Page 24 of Endless Depths

He nods, and sits down beside me, face determined.

“One… Two… Three…”

He yells into his pillow, and I make the loudest, funniest bellow I can muster, until he bursts into uncontrollable laughter.

“That was pretty good, but I think we can be even louder.”

This time, we both scream into our pillows until I run out of breath. Finn falls onto his side, laughing.

“Are you sure Uncle’s not coming?” Finn asks a few rounds later.

“He’d be here if he could.”

“Do you miss Uncle?” Finn asks.

“Yeah, Finny, I do.”

Tears fill my vision. I return my pillow to the bed and straighten the covers, trying to collect myself, then sit down at the edge of the bed and bury my face in my hands.

A small hand touches my forearm. “I know it’s hard to wait, but don’t worry. He’ll come home someday.”

Loss changes you. Some kids regress. Other kids grow up too fast. That was me. I don’t want that for him. I force my head up, reminding myself that showing my grief won’t harm him, and is far more beneficial than conditioning him to hide his feelings the way my uncle did.

“Thank you.” I rub his back. “Your daddy would be so proud of you.”

“Can you read me the seahorse book?”

“You got it.” Seb used to read it to him, and he requests it whenever he misses him.

After I finish, Finn says, “I think I want to try my cake now.”

EIGHT

Morgan

The living room is empty.The guys wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye to Finn, would they? We round the corner to the kitchen and?—

“Uncle Cole!” Finn slingshots across the room.

My heart clenches with fear and relief and pain too entangled to label.

“Finn!” Cole picks him up and swings him around before putting him down. “Happy birthday!”

Cole is effortlessly handsome, sandy hair tousled like he ran his hands through it on the way here, dressed in navy joggers and my blackBriar Anteroshoodie. Did he forget it belongs to me? Why would he wear it to see me?

“Uncle Mor said you were fishing.”

“Yeah. Sorry I was late.” Cole glances at me, and away. “Orcas kept stealing the cod from our traps.”

Finn’s eyebrows inch up. “They did?”

“Yup. Ask Uncle Mor.”

I stifle my annoyance and have no choice but to corroborate his claims. It’s one thing to tell Finn that Cole is fishing to preserve his feelings, but adding orcas into the story feels like we’re tricking him, even though there’s a grain of truth to Cole’sclaims. Some fishermen say that a gang of renegade orcas keeps stealing their catch, but it sounds like an excuse for not meeting quota before the deadline to me.

“What’s that?” Finn cranes his neck and peers around Cole to a dinosaur gift bag on the table that bears a striking resemblance to the one Javi’s gift arrived in.

“What’s what?” Cole leans to the side, blocking the bag from view.