“I’m the best grandfather on the planet. He’ll have to be second,” Dean spoke up as he kept playing on the Xbox.

Seriously? Did the man not realize this conversation was important?

“Fuck off, asshole,” Kiro grumbled.

“Just setting him straight,” Dean replied.

A hint of a smile touched Kiro’s lips. “I want to make Emily proud. She loves Lila Kate. She brightens up whenever Harlow brings her to visit. If she could, she’d be the fucking best grandmother there ever was.”

“I won’t argue with you on that one. Emily was special,” Dean said.

“Is special,” Kiro snapped. “She is fucking special.”

Dean tossed down the remote control and turned to look at Kiro. “She is special, Kiro. But we both know she’s not the same. The Emily who left the day of the accident didn’t return the same. She’s been locked in that body, unable to function, for twenty-three years. You’ve held on to her longer than any doctor believed possible. To want to keep her here like that is selfish, man. I miss her, too. She made you a better man. That man was lost twenty-three years ago, too. The boy is right. You can’t save her. But you can damn well make her proud of you. Don’t you want her to be thankful that she had a life with you? Of course you do! You would do anything for that woman. Do this for her. Fucking do this. For. Her.”

I didn’t need to say more. Dean had said it all. Perfectly. He’d lived in a world where my father had loved a woman and been happy. He knew things I didn’t. Seeing Kiro through Dean’s eyes was enlightening.

“She’d want me to be strong. She’d expect it,” Kiro said, staring at the floor in front of him.

Neither of us said a thing. We let him take it all in. Dean had stood up from his spot on the sofa, and we looked at each other over Kiro’s bent head. We both wanted our message to get through to him.

“I want there to be a heaven. I want it for her. She should be dancing and laughing. She has the best laugh. I want there to be a place where she can have all that. Tell me that when this life ends, it’s not over, that she has a new life ahead of her, full of all she was robbed of in this one.”

I swallowed through the emotion constricting my throat. God, I never wanted to go through this. Kiro had been an asshole most of my life, but no one deserved to deal with pain this intense.

Dean walked over and threw his arm over Kiro’s shoulder. “There’s a heaven, man. There has to be a heaven for angels. And Emily was an angel. She was yours. It ain’t over after this life.”

Kiro closed his eyes and nodded. “You’re right. My angel will be OK. She’ll dance again.”

Dean glanced over at me and nodded. Kiro was going to make it. He had a hard road still ahead, but he was now focused on making Emily proud of him. That was the only thing that could shake him out of this. He never wanted to let her down.

Reese

I was tucked into bed and holding my phone in my hand, waiting for Mase to call, when it finally rang and the image of his cowboy boots showed up on my screen.

“Hey,” I said, sitting up, excited to hear his voice. When he got home, I was going to tell him about my picnic with Henry and Captain; it would be too hard to explain over the phone.

“Hey, baby. I’m heading home in the morning. I spent the day with Kiro. We had a breakthrough this afternoon once he finally got out of bed, but he’s so volatile. I decided to stay and make sure he was good. I miss you.”

“I miss you, too. I’m glad things are better with him. Was it hard?” I wished more than once today that I could be there with him.

“It wasn’t easy, but I think I understand him better now. He’ll never be my dad. I have one of those. But I felt something today I’ve never felt for the man before. Compassion.”

Mase was a compassionate man. I couldn’t imagine how awful his father had to have been to not get any compassion from his own son. I knew he hadn’t spent much time around him growing up, but still. “Then the trip helped you, too,” I said.

“Yeah, I think it did,” he agreed. “But I want to be home with you.”

“I want that, too.”

“Are things OK there? The job still good?”

“Yes. The job is great, and I’ve been fine here. I ate dinner with your parents tonight.”

“Good. I love you, and before you say you love me more, that’s not possible.”

Smiling, I tucked the covers under my chin. “I don’t think so.”

He chuckled. “I’ll be on a plane first thing in the morning. Expect a lunch guest.”

A sick knot settled in my stomach, reminding me of my other lunch guest who always popped up. I would have to tell Mase about all that when he got home. I wanted to keep my job, but I also didn’t want Mase in the dark about anything.

“I’ll look forward to it,” I told him. “Love you.”

Once we hung up, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, wondering if Mase would react badly to Captain showing up at my office regularly with lunch. He hadn’t done anything wrong, really, but would I be OK with a woman bringing Mase lunch and eating with him? No. The answer was no way. I’d be jealous.

I had to tell Mase. There was no question.

By ten in the morning, I was getting anxious. I was ready to see Mase. It had only been a few days, but every time the office door opened, my heart sped up. Then Piper would be there, and I’d smile and pretend I wasn’t completely disappointed. He had said he’d be back by lunch.