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Chapter Ninety Two
The morning after Grady’s proposal to restore the old district library, the house was quieter than usual. Not tense, just thoughtful. Elise moved slower in the kitchen, stirring a pot of cornmeal with one hand while the other rested on her hip. Elias sat by the window with a half-empty mug of tea, watching the apprentices gather outside, unsure if they were waiting for instruction or trying to eavesdrop.Grady hadn’t come down yet.It had been his idea. But the idea was heavy, older than just the brick building it pointed to. The library hadn’t just been abandoned — it had been forgotten. And for many, that forgetting had been a choice.When Grady finally emerged, his jacket slung over one shoulder and a stubborn set to his mouth, Elias stood."You sure about this?" Elias asked. No edge to his voice, just the question hanging like dust in the air.Grady nodded, brushing toast crumbs from his shirt. "We need something real. Something not just symbolic, but useful.""And loud?" Elias as
Chapter Ninety One
The rain started just before dawn, a soft drizzle that settled over the rooftops like a hush. Elias sat at the kitchen table, nursing a half-cup of coffee gone lukewarm. The house was quiet except for the occasional creak of wood settling, the distant rustle of wind through leaves.He hadn’t slept much.The conversation with Grady from the night before still echoed in his chest — not sharp, not bitter, just *unresolved*. They’d talked, and it hadn’t exploded. That in itself felt strange.Footsteps approached down the hallway. Elias didn’t turn until the fridge opened and the interior light spilled out behind him.“You’re up early,” Grady said, voice hoarse.“So are you.” Elias gestured to the second mug on the table. “If you want to finish this coffee before it becomes tar.”Grady hesitated, then poured himself a fresh cup. He sat across from Elias without asking. No tension. Just… presence.They sipped in silence.Eventually Elias said, “I’ve been thinking about what you said. About
Chapter Ninety
From the porch, Lana watched as the white veil lifted slowly, revealing the soft outlines of new rows—plantings the apprentices had worked on last week, now just beginning to peek through the soil. It had taken a long time, but things were growing again.Inside, she heard the clatter of dishes and the dull hum of voices in the kitchen. Drew’s laugh cut through—louder than it had been in months—and Lana found herself smiling before she’d even thought about it.She stepped inside to find Elise elbow-deep in flour, rolling dough across the table with quick, efficient movements. Grady leaned against the counter with a mug of tea, listening as Drew tried to explain a joke that had clearly landed better the first time.“You had to *see* it,” Drew insisted, waving his hands. “It doesn’t work if I just say it.”Grady nodded, amused. “That’s what everyone says when they can’t land the punchline.”Elise glanced up. “He’s still young. His dignity hasn’t hardened yet.”Lana raised an eyebrow. “We
Chapter Eighty Nine
It started with one post sunk into the damp earth. Then another. Then string lines stretched, measured and adjusted. Grady crouched near the edge of the clearing beyond the west plots, checking alignment with a level that had seen better days.“This place still floods sometimes,” Lana said, walking up with a clipboard. “Especially in spring.”“I know,” Grady replied without looking up. “Already planned the drainage slope. Elise made me triple-check.”“She would,” Lana murmured, watching as Drew and two younger apprentices lugged over a bag of concrete mix between them, grunting like they were carrying treasure.The space was open and raw. The tall grass had been cleared, and the dark soil still smelled wet and living. Beyond them, the orchard trees rippled gently in the wind, and the rebuilt homes stood quiet in the distance, like sentinels.“What are we calling it again?” one of the apprentices asked, wiping sweat from his brow.“We’re not,” Grady said. “Not yet. You will. Once it me
Chapter Eighty Eight
The rain came soft and steady that morning, tapping the windows of the Kane household like it didn’t want to wake anyone too roughly. But Elias was already up. He stood in the kitchen, his hand wrapped around a mug he hadn’t sipped from, eyes fixed on nothing in particular. The hum of the refrigerator, the quiet creak of the old floorboards, the murmur of footsteps above—everything was just barely out of sync, like a tune missing its beat.Grady had stayed the night again. That made three in a row, and while no one had explicitly said the word *stay*, no one had told him to leave either. That silence, Elias realized, was the closest thing to acceptance they knew how to give each other.Elise came down the stairs in a thick cardigan, her hair still damp from a rushed shower. She paused when she saw Elias and studied him for a moment before reaching for a plate.“You sleep?” she asked.“A little,” he replied.“That’s more than yesterday.”He didn’t answer. Elise didn’t push. She buttere
Chapter Eighty Seven
The workshop was quiet again and Grady was late again.Elise sat at a workbench behind him, flipping through a project ledger but not reading it. Her eyes flicked up every few minutes, searching the door. Lana had taken Nia and Terrence to meet with city contractors about the shelter expansion, leaving the room curiously imbalanced.“He said he’d be here by eight,” Elise muttered, not looking up.Elias didn’t respond. He hadn’t commented the last three times Grady missed a start. But today, the silence tightened around him like a wire.“He’s trying,” Elise said, softer this time.Elias finally turned. “He’s not the one who has to pick up the pieces when he vanishes.”Elise closed the ledger. “He hasn’t vanished.”“Not yet.”She stood, brushing dust from her hands. “You asked him to come back. You asked him to show up. That doesn’t mean he’ll know how right away.”Elias shook his head. “We don’t have time for him to *learn* how to show up. These kids… they’re watching all of us now. Th
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