“I wasn’t here,” I choke out. “He always said I was late for everything, and now—fuck, I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”
She presses a hand to my jaw, anchoring me. “Reid.”
My name in her voice is soft and warm and grounding.
“You’re here now.”
“I should’ve called more.”
“You called every week.”
“I should’ve told him—fuck.” My hands curl into fists at my sides. “I should’ve told him how much he meant to me. One more time, just once more.”
Carina doesn’t correct me.
She steps closer, brushing her thumb along the edge of my cheekbone. “Did you know,” she says gently, “that the last sense to go is hearing?”
I blink through the sting.
She hums with a nod. “He might not be conscious, and he might not be able to move. But his brain—somewhere inside it—might still register sound. It’s one of the last things the body lets go of.”
I look back at Harry. Look at the shape of him beneath the sheets. The slope of his shoulder, the curve of his wrist. The wisps of gray hair combed back neatly, probably by Carina.
She takes my hand and strokes it softly.
“If you want to,” she murmurs, “you could talk to him now. Let that be the last thing he hears. His favorite grandson, right here, telling stupid jokes and talking shit.”
My throat tightens. “You think he’d want that?”
“I think he’d expect nothing less.”
Something inside me cracks.
I nod once, then step forward on shaking legs, pulling the chair closer, and sit down beside the bed. Dragging it close enough that my knee touches the frame, I take his hand in mine, coarse and cold, and I hold on like it’ll anchor me.
“Hey, old man,” I whisper, my voice already breaking. “I made it. Took my sweet time, huh? You always said I’d be late to my own funeral—guess the joke’s on you this time.”
My chest trembles, but I suck in a breath.
“Storm’s undefeated so far, and the home opener’s next week. I know you were planning to yell at the refs from your recliner again, so I’ll have to do it for you.”
I laugh once.
It’s not a laugh at all.
“I won’t do it as well as you… You always saved the real venom for the third period.”
I pause, studying the grooves in his face. The deep lines at the corners of his eyes that only deepened each time he laughed. He looks peaceful, like he’s just resting his eyes for a minute.
“Hey… when you see Delly,” I murmur, voice dropping, “tell her I finally fixed the loose step on the treehouse.”
My throat tightens.
“Tell her I’m sorry it took me so long to bring someone home, but I think she’ll like her. She bosses everyone around, and she doesn’t let me get away with shit… And you already know she’s the love of my life, because you guessed it months ago.”
Behind me, I feel Carina shift. Hear the quiet hitch of her breath. I don’t turn around, but I know she’s crying now. Holding herself together for me the way she always does.
“Tell her she’s pregnant,” I add quietly. “And we’re having a baby girl.”
