Sallie's POV
After dinner, I had purchased eleven burial plots, with Todd's serving as an unexpected addition. The others were arranged chronologically by age. Only Charlie's resting place stood apart—positioned directly beside Mandy's.
Following Rowan's headstone engraving, I made my way to visit Mandy and her grandmother. I'd given Rowan my word that I would deliver the message he never had the chance to share with Mandy.
I needed to tell her that throughout all those years, their bond wasn't merely her unrequited affection. He had loved her back. Those feelings had existed within him for ages.
Yet due to his family circumstances, he constantly worried about bringing hardship to Mandy and her grandmother, so he buried those emotions deep within himself.
Everything changed one evening when Mandy called him. All she managed through her tears was a broken "Charlie." Nothing more passed her lips, but that single name seared through his heart like flames.
