"Do I?" Elisha said, and he couldn't help it, there was that irritating dry skepticism on his face, even as he edged the chair closer to the bed. "Why, because I laugh and joke and smile? You do the same thing." And clearly that didn't mean a damn thing. "I'm not happy without you, Hadyn." He might be - he was - frustrated with Hadyn sometimes but, God, he was frustrated with everything right now.

He was actually a father now, not just playing at one with the indulgence of her dying mother, and the only time he'd seen Hadyn recently was when he'd come to see Eileen. It was like the time in the hospital hadn't been real. Or, he thought, like Hadyn had decided it hadn't been.

"I love you," he said softly, and raised a hand when Hadyn started to shake his head. "I love you. Eileen loves you. Avery loves you so much that she called me. And your brother loves you. Your mother..." He trailed off, his lips tightening. "Your mother is not worthy of you, Hadyn. I know that doesn't help, but - she isn't worth half of you."