Our room is at the end of the hall.
I push open the door and let her walk in first.
She stops just inside the doorway, her hand coming up to cover her mouth.
Tildie outdid herself.
The new curtains are a soft blue, the bed made up with fresh white sheets and a thick comforter.
The rocking chair sits in the corner by the window, a hand-knitted blanket draped over the back.
And on the dresser, carefully arranged, are all the things Vanna left behind—photos, jewelry, a worn copy of her favorite book.
"You kept everything," she whispers.
"I told you I did."
"I know, but—" Her voice breaks. "I thought you'd throw it all away. I thought you'd give up on me."
I close the door behind us and cross the room to stand behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist.
"Never," I say against her hair. "I could never give up on you, Van. You want to know why?"
She turns in my arms, looking up at me with wet eyes. "Why?"
This is the moment.
The one I've been avoiding for twenty-two years.
The secret I've never told anyone, not even Ruger.
But she deserves to know.
She deserves to understand why I am the way I am.
"Sit down," I say. "I need to tell you something."
We settle on the edge of the bed, her hand in mine.
I stare at our intertwined fingers for a long moment, trying to find the words. "You know my parents died in a fire when I was a kid."
She nods. "You were nine. You and Leah survived."
"Yeah." I swallow hard. "What I never told you—what I never told anyone—is how we survived."
She waits, patient, giving me space.
"The fire started in the middle of the night. I woke up to smoke, couldn't breathe, couldn't see. I managed to get out of my room, and I found Leah in the hallway. She was four years old, crying, terrified. I grabbed her and headed for the stairs."
The memories are coming now, unbidden.
The heat.
The roar of the flames.
The way the smoke burned my lungs.
"My parents' room was on the other side of the house and up the stairs. I could hear my mom screaming for us, hear my dad trying to get to us. But the fire was between us. The whole hallway was engulfed." I close my eyes. "I had a choice, Van. I could try to get to them, or I could get Leah out. I couldn't do both."
