"I am," he agrees quietly. "Never would've made it this far without her."

He owes his mother a lot. She protected him from his father the best she could, and he did the same for her in return. It was always the two of them trying to stand in front of each other, and both of them getting knocked down either way. He knows Sadie will never forgive herself for all the times he got knocked around, but it's the same the other way around, too. He'll never forgive himself for not being strong enough to end his father's life sooner.

"I'll call her soon," he says. "I don't know how much she'd like New York. She's real fond of the small town life."

And Tim's not sure how he feels about her being up here where she could get hurt anyway.