Page 172

“She had a lot to say.”

“Addy always had a lot to say.”

I smile.

“Some were only a paragraph. Some were ten pages. Some were addressed to me at different ages.”

“What do you mean?”

I close my eyes and remember the labels.

“For Sage when she's thirteen and hates everyone.”

Arthur laughs.

“Did you?”

“Yes.”

“Good letter?”

“Very.”

“Another?”

“For Sage when a boy breaks her heart.”

Nobody laughs this time.

Greg.

I look down.

“I didn't read that one until after Greg.”

Will's jaw tightens.

“What did Addy say?”

“That any man who made me feel small so he could feel important wasn't a man I needed.”

Arthur nods.

“I like Addy.”

“So do I,” Taylor says.

My throat aches.

“There was one called For Sage when you think nobody loves you.”

I can't look at them now.

“What did it say?” Arthur asks softly.

I stare at the flour on my hands.

“It said I was wrong.”