My throat tightens. "I'm sorry, Linda."
She pats my arm. "He's on the back porch. I'll bring you both some lemonade."
Robert sits in a wicker chair overlooking the backyard, a blanket across his lap despite the warm afternoon. He looks frailer than last time I saw him. His skin has a gray, paper-thin quality that makes him seem almost translucent.
"Jack." His voice is rough but his smile is genuine. "Didn't expect to see you today."
"Thought you might be up for some company." I settle into the chair beside him and hand him the crossword book. "Brought reinforcements."
He laughs, the sound turning into a cough that racks his thin frame. I reach out instinctively, steadying him until the fit passes.
"You know me too well," he says when he can breathe again.
We sit in comfortable silence for a moment. Birds chirp in the oak tree. The afternoon sun filters through the leaves, dappling the porch in golden light.
"How's school?" Robert asks, opening the crossword book with trembling fingers.
"Good. Busy. The usual chaos."
"And the new English teacher? Mia settling in okay?"
My stomach clenches at her name. I can still smell her perfume on my skin. Still feel the ghost of her body against mine. "She's doing well. The students like her."
Robert's expression softens with unmistakable pride. "I'm glad she came home. Even if it took me dying to make it happen." Hepauses, his gaze distant. "I was too hard on her when she first came back. Said things I shouldn't have."
"You were hurt," I say carefully. "She left without explanation."
"Still." He shakes his head slowly. "Life's too short to hold grudges. I want to reconcile with her before I die, Jack. Really reconcile. I want her to know I love her. That I'm proud of her. That whatever happened ten years ago doesn't matter anymore."
The guilt gnaws at my insides like acid. If he knew what happened ten years ago, if he knew what's happening now, he wouldn't be so forgiving. He'd hate me. He'd be right to hate me.
"That's good," I manage. "She wants that too."
"You've always been a good friend to this family." Robert reaches over and squeezes my shoulder with surprising strength. "I'm grateful for that. For you looking out for Mia at school. Keeping an eye on her for me."
The words are a knife to the gut. If he only knew how I've been looking at her. What I've been doing with her. How I watched Blake and Noah touch her last night while arousal burned through my veins instead of the jealousy I should have felt.
I force myself to nod. To smile. "That's what friends do."
We spend the next hour working on crossword puzzles and discussing old times. Robert tells stories about fires he fought, close calls he survived. I laugh in the right places and contribute my own memories. All while shame burns through me like wildfire.
"I mean it, Jack." Robert's voice grows more serious. "When I'm gone, I need to know someone's looking after my girls. Linda and Mia. You're the closest thing to family we have here."
My hands clench on the arms of the chair. He's asking me to protect them. To be their guardian. And all I can think about is how Mia looked last night, naked and wanting between three men. How her body responded to our touch. How right it felt to claim her together.
"I'll always be here for them," I say. Another lie. Another betrayal.
When I finally leave, Robert walks me to the door despite Linda's protests. Each step seems to cost him.
"Come back soon," he says, gripping my hand in both of his. His palms are cold and dry. "I don't know how many good days I have left."
"I will."
He pulls me into a brief hug. "You're a good man, Jack. The best friend I could ask for."
I get in my car, put the keys in the ignition, and then just sit there. The weight of his words crushes down on me.You're a good man.If he only knew.
I should tell him. Should confess everything and face the consequences. But the thought of destroying our friendship, of adding more pain to his final months, makes me sick.
