"I know that now." Rex swallowed. "I missed him, too. But missing someone isn't enough if you don't do anything about it."
Brian looked toward the hospital doors. "Maybe he's still listening."
"Maybe," Rex said. "Either way, there are things worth saying."
The two returned to Thunderfork after three, where the shop had grown busy with regular customers and a delivery of new tires. Rex asked Crow to handle the incoming work so Butcher could continue with the Harley. Brian stood beside the service bay, reviewing the checklist he had written, now covered in corrections and additional notes. The motorcycle had begun to resemble a machine again, though enough parts remained to make Brian nervous.
The men worked carefully through the remaining assembly. Brian performed only tasks appropriate for a supervised learner, while Butcher checked the critical work himself. No one treated the boy as an apprentice paid in the promise of shelter; he was a guest and a student working alongside adults who had agreed to help him honor his grandfather. That distinction mattered most to Rex, who kept returning to the question of whether his actions could stand up to scrutiny from someone with no emotional attachment to Thunderfork.
By five, most of the old Harley was together again. The black tank had been cleaned, damaged electrical connections repaired, and the fuel system restored to working condition. Butcher had checked the engine's mechanical condition and was satisfied that a controlled test could be attempted once the last checks were complete. Brian's exhaustion had returned, but he forced himself to concentrate on each item on the list.
Millie came out of the office carrying a sandwich and asked him to eat. Brian told her he wasn't hungry. She put the food within reach and answered that he could decide in five minutes, after he had stopped staring at the same page without turning it. Brian ate half the sandwich before he noticed he had started.
"You've got tomorrow," Millie said as she watched him. "The agency meeting isn't the end of the world. We already have a temporary plan if Rex's application takes longer."
"I wanted him to see the bike run," Brian said.
"Who?"
"Grandpa." He stared at the motorcycle. "I thought if I fixed it, he'd know I could take care of myself. Maybe he'd stop worrying in the hospital."
Millie sat beside him. "A person can be capable and still need someone else. Your grandfather probably understood that better than anyone, even if he didn't always say it."
Brian pressed his palms into his knees. "I don't know how to be somebody's responsibility. Grandpa never made it feel like that."
"That's because you were family." Millie smiled. "Maybe you should give these people the chance to learn how that works, too."
The final pre-start inspection took longer than Brian expected. Butcher checked several measurements against the shop specifications and found one setting that needed correction before the engine could be tested safely. Brian grew impatient, then caught himself and apologized. Butcher nodded without making a lesson out of it, which was more effective than a lecture.