Felix was banging away at the tractor with a little more force than I thought was necessary when I came to a stop beside him. He let the wrench hang loose in his hand, his head bowed. I wanted to comfort him, but I wasn’t sure what to say. I simply leaned in and kissed his cheek, right above the grease spot.
“I love you,” I said. “What Frank represents doesn’t change things between you and me, or our family. You made all this possible, you know? You and your true parent, Benjamin Arnold Cotter. Nothing your brother of a few hours says will ever take that away. At the same time, I think you deserve to know what happened and get some closure, because deep down, I bet you’ve been yearning for this chance, but you pushed it away because it didn’t seem possible.”
Felix sighed and dragged me t
