Prologue
Henry
I slump into Aunt Melanie’s kitchen chair wearing a comfortable pair of jeans and a black T-shirt. The coffee mug in my hand is warm, but I feel cold. Aunt Melanie pours herself a cup and slides into the seat across from me.
She eyes me over the rim as she takes a sip. “You look like a man who didn’t sleep.”
“I didn’t,” I admit. “My head’s been in overdrive.”
She nods like she’s been expecting this.
I run a hand through my hair. “I told her to go.”
Aunt Mel raises her eyebrows. “Her?”
“Tabitha.” Her name feels heavy in my mouth. “I… Well, that’s a lie.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I didn’t tell her to go. I just left.”
“Back up,” Aunt Melanie says. “Yesterday you were tied up in knots about your birth mother, and today…”
“I’m tied up in knots about Tabitha Haynes.”
She cocks her head. “Tabitha?”
“Yeah.” I sigh. “I’m feeling something I’ve never felt before.”
“Yet you’re saying you pushed her away.”
“I had to.” I set the mug down too hard, and coffee sloshes over the side. “I haven’t dealt with everything. With what happened that night. What I did.”
She doesn’t flinch. “You protected your sister.”
“I killed a man, Aunt Mel.” I meet her gaze. “No matter how justified it was, it doesn’t just wash off. It’s still on me. Every damned day.”
She takes a breath and sets her mug down. “Trauma doesn’t make you unlovable, Henry. Nor does it make you unable to love. It makes you human.”
I shake my head. “She deserves someone better. Someone whole.”
Aunt Melanie leans forward, eyes sharp but kind. “No one is whole. Not really. And no one who’s worth loving expects you to be.”
I look away, jaw tight. “I didn’t treat her the way she deserved to be treated. She was starting to see the cracks.”
“Good.” Her voice is gentle but firm. “Love isn’t about showing someone your mask. It’s about letting them see behind it.”
I’m quiet for a moment, staring at the table.
“I really think I may love her,” I whisper.
Aunt Melanie touches my hand. “Then go after her.”
I blink.
“You’ve been through hell,” she says. “But don’t make the mistake of thinking you have to come out the other side alone. Love doesn’t wait around forever. And it damned sure doesn’t knock twice.”
I swallow hard.
