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questions began. There was never any judgement or disappointment on her part, but Casey always ended these calls with a sick feeling the pit of his stomach and a cloud of depression that stayed with him for hours. He had a feeling this was going to be so much worse than usual. Not only did he have to keep up his lie about still having a job, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell her that he also didn’t have a boyfriend or a home. She hadn’t known McDermott’s name, but he’d told her as much as he’d been able to, and she’d been happy for him. So, as much as he hated doing it, he lied to her, telling her how great everything was going, all the while, the knot in his stomach was growing.
    When he heard her voice growing tired, he said his goodbye and promised to call her again soon. He ended the call and set the phone aside. He buried his face in his hands, not looking up even when he heard Hunter’s footsteps. The couch dipped as the other man sat down, but Casey couldn’t even manage a glance. It was always like this after talking to her. He hated himself for lying to her, for betraying her trust, for not being the man she thought he was, the man she deserved. His brother never would’ve treated her this wa y.
    “I heard what you were sayin’ to your mom,” Hunter said.
    Casey turned his head, not bothering to wipe away the tears that were burning in his eyes. “Please don’t lecture me about lying. I don’t think I could take it.”
    “Wasn’t gonna lecture you.” Hunter didn’t seem offended by the assumption. The concern in his eyes was clear. “I was gonna ask why you felt like you had to lie in the first place. Sounds to me like she’s the type of woman who’d love you no matter what.”
    “She is!” Casey snapped, then immediately felt bad. “Sorry. It’s not because I’m worried my mom wouldn’t love me if I told her about everything that’s happened.”
    Hunter didn’t say anything, just looked at Casey and waited.
    Casey looked down at his hands. McDermott had never wanted to hear him talk about this. The weight of a hand on his shoulder shocked his head up. Hunter’s cheek turned red under his beard, but he didn’t take his hand away, not for a few more seconds.
    “You can talk to me,” he said. “I got you.”
    Hunter’s words sent a sliver of heat through Casey, cracking the wall he’d erected. He opened his mouth, and everything poured out in a great rush. “I had an older brother , Stephen. He was eight years older than me and was just amazing. My dad left right after I was born, but I never missed out on anything because Stephen was always there for me. He watched out for me, and protected me as much as he could. On September eleventh, he was nineteen and a sophomore in college, studying medicine. He flew across the country as soon as the airports reopened, and spent a month in New York doing whatever he could. Two days after he came home, he enlisted in the army.” Casey swallowed hard around the lump that had formed in his throat. He turned away from Hunter, unable to continue if he kept looking at those compassionate blue eyes. “He did two tours over the next four years, and was going to re-enlist when he got back from the last one, but he never got the chance. Roadside bomb, two days before he was scheduled to fly out. He and six other soldiers were delivering medical supplies to a village. None of them made it back.”
    “I’m sorry about your brother,” Hunter said. “But I don’t understand what that has to do with you lying to your mom.”
    Casey figured he’d already gone this far. He might as well finish it. Besides, it felt better than he’d thought it would, sharing this. “I was fifteen when Stephen died, and he left some pretty big shoes to fill. Mom had always doted on us differently, Stephen being the oldest and me being the baby; but once he was gone, it was like I had to be enough for both of us. I had to be everything he was as well as