Rhys finds himself embroiled in a conflict over heritage, deceit, and blood following the funeral of the only guy who has ever fully seen him. As secrets are revealed and loyalties are tested, he discovers that family isn’t always defined by who shares your DNA… it’s who shows up when everyone else goes missing.

The day we buried my grandfather, the sky felt as if it had grabbed the weight of my chest and stretched it over the clouds, tight, gray, and cracked.

I stood motionless next to his casket, as individuals I hardly knew exchanged prepared condolences and tight-lipped nods. They caressed my shoulder as if it would break, as if they were testing how sadness felt on someone who had never truly belonged to anyone other than the man in the wooden box.

Grandpa Ezra had been more than just a grandfather.

He was my pal… my safe haven. And he was the only true adult to look me in the eyes when I spoke.

My mother, Lenora, was usually too preoccupied to hear me, alternating between charity activities and her always ringing phone. My father drowned himself in bourbon years ago, before his liver eventually failed.

I’d never said it out, but a part of me had always felt off… like I didn’t quite fit the mold of the man I was told was my father.

My sister, Marianne, had spent our entire childhood nurturing the kind of silent resentment that grew in the shadows and poisoned everything it touched.

But what about my grandfather? He loved me. He simply did it, without feeling obligated or guilty.

After the service, the air seemed odd, like if it no longer belonged to me. It clung to my suit like smoke, full of old hymns and unsaid tension. People went in groups, whispering condolences and sipping from white paper cups filled with unpleasant church coffee that had long since cooled.

They exchanged sorrowful smiles and stiff handshakes, but none of them reached me. My thoughts were still at the graveside, with my fingertips stroking the cool edge of the casket, attempting to recall the texture of goodbye.

That was when I sensed my mother, Lenora, behind me.

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