Rukky woke late the next morning to sunlight streaming through her childhood bedroom window, and for a few disoriented seconds, she forgot where she was; then the memories came flooding back, Josh passed out drunk, the note on the table, the drive through the night, her mother's embrace, and her father's letter.

She sat up quickly, reaching for the envelope on the nightstand where she had placed it before falling asleep; she read the letter again, her father's words filling her with a mixture ...