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“Hey, Mom,” Owen calls, his fingers moving through his sweaty hair. “Some of the guys are heading to Colton’s. Is it cool if I go, too?”

“Oh.” Faye nibbles her lip. “I don’t see why not.”

His smile stretches wider. “We’re planning on going to a movie later, if that’s okay?”

“Sure.” Faye nods, then she pats her pockets. “Damn, I don’t have any money on me, bud.” Her head begins to swivel, looking for her parents. “Let me ask…”

I pull my wallet from my pocket and hand Owen forty. He takes it with a grin and a, “Sweet, thanks.”

“Have fun,” I call as he jogs back to his friends.

Faye’s eyes lift to mine, honey brown and sticky enough to trap me there forever. “You didn’t have to do that.” She slides her hands into the back pockets of her jeans as she rocks in her sneakers. “But thank you.”

“Welcome.”

Mabel asks prettily, “Can we go to a movie, too?”

Faye visibly winces. “I don’t know, kiddo.”

“Pleaaaase.” She presses her palms together and blinks hopefully up at her mother. Then, suspecting she’s not getting anywhere, she turns those green eyes to me. “Please, Uncle Holt.”

Ah, damn.

I don’t know how Tate denied her.

I crouch down low. “It’s beautiful outside. Why don’t I hit up the grocery store, grab some steaks and grill them on the barbecue?”

“You’re going to come over?” she asks, considering.

“If that’s okay with your mom.” I look up at Faye who looks a mix of uncertain and hopeful. I cock my head and she sighs, nodding. Mabel sees it and squeals as she claps.

Then she tells me, “I don’t want steaks.”

“What do you want, princess?”

“Hot dogs!” she exclaims loudly. Then she leans in close to whisper, “But not like mommy cooks them. I want them like daddy makes them.”

The fact she speaks in the present tense about her father nearly stops my heart right there. Then she turns her eyes on Faye and asks, “Mommy, is Daddy coming home soon?”

Behind Faye, with a handful of bottled water, Doug and Candace stop dead in their tracks. Faye’s eyes shutter closed as she inhales sharp and quick through her nose. Then, softly, she says, “No, baby. Remember, he’s in Heaven.”

“I want to go to Heaven!” Mabel stomps her foot, her face growing red.

People around us are starting to stare, sympathy bright in their eyes. Faye looks like she wants to crumble into pieces right here right now.

As for me, I feel like I’ve taken buckshot to the heart. The pain is everywhere.

Because I’m still kneeling down on one knee, I pull Mabel onto the one I’ve got propped up as a stool. Her green eyes are watery with frustration and her feet swing back and forth as she folds her arms in a defensive pout.

I pull in breath and tell her, “Heaven is really far away, princess.”

“We can take a plane.”

Christ. “It’s a special place. A magical place. It’s kind of like a club, you see.”

Interest alights in her eyes. “A magic club?”

I nod. “The most magical of clubs. But you see, the only way we can get in, is by living the best life we can live. You know how your daddy was the best daddy? How he loved you so much? How he’d wake up with you in the night and look at the stars?”