Page 26 of Endless Depths

Cole arches a quizzical brow at me.

“Oh, I thought that was Uncle trying to sing,” Shay says.

“Uncle Mor doesn’t soundthatbad,” Finn says with a laugh, and drags Cole toward the door. “Come on, Uncle.”

By the time I grab Finn’s jacket and catch up, he’s halfway across the soggy grass, totally oblivious to the drizzle.

“Yelling at pillows, huh?” Cole asks.

“Just a little anger management. You should try it sometime, Sunshine.”

“You gonna help me out? I remember you always did a pretty decent job of making me scream into the pillow.”

For a minute, I forget where I am, I forget that my heart is broken, thatwe’rebroken. I open my mouth to promise I’ll make sure that happens tonight when the baseball hits me in the nuts, and I double over.

Cole winces. “Ouch.” He rubs my shoulder like he’s trying to erase Shay’s touch, settling the subtle scent of vanilla and vetiver cologne around my shoulders like a blanket. The pleasure of his hand on me almost makes up for the ache in my gut.

“Sorry, Uncle Mor,” Finn calls.

“Great throw, Finn.” Cole turns to me. “Better keep your head in the game, Uncle Mor.” He tosses the ball back to Finn, who catches it with ease.

“Holy shit! He caught it!” Cole cheers as enthusiastically as when the Seahawks won the Super Bowl. “You’re a natural, Finn!”

He takes Finn’s jacket and runs it out to him, then stays on Finn’s side of the lawn for the rest of the evening, giving him pointers, cheering him on, and heckling me. He even pitches the ball to me a few times with enough bite that my palm stings, the closest to holding his hand my sorry ass has had in months.

We play until the drizzle turns to rain and puddles form on the lawn.

“Why do you walk like that?” Finn asks Cole as we climb the back porch steps.

“Oh, um…” Cole looks to me.

I understand. It’s hard to know how to answer when topics might stray to Seb.

“Some injuries, like broken bones, take a long time to heal,” I say.

“Or they don’t heal at all.” Cole sits down on the bench and unties the laces of his mineral blue shoes. Raindrops glitter on the tips of his hair. “The doc says I’ll probably always walk this way, but that’s okay.”

“Does it hurt?” Finn asks.

“A little.”

“I’m sorry,” Finn says.

Cole grimaces, and his shoulders tense. “Not your fault, Finny.”

“Do you have any scars?”

“Finnegan,” I chide.

“Nah, it’s okay. I have a ton. Wanna see?”

Finn nods.

Cole stands and lifts his shirt, baring the scar down the center of his abs from the emergency surgery that stopped his internal bleeding.

“Cool!” Finn says.

Cole laughs. “Right? This one’s pretty cool too.” He points out the diagonal scar over his hip. “The doctor fixed this side with a bunch of metal, so I’m basically a Transformer now.” He winks.