He and I… We had a plan, and when he died…” He looked up at Linc. “I shouldn’t have tried to force you to take his place. That wasn’t fair to you.”
“No one could replace him,” Linc said softly.
“No, and I only compounded the tragedy by forcing you into an impossible position. I’m sorry for that and for keeping you from the others.” He gave himself a minute to breathe. “I was just so damned angry for years after Hunter died, and by the time I snapped out of it… Well, the damage had certainly been done.” He took a labored deep breath and looked up at Linc. “I wouldn’t dare ask you to forgive me, but I hope, maybe, as a father yourself that you can understand what losing him did to me.”
“I can’t imagine losing a child, and I hope I never find out what that’s like. I do forgive you, Father. It was a very long time ago, and I’ve moved on.”
“That’s generous of you. I hope you and the others can…”
“Already done.” Lincoln looked across the bed at Charlotte. “We’ll never be out of touch with each other again. I promise you that.”
“That gives me peace, Linc. You’ve given me peace by coming all this way to see me.” Carlton raised his hand.
Linc took his father’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
“Tell me more about your life in Vermont.”
For the next hour, Lincoln and Molly told him about the run-down barn they’d renovated into a showplace, about the store that had been at the center of their lives and the town moose named Fred, who was such a big part of the Butler, Vermont, community.
Carlton laughed at the story of Fred strolling through the tent at Will and Cameron’s wedding and then coming “home” with baby Dex.
“He’s basically living in Hannah and Nolan’s house,” Molly said.
“She has an actual moose living in her house?”
“You’d have to know Hannah to fully understand why that’s not even surprising,” Linc said. “Her husband, Nolan, is a saint.”
Carlton’s eyes filled again. “I’m so sorry I don’t know her. That I won’t know her or the others. Tell me more about each of them.”
Once again, Lincoln went through the list of his kids, filling his dad in on things about them that a grandparent would normally know by heart—awards, degrees, sports played and victories achieved. “Will was a champion-level skier. We thought he might make the Olympic team until he blew out his knee and ended his career. He went through a tough time after that, redefining himself, but he’s bounced back and has found a wonderful life with Cameron and baby Chase.”
Carlton hung on Lincoln’s every word until a coughing fit seemed to deplete the last of his strength.
“Rest,” Char said, patting their father’s shoulder.
“Thank you, Lincoln,” Carlton said without opening his eyes. “And Molly. Thank you both for coming and for bringing your beautiful family.”
Lincoln leaned over and kissed his father’s forehead. “Rest easy, Father.”
Blinking back tears, he followed Char and Molly from the room. For a full minute, they only stood together, each of them seeming to process what’d just transpired. And then Charlotte broke the silence. “You truly gave him peace just now, Lincoln. Even if he didn’t deserve it—”
“Everyone deserves peace in their final hours. I’m glad I was able to do that for him and that I could reconnect with you, Max and Will. That’s what matters now. Where we go from here.”
She nodded. “Yes, all we have is right now, and I want you back in my life. I want to know your children and have you know mine.”
Linc stepped forward to hug his sister. “We’ll make that happen.”
A shout from downstairs had them breaking apart and heading for the stairs.
Colton was on his way up. “Ella’s water broke.”
Sarah Stillman Guthrie was born in Philadelphia at three o’clock the next morning. Her exhausted grandparents and great-grandfather were on hand to help her elated parents welcome her into the world.
Elmer cried when he heard the baby’s name. “Thank you for honoring my Sarah this way, sweetheart,” he said as he kissed his granddaughter’s forehead.
“She was one of my favorite people in the whole world,” Ella said.
“Mine, too,” Elmer said.
Gavin called his parents at home in Butler to share the happy news with them.
Leaving the new family to rest, Linc, Molly and Elmer took an Uber back to the hotel, where the others were spending a second, unexpected night.
“What a day—or two days, I should say—this