your fault,” Nick cut in, his voice tight. “Still just… hits too close sometimes.”
Tyler and I exchanged a look. One we hadn’t shared in years, but it still translated.Remember when we almost lost him? Yeah. Me too.
Emma leaned closer to me, whispering, “Nick was the one who used to drink, right?”
“Yeah,” I whispered back, “he got clean a couple years ago. But we all remember.”
Sean cleared his throat, trying to shake off the tension. “Anyway, she’s… She’s still unconscious but stable now. I just… I don’t know.”
“You’ve been visiting her room,” Tyler smirked. “Haven’t you?”
Sean narrowed his eyes. “I check on all my patients.”
“Is she the patient you told me that you brought a book for?”
“She looked like she liked to read.”
“Dude, she isunconscious.”
The entire table cracked up, and even Nick managed a quiet chuckle. Emma couldn’t stop smiling. We were insane, but wewere good. This kind of love, the unconditional, poke-fun-at-you-because-we-care love, was rare.
I leaned back toward Sean. “Seriously though… you okay?”
Sean stared down at his plate. “I don’t know. It just… it feels different. I know I shouldn’t care. It’s not professional. But she’s young. Not much older than Emma. And something about it… I don’t know.”
“You’ve always had a soft spot,” I offered, trying to sound teasing, but his pain was clear.
“She reminds me that life can shift in a second,” Sean muttered. “And I can’t fix it.”
“None of us can,” Tyler added, reaching for the potatoes. “But it doesn’t mean we stop trying.”
I squeezed Emma’s hand under the table. She looked over at him, silently asking if he was okay too.
He nodded, and all of us dropped it, not wanting to bring down dinner more than we already had.
* * *
Later, while the family fell into a rhythm of beer, laughter, and board games, I found myself out on the porch with Tyler and Sean, watching the sky fade into red and purple. Ava and Emma got along just as much as I knew they would, and seeing them together had stirred something inside me. Seeing the way she handled my family and accepted all of us. Loud, chaotic, but loving. And she fit right in.
“Thanks for being here,” Sean said quietly, then grinned. “And for distracting Mom from asking me why I’m still single.”
“I got you.” I smirked.
Tyler sipped his beer. “Emma’s good for you.”
“I know.”
“You told her about Clair?”
“I did.” I looked down at my feet. “I even let her read the letter.”
Both brothers were silent, letting that truth settle.
Sean clapped me on the shoulder. “Proud of you, man.”
I nodded. “I never knew how tired I was from running.”
“And now you’re not,” Tyler said. “You’re right where you’re supposed to be.”
