Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Everyone else sat silently, absorbing the little piece of Zeke that they’d never seen.
A thousand memories bombarded me, but I thought I kept it together pretty well. I loved seeing Zeke and Charlie together in the photos. It reminded me briefly how well and how deeply my brother had been loved. Plus, I just missed my brother-in-law. For all his faults, he’d been genuinely good and kind and funny.
I knew I was reaching the end of the photos when a picture popped up on the big screen of Charlie and Zeke cuddling on the couch in the last hotel room we’d stayed in together.
“This was in Belgium,” I explained. “A day or two before Zeke left. It was late, and we’d just finished way too much dessert from room service. I think Charlie was complaining that he’d eaten too much and Zeke was babying him, even though we’d both told him that he was going to make himself sick.”
“It was so good,” Charlie mumbled, making the family around us chuckle.
I stared at the photo. Zeke was sitting on the couch, and Charlie was lying next to him, with his legs thrown over Zeke’s thighs. One of his feet dangled off the edge of the couch, but the other was held in Zeke’s right hand. He’d been rubbing Charlie’s feet.
Zeke was in profile, his head tipped down toward Charlie’s. My brother had one arm curled under his head to prop it up so he could see his mate. The other was lying loosely across his belly.
Completely wrapped up in each other.
I pressed the button to go to the next photo, but all that was there was a black screen.
“Oh, I must’ve taken a photo of my finger or something—” I started to explain.
I jumped in surprise when the screen suddenly changed, and Zeke’s face was staring back at me.
Charlie rose to his feet with a sob.
“Hey, baby,” Zeke said, his eyes bright. “I’m not sure when you’re seeing this. Hopefully, you’re not, and I was able to come home to you and delete it from Lucy’s camera before she ever noticed it.”
I put a trembling hand to my mouth.
He was there. He was looking right at us. No, he was looking at Charlie.
“I didn’t want to make this video. I put it off as long as I could, but now it’s almost time for me to go, and I didn’t want to leave without making sure you had it.” Zeke looked down and ran his hand through his hair. The gesture was so Zeke that I heard more than one person’s breath catch.
“Maybe we should go,” I whispered, gripping Ambrose’s thigh.
“Stay,” Charlie ordered, not looking away from the screen.
“All right, before I lose my nerve,” Zeke said with a choked laugh. “I want you to know how much I love you. You’re everything I ever hoped for, Charlie. Everything I could ever imagine. My perfect counterpart in every way. Even if this is all the time we had—and I really hope it wasn’t—you gave my life meaning that I didn’t even know was possible. I—” Zeke stopped and cleared his throat with a self-deprecating smile. “I think you are impossibly wonderful, Charles Franklin. If I could disappear with you to a deserted island and live happily ever after, I’d do it in a heartbeat. We’d take Lucy, of course, because we both know she’d go crazy without you.”
Clasping my hand over my mouth, I forced myself not to make a sound.
“Speaking of Lucy,” Zeke said, pressing his lips together for a moment. “She needs you, Charlie. I know that if you’re seeing this, I’m probably gone. But I need you to stay, baby, okay?” Zeke paused and swiped his hand under his nose. He didn’t bother with the tears on his cheeks. “I know it’ll be hard, and I can’t even imagine the pain you must be in. I’m so sorry, love. Please know how much I love you. Please know that someday, far from now, I’ll be waiting for you on the other side. Okay? But for now, I need you to stay—and this is important—I need you and Lucy to find my brothers. Find Ambrose. They’ll keep you safe when I can’t.”
Ambrose’s hand tightened on my hand as Zeke smiled mischievously.
His grin faltered, and he let out a sigh, glancing over his shoulder.
“I can’t drag this out forever, can I?”
“Please,” Charlie whispered.
“I love you so much, Charlie.”
Zeke’s hand reached up to cover his mouth as his body jerked in a silent sob. He pressed his eyes tightly closed for a long moment.
When he opened them, he dropped his hand and clenched his jaw.
“When you see my brothers, tell them that the stars are clear and the questions are answered. Only the unadulterated are guilty. If they don’t know what it means right away, hopefully they’ll figure it out.” His lips quirked. “And if they don’t, it’ll be a way for me to piss Chance off indefinitely.”