Alvin had always known exactly what to say to pull at Rufus's strings. First Ma, but then what was good for Sloane. Rufus ran a hand over his face as he considered it.

And then Sloane's temper finally snapped and Rufus felt his own tugging into motion in response. It was one thing to need time and space, to have something to be hard. He could understand that. But you couldn't run away from what was hard. You had to face it, to keep trying.

"You do." His voice was a bit sharper than he intended as he tried to reassure her. "But it's not going to get easier unless you face it head on Sloane." Even he could realize how much he sounded like their father in this moment, his tone, his words, the sternness. But he was here and their father wasn't. Someone had to keep everything tied together after the hell they had been through.