Chapter 63

Ian

Ian sat in his truck outside of Rusty’s and read the letter again. It’d taken him over forty-eight hours to open Mr. Garrison’s last words, and Ian wished he’d waited longer. He wanted to crumple it up and throw the old coot’s sentiments out the window. Instead, he’d read it a dozen times since.

He missed his friend. Mr. Garrison had been a constant in Ian’s life, and he wasn’t ready to let the old man go. They had lunch together every week, and he wasn’t sure what he’d do with his Tuesday afternoons now.

But he did know. He’d be spending every hour of daylight at Sara’s place until further notice. His productivity floundered when she was close-by. He made rookie mistakes and had to redo more measurements than he had since learning fractions in grade school.

He tossed the letter into the passenger seat and looked out the windshield at Rusty’s. The local bar and restaurant was family friendly until nine, and his friends liked to hang out here. Brian, Leah, Addie, and Lindsey were o