Absolutely, Positively

him to follow in his footsteps. Tell him that you don't want him to do it, either. Tell him that you want him to continue on the new road that he's chosen. That you're proud of him. Give him your blessing, Leon.”

    “Christ, Harry. You want me to tell him it's okay to become like you? You want me to encourage him to turn his back on his heritage?”

    “I want you to tell him,” Harry said with relentless determination, “that you've been wrong all these years. That you realize now that it's time for the next generation of Trevelyan men to evolve. It's time for them to rely on their brains instead of their guts and their reflexes.”

    “Why should I do that?” Leon hissed. “You've already convinced him to finish college. Isn't that enough for you?”

    “It's not enough for him. He loves you, Leon. He wants your approval. He needs to hear you tell him that you don't think he's a failure as a man just because he's chosen a path that will lead him away from fast cars and hard living.”

    “Josh doesn't give a damn about me.” Leon's voice was strained with bitterness. “You've been his hero for years. Ever since you took him away from his family.”

    “You're wrong. You're his grandfather, and nothing can ever change that. He needs something from you that I can't give him, Leon. He needs to know you approve of the future he wants to pursue. It will make things a hell of a lot easier for him.”

    “Five will get you ten I know what the terms of this deal are.”

    Harry shrugged. “Same as always. If you do this for Josh, I won't tell him about Willy.”

    “Shit. I knew that was coming.”

    Leon's face contorted with anguish. He drew another rasping breath. “How do I know I can trust you?”

    Harry was silent for a moment. “Have I ever lied to you, Uncle Leon?”

    Leon's answer was lost in a wracking cough. When he recovered, he gazed blearily up at Harry. “You win, you SOB. Send him in, and then get outa here. I'll do this in my own way.”

    “Sure.” Harry straightened.

    For a few seconds he continued to gaze down at Leon. A wave of intense sadness went through Molly. She knew there was something else Harry wanted to say. Something that would not have been a threat or a form of coercion. Something that might have constituted a gesture of peace, an offer to end what was obviously an old war.

    But in that brief moment, Molly also knew that Harry did not know how to claim the truce he wanted. He had asked Leon to set Josh free of the past, but Harry could not ask for a gift of equal value for himself.

    Without a word, he turned away from the bed. Molly met his eyes in the shadows. She held out her hand. He took it, his fingers closing fiercely around hers.

    Together, they left the room.

    “It was weird.” Josh picked up the hospital cafeteria tray and carried it toward a small table. “It was as though Grandpa was trying to say good-bye. He was different than I've ever seen him. Not so tough. Much older, if you know what I mean.”

    “He's been through a lot tonight.” Molly sat down and took the plastic cups off the tray. “It's probably given him a great deal to think about.”

    “Yeah.”

    Molly was well aware that it was Harry, not the near-fatal truck accident, that had been responsible for whatever philosophical change had come over Leon. Harry had said nothing to her about the scene she had witnessed in Leon's room, but she knew without being told that he did not want Josh to know what had occurred.

    It was nearly midnight. She had invited Josh to join her in the cafeteria after he had left his grandfather's side a few minutes earlier.

    Harry was occupied with the hospital paperwork and the insurance forms. Everyone seemed to assume that it was his job to take care of those things. The other Trevelyans talked quietly to each other in the waiting room while they took turns maintaining the bedside vigil.

    “Cheer up, Josh. Your grandfather has made it this far.” Molly sipped the excruciatingly bad tea she had bought at the counter. She hated tea made from a tea bag. It never compared to the freshly brewed product. “The doctor said his condition has stabilized. I'd say his odds of making it until morning are getting better all the time.”

    “But he talked as if he expected to die. Said he wanted to tell me some things that have been on his mind.” Josh stirred his coffee with a plastic stick. “He told me that he'd been wrong all these years when he tried