Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 73963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
“Maybe,” he says with a nod. “But you know who I know is going to be an awesome dad? Max.”
“Yeah.” I nod, thinking about the man who’s gone above and beyond to make sure that Alex and I are safe, taken care of, and loved. “Yeah, he’s going to be a great father. If the mountain doesn’t kill him.”
“The mountain didn’t kill me,” he stresses. “I did that myself by being dumb. And today, Max was just standing at the bottom of a run, minding his own business. Some stupid tourist who didn’t know what they were doing ran smack into him, knocking him out cold.”
“You saw that?”
“I see a lot.”
I stare at him, mortified that he might see Max and me when we—
“No,” he says with a laugh. “I don’t see that.”
“Well, thank goodness. Am I going to see you again?”
“Someday,” he replies and leans over to kiss my cheek. “But not for a long time. Go enjoy your life, Wills. Marry Max, have more babies. Just don’t forget me.”
“Never.”
Chapter Twenty
~Max~
“I WANT YOU TO be happy.”
I’m standing in a living room, watching Cary and Willa have a conversation. She’s sitting in his lap, which I don’t like at all. Cary turns and glances at me for a moment, then looks back at Willa. She asks him who’s there, but he brushes it off, and they continue their conversation.
They’re talking about me.
I try to speak, but they can’t hear me. Or Cary’s ignoring me.
Finally, Cary kisses her cheek, and she disappears into thin air. Cary stands, walking to me.
“This was our living room.”
“That’s where I recognize it from,” I say.
“I guess you heard that. It was all my fault, man. All of it. But the way it all went down, well, it’s held Willa back from being able to live guilt-free. To heal from the grief.”
“And now?”
“She’s going to be okay,” he says with a smile. “The skiing still scares her.”
“I’m not the biggest fan now either.”
He laughs but shakes his head. “You’ll get back up there. That’s how it works, remember?”
He’s echoing the words I said to Alex that day on the sledding hill.
“He loves you,” he says, his face sobering.
“I love him, too. Both of them. Cary, I asked Willa to marry me.”
His face lights up in a bright smile.
“Good for you. You got the girl, after all.”
“It was never a game for me,” I remind him.
“I know that. I guess my sense of humor isn’t as good in the afterlife. You’ve been having some monster dreams, man. You need to let go of all the guilt and anger. You didn’t kill me. You love Willa and Alex, and they love you back. Enjoy them.”
“Thank you. For your blessing. I know it means a lot to Willa, and it means the world to me.”
“I love you. All of you. Take care of them for me, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“All I ask is that you don’t let Alex forget about me. Tell him about me. Max, you knew me better than anyone. Share that with him.”
“I promise.”
He reaches out to shake my hand, and I pull him in for a fierce hug.
“I’m going to leave you be,” he says. “No more dreams. I’ll see you later. Much later. But you might see little hints that I’m around from time to time.”
“Good. Because I’ll miss you, man.”
He nods and smiles. “Go. Willa needs you.”
My head is fucking killing me. I feel like I got hit by a freight train.
Someone’s holding my hand. I open my eyes to find Willa next to me, but she’s sitting, not lying in our bed. I’m in a hospital room.
The last thing I remember was skiing, and now…I’m here?
Shit.
Willa opens her eyes and immediately looks up at me. “You’re awake?”
“Hey.” My head is going to split open. “Whisper, okay? Head hurts.”
“I’m sorry.” Her eyes fill with tears. “Max, I dreamed about him. About Cary.”
“I did, too.”
She frowns. “Was he looking at you?”
“Yes.”
“I couldn’t see you.”
“I know. But I could see you, and I could hear you, too.”
She swallows and kisses my hand. “He said goodbye, and he asked me to be happy. To live my life, with you, and enjoy it.”
I want to hold her so fucking badly, so I find the bed control and raise my head more, then pat the bed next to me. “Come here.”
She readily complies, gingerly sitting next to me where she can still look at me.
“After you left, he said the same to me,” I say and reach up to brush a piece of hair off her cheek. “He gave us his blessing, Wills.”
“Yeah.”
“He just asked that we don’t let Alex forget him.”
“We won’t,” she promises. “I have a confession.”
“Okay.”
“I almost left. Today, after the accident. I almost ran away from you because the thought of losing you tore me up inside.”
“If you left, I’d follow you and find you.”