Page 64 of Unearthed Dreams

KAI

A monthafter Billy’s death, his affairs were nearly settled. The cardboard box of ashes now rested in a proper urn on a shelf behind the bar, waiting for the day I figured out where Billy would have wanted to be scattered. The bar had fallen into a rhythm again—though quieter now, more subdued, like the whole town was still processing the loss.

Hank’s law office smelled like leather and old paper, the kind of place that hadn’t changed in fifty years and probably never would. His secretary showed me to his office, where he sat behind a massive oak desk that had probably been there since before I was born.

“Kai.” Hank stood, extending his hand. “Thank you for coming.”

I shook it, noting how his grip was firm but careful—like he was handling something fragile.Great. More fucking pity.

“Let’s get this over with,” I said, dropping into one of the chairs facing his desk.

Hank’s mouth twitched, but he didn’t comment on my tone.Instead, he pulled a thick manila envelope from his drawer. “Most of this is standard paperwork—the bar is already in your name. But...” He hesitated, then pulled out a sealed envelope. “Billy left this for you. Asked me to give it to you after...”

My throat went tight as I recognized Billy’s messy scrawl across the front:Kai.

“He wrote this before Pineview,” Hank continued. “When his mind was still clear.”

The envelope felt heavy in my hands, weighed down with words I wasn’t sure I was ready to read. But Hank was watching me with that careful expression again, so I tore it open, unfolding the pages inside.

Kai,

If you’re reading this, I’m either dead or so far gone I might as well be. Figured I should write this while I still can. While I still remember who you are and why I’m giving you my life’s work.

The bar was everything to me once. Before all the mistakes I made. It was the one thing I did right. And watching you bring it back to life made me proud in a way I never expected.

You’re the son I always wanted but never had. I know that might be hard to hear, given everything with Kelsey. But it’s true. You’ve got a good heart, Kai. Even when life’s done its best to harden it.

I need you to forgive yourself for Kelsey. For not being able to save her. God knows I’ve spent years trying to forgive myself for not being there whenshe needed a father. But sometimes people can’t be saved. Sometimes they don’t want to be.

Build a life here in Sable Point. A real one. One you can be proud of. The bar is yours—has been since the day you walked in. But now I’m asking you to make it yours in the ways that matter. Put down roots. Let people in.

I’ve watched you these past months, keeping everyone at arm’s length. And I get it. Believe me, I do. But don’t let my daughter’s ghosts keep you from living.

You deserve good things, son. Even if you don’t believe it yet.

-Billy

The paper crinkled in my grip as something hot and tight wrapped around my chest. Across the desk, Hank busied himself on his computer, giving me a moment to pull myself together.

I carefully folded the letter, sliding it back into its envelope. “Was there anything else?”

“Nope, that’s it.”

I stood, tucking the letter into my back pocket. As I walked out of Hank’s office into the bright summer day, Billy’s words echoed in my head:You deserve good things, son. Even if you don’t believe it yet.

Maybe it was time to start believing.

I’d just lockedthe front door when the back one creaked open.

Charlie slipped inside like a shadow, backpack slung over one shoulder, wearing those tiny sleep shorts and one of my t-shirts she’d stolen. My heart did that thing it always did when I saw her—like it was trying to break free of my chest just to get closer to her.

“Hey, pretty girl.”

She smiled—that soft, private smile that only came out in moments like this, when it was just us in the quiet of my bar. “Hey yourself.”

Eleven PM on a Tuesday. Like clockwork. Every night since Billy died, she’d been here, curling herself into my life like she belonged. And fuck if I didn’t want her to belong.

“Your parents asleep?” I asked, even though I knew the answer. We had this routine down to a science now.