“Go on, Patty!” Gunner cheered drunkenly, and the crowd laughed. They looked to Patrick expectantly as he stood on the chair, then on the bar top.
And so did I. I marveled at the boy in that courtyard who had become this man—arresting and steadfast. I saw precisely what Kenton Hill must have seen in him. Someone unswerving.
I felt as though I understood it then—the toll paid to keep a place like Kenton Hill safe. To keep it aboveground and functioning. What wouldn’t one do, to preserve something so invaluable?
“I call to order this extraordinary meeting of the Miners Union of Kenton Hill. Tonight, we’ll be skippin’ formalities.”
His spectators bellowed.
Patrick’s eyes swept to me, held.
And I knew what he would do in the next moment. I shook my head and thought of Theo sitting somewh
