Chapter 47

“You won’t have to take him home,” she said.

Seb frowned. “Of course, I do. You heard the doc.”

“I did. So did his father. He showed up just as we got to the bridge.”

Seb murmured thanks, but Levi barely heard it. Pap was here already? He’d hoped for more time before facing his family, time to feel less like a mouse who’d just been in a fight with a very mean cat. He wanted to pretend with Seb a little while longer, steal the minutes they’d been granted so he’d have them to replay later, after, when the memories were all he had.

But it was too late for wishes formed of fantasies. He might be able to coax Seb into trying to stall, but Pap would barrel his way past whatever got in his way. Though Seb could take it, Levi refused to make him.

Taking a deep breath, he began to push himself to his feet, but sitting up and standing were two entirely different matters. Seb appeared at his side, just as before, acting as a brace the rest of the way.