I ran to Jimmy as soon as I saw him come through the kitchen door. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he stumbled back a few steps. He chuckled and hugged me.

"You almost knocked me over," he said.

"I think she's too tiny for that," Tommy said as he came through the door.

I nuzzled myself into Jimmy's chest and grabbed fistfuls of his shirt. He kissed the top of my head before slipping his arms off of me.

"I should wash up," he said.

"I missed you today," I said.

"I'll be quick." He gave me another kiss. "Finish putting dinner on the table."

"Okay," I said as I pulled away from him.

I watched as Jimmy followed Tommy up the stairs. Carrie helped me put the rest of the dinner on the table. We both froze when we saw Charles walk into the kitchen.

He was panting for breath. His face was bright red and sweat was rolling down his forehead. He was clutching at his chest. He lowered himself into his chair.

Jimmy and Tommy were laughing as they walked down the stairs. Jimmy stopped laughing and his smile dropped when he saw his father. Tommy looked at Jimmy before shifting his gaze to Charles. His eyes widened.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Jimmy asked.

"Nothing," Charles said in between breaths. "I just seem...to not catch...my breath....my chest hurts."

"Maybe you should go lie down," Jimmy said.

"Nah," Charles wheezed. "I'll be okay."

"Dad-" Tommy started.

"No!" he shouted before clutching his chest even harder. "Boys, I don't need your help."

"Does your arm hurt too?" Carrie asked.

Tommy glared at her. She looked down at her feet.

"Carrie, be quiet," Tommy said.

"My arm does hurt," Charles said.

My heart sank in my chest when I realized what was going on.

"He's having a heart attack," I said.

"What?" Jimmy said. He ran over to Charles and kneeled down in front of him. "What do we do?"

"We have to bring him to the hospital," Carrie said.

"No," Charles said. "I am not going to a hospital. I'd rather die in this house."

"You're not going to die, Dad," Tommy said.

"Tom, help me get him to the couch," Jimmy said.

Tommy hurried over and threw Charles' arm over his shoulder. Jimmy did the same and they helped Charles out of the chair. They shuffled him into the living room and laid him down on the couch.

"Carrie," Tommy said. "Grab a pillow off our bed."

She nodded before running up the stairs. Tommy sat on the edge of the reclining chair with his eyes locked on Charles. Jimmy was pacing around the living room. I reached out to grab Jimmy's arm, but he shook me off.

"Dad," Jimmy said. "You're not dying."

"My father had a heart attack," Charles said. "It was like this and he died."

Carrie ran down the stairs with a pillow in her arms. She folded it in half and placed it behind Charles' head. He shut his eyes.

Carrie walked over to me in the corner of the living room. We watched it all happen, knowing there was nothing that we could do.

"James, you'll be the man when I am gone," Charles wheezed.

"Dad, you're not -" Jimmy's shaky voice said.

"Let me speak," Charles said. "I want you to take over the family. I know you'll do a good job."

Jimmy got on his knees beside the couch. He grabbed Charles' hand and squeezed it. Charles' eyes were still closed.

"Dad," Jimmy pleaded. "Please."

Charles never answered. We waited in silence for a few minutes before he stopped breathing.

--

Carrie and I waited around the dining room table as Jimmy and Tommy buried Charles in the backyard. Hunter was fast asleep, but I held him in my arms. We sat in silence, unsure of what to say to each other.

Tommy came back into the house first. His clothes were caked in dirt. He pulled his shirt over his head; the key dangled against his chest.

"Carrie, get upstairs," he said.

She nodded before looking over at me. She went up the stairs and Tommy was close behind her. The door slammed shut, and I did not hear another noise. Hopefully, Charles' death had made him sensitive enough to be kind to Carrie for the night.

Jimmy came into the house rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. He did not look at me and went right over to the sink. He scrubbed his hands clean. I got up and walked toward him. He dried his hands on a towel and I poured him a glass of water. He pulled out one of the chairs and sat. I set the glass down on the table and sat on Jimmy's lap. He ran his hand up my leg and I rested my head on his shoulder.

"Jimmy," I broke our silence. "Are you okay?"

"Julie, I don't want to talk about it," he said.

"You need to talk about it. It's the only thing that will help."

"How would you know?"

I lifted my head off his shoulder and turned to look at him.

"Both of my birth parents died," I said.

Jimmy bit on his lip and lowered his gaze. He reached out for the glass and gulped down the water.

"You and Hunter should get to bed," he said.

"I want to make sure that you're alright though," I said.

"No problem. I will come up with you."

I gave him a faint smile and I could tell Jimmy forced himself to smile back at me. I got off his lap and grabbed his hand. We walked up the stairs together and went into our room.

I set Hunter down in his crib. Jimmy pulled off his dirty clothes and crawled into bed. I did the same, not bothering to fish through the drawers for pajamas. Once I was in bed, Jimmy snaked his arm around my waist. He pulled me tight against his chest and buried his face in my neck. Jimmy's warm tears rolled onto my skin.

--

Jimmy hadn't set an alarm for the morning. I woke to see the sun peering through the window. The bars were shadowed on the floor.

Jimmy was sitting in the rocking chair with Hunter. He was making faces and cooing at our baby. My lips curled into a smile and I propped myself up on my elbow. Jimmy smiled when he looked up at me.

"Look, Mommy's awake," he said.

Jimmy got out of the chair and sat on the edge of the bed. He looked down at Hunter and smiled before he looked up at me with his soft brown eyes.

"It's going to be hard without Dad," he said. "But this is how it goes. It's the only way that the torch gets passed along to the oldest son. One day I am going to die and Hunter is going to have to take over."

"I don't want to think about that," I said.

Jimmy leaned in and pressed his lips against mine.

"I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, sweetheart," he whispered.

I slipped my arm around Jimmy's waist and pulled myself closer to him. I rested my cheek against his shoulder.

"I think we could give Hunter Dad's old room," he said. "It would stop our room from being so cramped."

"I think it's cozy," I said.

Jimmy chuckled. "Hunter won't think so when he gets older."

I squeezed my eyes shut. Tommy's plan was to take me away in two days when Jimmy goes into town. I had to tell Jimmy the truth. I was terrified though. Tommy was going to kill Hunter if I told Jimmy.

"Jimmy," I said. "I need to talk to you."

"About what?" he asked.

"Tommy-"

"Wait a minute." Jimmy passed Hunter over to me. "I don't want to hear anything about Tommy."

"But, Jimmy-"

"No more drama. I'm going to talk to Tommy. Things need to change now that I am in charge."

I bit down on my lip and nodded. Jimmy kissed my cheek before taking Hunter out of my arms again.

"You better get changed," Jimmy said. "The day is wasting away out there."

I climbed out of bed and grabbed the stack of clothes that Jimmy laid out for me. He watched me as I got changed into a pair of jeans and one of his old T-shirts. I followed him as we walked down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Carrie was standing in front of the stove, and the smell of pancakes and syrup filled the air. Tommy was at the table and shuffling a deck of cards. I went over to the cupboard and pulled out some plates and began placing them on the table.

Jimmy and Tommy were silent as they sat at the table. Carrie and I placed breakfast on the table and they ate. I sat and glanced at the end of the table. There was an empty chair. It would be empty until Hunter was old enough to sit there. I hoped Tommy would let me see that.

"Did you tell Noah yet?" Tommy asked Jimmy.

He shook his head before shovelling a spoonful of food into his mouth.

"I'll write them a letter tonight," he said. "We're going to have to go into town a few days early so that I can mail it."

"We?" Tommy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. We," Jimmy said. "I can't go alone."

"I don't want to leave Carrie alone."

"She won't be alone. Julie is here."

I tried my best not to let my lips lift into a smile. Jimmy was protecting our family and he didn't even know it.

"You seriously can't get some groceries alone?" Tommy asked.

"Why do you want to stay home so badly?" Jimmy asked.

"It'll be my first day alone with Carrie," he said. "I bet the first day you were alone with Julie was pretty great."

"You won't be alone though. Julie is here."

"Can I go into town with you?" I asked Jimmy.

"No," Tommy snapped. "Jim, she can't do that. You know that. It breaks every tradition that our family has."

"Sorry, Julie," Jimmy said. "You have to stay home with Hunter."

"We could bring Hunter," I pleaded.

"We don't have a car seat or anything for him," Jimmy said. "We can't do it."

My eyes darted over to Tommy. He had his hand in front of his face to hide his smirk.

"Jimmy, you can't do that," I said.

"Julie, do not tell me what to do," Jimmy said.

"I'll stay home and watch the girls," Tommy said. "I'll make sure everything is okay."

"Fine," Jimmy said. "I won't be long tomorrow anyways."

"Tomorrow?" I asked.

The world started to spin. I grabbed my stomach and squeezed my eyes shut. A lump was forming in my throat. I swallowed hard and was hit with a wave of nausea. I covered my mouth and ran to the bathroom. I got down on my knees and began throwing up. Jimmy was right behind me. He was holding back my hair and rubbing my back.

"Julie, what's wrong?" he asked.

I gripped the seat of the toilet and my body shook. I opened my mouth to speak and a bitter taste filled my mouth.

"Maybe you're pregnant," Jimmy said. "You know what they say. When one life ends another begins."

The warm tears rolled down my cheeks. Jimmy cradled me into his chest as he sat on the floor. I grabbed his shirt and sobbed as I buried my face into his chest. I only had one day left before Tommy took me away from my family.