The Discovery - 30. Chapter 30

Kyle looked across the table as he spoke to the others with a determined tone. “I’m telling you, it’s the better choice to save Goode for the end of our witness list. After we spend the days before going over all the other evidence that points to someone other than Josh, without him being there because we won’t call him to testify until later in the week, and once he’s on the witness stand, then we invite him to lie in front of the jury before we show him the evidence that implicates him.”

Michelle looked up at him from her spot at the table with an unimpressed look. “Not to burst your bubble, Perry Mason, but it’s likely that if he’s not actually in the room during the days beforehand, someone else will be there to report back to him. He’s going to know we’re onto him at this point.”

Kevin smirked and leaned back in his chair. “She’s right, Kyle. But still… I think it’s a good idea. Doesn’t matter if he knows or not, he’s going to either have to fabricate a story to explain away why his cellphone and his car were in the vicinity of the murder moments after, while he’s supposed to be across town.”

Kyle grinned and nodded. “I’m almost sure of it. Besides, he’s already had someone at the trial watching.”

“What about putting Josh on the stand,” Michelle asked.

“No,” he replied with a shake of his head. “There’s no reason too. Besides, he’s been through enough already. We need to shift the jury’s focus away from Josh and onto the facts of the case. The evidence the DA’s office never looked for nor revealed. What we need to show the jury is that we did the hard work of going over the evidence of the case and having that evidence point to the real killer. We need to show that the police were sloppy, lax, and just wanted to put Josh in jail and not care if they were wrong or not.”

Michelle shrugged. “If we pull that off, it could end up that the prosecutor just decides to dismiss the case.”

Kyle sighed and nodded a little reluctantly. “I suppose.” He shook his head slightly as he muttered, “I’d rather just punch Goode’s face with everything we have on him.”

Kevin chuckled. “My God, Kyle. You want this bad. I can tell.”

Michelle turned to Kevin smirking. “He gets so worked up over little things like corruption and miscarriages of justice. Probably what Jacob loves about him.”

Kyle laughed. “Not sure he’d put it that way, but close enough I guess.” The door to his office opened but with his back turned, he ignored it as he went on. “By this time in two weeks, I bet we’ll have this all over and done with. But we need to stay focused on the goal and not get distracted.” He paused as he noticed Michelle’s eyes focusing on something behind him and her face etched in concern. Annoyed at being interrupted he turned around, wondering who could be there when he saw Rosette standing there.

His office manager stood there, her face looking ashen with glimmering eyes. She looked at him almost as if she were lost or unsure of what to say as her mouth opened and shut. Kyle felt an odd feeling creep up his spine. This was a side of his assistant he had never seen before. “Rose? What is it?”

She stood there for another second before she could speak. With a distraught face Rosette met his eyes and said in an uncharacteristically soft voice, “Kyle…?”

The odd feeling creeping up his spine suddenly turned cold. With that one word, he could sense that his life had just changed. He rose from his seat, unsure of what it was he needed to prepare himself for. “What’s happened?”

****

The back area of the store was a mixture of thunderous noise with the sound of the table saws while music blared so loudly that Cade nearly didn’t hear the phone ring. He picked up the phone and answered pleasantly, “Natural Wonders, this is Cade.” A few seconds later his eyes widened in alarm as he absorbed the news he had just received before he hung up and phone and went running to find Jacob.

****

Colleen punched in the last digits on the file on her computer with a look of satisfaction before saving it and printing out the final invoice to close the file she had been working on for most of the morning. It was a bright day out and her hope was that she might get to leave a little early so she could do some shopping before going home. Stan was wanting to go out to dinner tonight and she wanted to enjoy that without having the nagging feeling of having things not done. That was probably one of the reasons why Sam enjoyed her company in the office when they were usually the only two people here. She was never one to not finish a job before the day was over. Especially one that needed to get done to balance their accounts by the end of the month. She went over to the printer and retrieved the pages. Double-checking them to make sure they were all legible, she placed them in the open file that had been set on her desk and closed it before taking it over to the large file cabinet for storage.

Just as she shut the file door, Colleen heard Sam’s voice. “Colleen!”

She smirked and started walking towards his office. With vivid clarity, Colleen could remember how the first time she heard Sam yell for her she got scared that she had messed something up and was about to be fired. It took a few more times before she came to understand that it was just how Sam yelled. Like he was angry all the time. She mentioned it to his son once and he just shrugged and said simply, “it’s just his way.”

While Colleen had heard Sam’s yell hundreds of times by now over the years she had been there, this time there was a different note to it. Like his voice had finally cracked after years of yelling and shouting. With a little concern starting to grow, she walked a little faster to his office door and opened it. “You bellowed?”

Sam was staring at his desk with his shoulders drooping and his face whiter than she remembered. When he turned his head towards her, she saw a deep well of sadness in his eyes. Sam stared at her quietly for a moment, almost looking like he had forgotten what he wanted. Sam eventually found his voice which was softer than usual. To her ears, he sounded tired. “Where is my son right now?”

Colleen frowned in confusion. Sam had asked her many times over the years about Troy’s location at any given time, but this was the first time she could remember Sam saying, “my son,” instead of his name. She hesitated for a breath before she replied, “he’s out on sales calls with Andy. They should be finishing up lunch about now.”

Sam sighed, seeming to age right before her eyes as he looked down at his desk. His hands placed in front of him as he seemed to be readying himself for something. “Could you call him for me and tell him I need to see him right now?”

“Sure,” she said. “What do I tell him it’s about?”

“Just… tell him I need to talk to him right now.”

“What are you doing while I’m calling him?”

“I have another call to make,” he explained in an uncharacteristic sign of patience. “Just, please do this for me. Tell him it’s important.”

She nodded and started to leave when her concern prompted her to ask, “is everything okay?”

Sam sighed as his eyes lowered. “Just… call him right away, please.”

Colleen closed the door and went back to her desk. She had a feeling before the day was over, calling Troy would not be the last call she made.

****

Brian stood at the front of his classroom as he went over his notes and started writing up topics for his next lecture in his world history class which was starting in about ten minutes. He always got a sense of pride when his students started getting involved in the questions of a certain period. For the last two weeks he had been putting them through the trade relationship between Venice and the Ottomans. He could tell a few of them had been looking at sources outside of class. That always made him giddy to see what the students would end up teaching each other while he almost acted as a referee to make sure they were getting the details right. It was one of the things he loved most about teaching. If he did his job right, he could get their minds to want more and more than the small bits and pieces he gave them in a half hour in the classroom.

His train of thought was interrupted by a soft but familiar voice calling from his doorway. “Brian.”

He smiled and turned his head as his smile widened. “Dad! What are you doing here?”

Harry Whitman stood just outside the door, wearing his dark suit jacket with the purple shirt, white collar and a silver cross hanging from around his neck. Brian started calling it his dad’s work uniform when he left the Methodist church and switched to Episcopalian. His father looked at him with a gentle smile and sad eyes. “Brian…”

Brian put down his marker and stepped towards the door, moving to avoid a few students who were already making their way in. “It’s nice to see you, but you know this is a public school. Hope you’re not trying to convert students in the hallways.” He was about to say something else when he noticed behind and off to the side of Harry, Andy was lurking with head slightly bowed. Brian noticed Andy’s eyes looked red and could only glance up at him for a moment before looking away with a look that pulled at his heart. His smile faded as he turned very serious. “What’s going on?”

Harry motioned him into the hall, his voice never more than a gentle, compassionate tone. “We need to talk, son.”

Brian looked around the room feeling concerned but stepped out only to find not just Andy but the vice-principal standing with a somber expression on his face next to his doorway. “Andy? What’s happened?”

It seemed to take effort for Andy to raise his head to look at his husband. When he spoke, it was with short, quiet sentences in a muttered tone that seemed to take him a lot of effort to maintain. “Sam… called me and Troy to the office a little while ago. Said he got a call from Colt.” Concern like a coiled snake wrapping around Brian’s chest grew as he waited for Andy to go on. “He went to get lunch for him and David. When he got back… Colt said… he wasn’t breathing.”

“Oh my God.” Brian’s eyes widened in shock even as he prepared himself for more. “What happened?”

“Don’t know yet,” Andy replied with a shake of his head. “I stopped at the hospital to see, then came to get you. But… Troy called me just as I got here. I wanted…. To tell you myself…”

“Is he okay,” Brian asked with a hushed voice. “David, I mean.” Andy looked up at Brian as he chewed on his lower lip and could only look at Brian helplessly as a rebellious tear fell from his eye. “Wait,” Brian suddenly said. “No…” Brian turned to look at his father who still had that patient and compassionate look on his face. “Dad?”

Harry put a hand on Brian’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Brian. David has passed away.”

Brian’s lips snapped shut as he passed a hand over his mouth. Words would not come to him. The only thing happening in his mind was a flood of memories. Years’ worth of moments, sounds and feelings bubbling up from inside him that fractured his composure. He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat as he looked around the hallway. As seconds ticked by, Brian could feel the ache growing inside him. While it was definitely a surprise, it was one that he had always known was going to happen eventually. No one, no matter how important to someone else, lived forever. But the suddenness of the news threw him off his usual demeanor. When he could find his voice again, it was devoid of any of its usual ease. Just a cold, quiet sound coming from his lips that held his grief at bay for the moment. “W-where are the boys?”

“In school,” Andy replied. “Troy and Jacob are on their way to pick them up. They’ll bring them to the house.”

Brian frowned and was about to say something when the vice-principal spoke in a solicitous tone. “I’ll take over the rest of your classes for the day. Are your notes there?”

“Y-yeah.” He mechanically handed them to the man who patted him on the shoulder in sympathy. Brian’s eyes were trained on a group of girls a few feet away who were looking at something on one of their phones. He could see the shock and sadness in their faces and wondered if they were already finding out what he had just been told. “Why aren’t we getting Tanner and Blake,” Brian finally asked.

“Because we need to go to the hospital and get Kyle,” Andy said in a near whisper. “He stayed behind to find out what…. What happened. He doesn’t have a car since one of the guys at his office drove him there.” He took a labored breath and said quietly. “I need you.”

Brian nodded in understanding. “Well, let’s go then.”

Harry leaned in and said to Brian, “please express my deepest sympathies to Kyle and his family and let him know I will be calling on them later in the evening.”

Brian only nodded to acknowledge him before taking Andy’s hand, to lend him strength as they made their way out of the school.

****

Kyle sat hunched over in a chair as he stared vacantly at the floor beneath him. Again, and again the last two hours of his life replayed in his mind without beginning or end. Even if he wanted, he felt powerless to do anything to stop it. From the moment he heard Rose tell him his father was on his way to the hospital to Kevin driving him to the hospital after nearly wrestling his keys out of his hands out of concern for Kyle’s mental state. With perfect clarity, he could see in his mind Colt’s devastated face as he came into the waiting room and the words he heard.

“I had just got back from getting lunch for us. I saw him in his chair and thought he was napping. When I got closer, I saw he wasn’t breathing and started CPR.” Colt’s voice faltered after that. “I’m so sorry. He was perfectly fine right before I left, and I was only gone for about ten minutes.”

“You did what you could,” Kyle had told him. Colt would never do anything to put his father in any kind of jeopardy and Kyle knew it.

Before anything else could be said between them, Jacob came into the room breathing heavily from his frantic run from his truck into the building. His eyes went to Kyle. “Where is he?”

“He’s still in the ICU.” Kyle moved closer to him. “We need to get the boys. They need to know what’s going on.”

“No,” Colt interjected. “Let’s not do anything like that until we hear something.”

Jacob nodded in agreement. “We have a while before school lets out. If we haven’t heard anything by then, I’ll go get them.”

A sense of dread permeated Kyle’s heart but he kept it to himself. He nodded and then sat down. Moments later, Troy and Andy joined them. When he got them caught up on what was happening, Andy left to get Brian, telling Troy to let him know if there’s any news. Kyle could remember the growing fear and emptiness forming inside him as time seemed to stop moving yet went faster than he expected or wanted. The door to the waiting room opened and a doctor in green colored scrubs walked in. He had only a second to steel himself from what he knew the doctor was about to say.

With a sigh and eyes filled with regret, the doctor said the words Kyle dreaded and yet somehow already knew he was going to hear. “We did everything we could. I’m so sorry, but we lost him.”

Kyle couldn’t remember moving yet he was instantly at Jacob’s side when he heard his husband give out an anguished sob. Grabbing Jacob, he threw his arms around him and pulled his husband into a loving embrace. He remembered the pain of Jacobs’ hands as they grasped onto him tightly as he gave into his grief. “It’ll be okay,” he blatantly lied to Jacob. Kissing his cheek and keeping him close. “You need to get the boys and get them home.”

Jacob held onto him for a little longer before he regained control of himself. When his mind finally processed Kyle’s words, he reluctantly nodded. “What about you?”

“I need to stay here. Troy can get Tanner and Chase. You’ll… have to tell them.”

It wasn’t a duty he wanted to perform, but he knew there was little choice. “When will you be home?”

“Once I find out from the doctors what happened to Dad.” The more Kyle spoke, the easier it was for him to put his feelings aside and focus on the task in front of him. He knew Jacob had an unenviable job to tell their children about David’s death, but Kyle wanted to make sure he would be able to tell them why he died. “Colt, could you go with him?”

The older man nodded. His face was a stoic mask that he was accustomed to wearing. Death was not something he was unfamiliar with. “How will you get home?”

The level of quiet calm in his voice seemed to be his best defense from the crashing waves of pain and loss he could feel building up inside himself. But Kyle didn’t have time to think about that. For the moment, he stayed fixed on his path. “I’ll call Andy or think of something.” He turned to Troy who had remained in the corner. His oldest friend had his head in his hands as his shoulders shook from his suppressed grief. Despite the gravity of it all, Kyle smiled softly and went over to him. “Troy? Troy, I need your help.”

Troy lifted his head from his hands, revealing a flood of tears running down his face. His voice cracked as he said, “Kyle… I’m so sorry.”

“I know.” He carefully wiped his thumb over Troy’s cheek. “Right now, I need you to go get Tanner and Chase and tell Andy the news. Can you do that?”

Troy nodded and closed his eyes to get himself under control for a little while at least. “Yeah. You want us at the house later?”

Kyle nodded. “Just go straight there.” He then turned his attention to the doctor who remained waiting next to the door. “Do you know what happened?”

The doctor hesitated before saying, “we’re looking into it. I should know more in about an hour, if you want to give me a number to call you.”

“I’d prefer to just wait,” Kyle said. He turned to the others and nodded. “I’ll be fine. Just… get everyone home. I’ll be there soon.”

Jacob and the others slowly walked out of the room on their way to do their duty to their families and Kyle remained behind, doing his. And now, here he sat, waiting for answers he was not sure he wanted to hear. Eventually, the doctor reappeared and gave Kyle his assessment of David’s condition. He was concise and compassionate in his explanation. Kyle slowly nodded his head as he took in all the information he was given. Once that was over with, the doctor asked him who he was to release his father’s body to, and Kyle gave him the name of the local mortuary.

Once he signed off on the release, he looked up at the doctor and said in a quiet voice, “I’d like to see him now, if that’s possible.”

The doctor paused, unsure if it was a wise decision. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

Kyle nodded before he could change his mind. He needed to see. Something deep down inside him refused to accept anything else. “Please. I… just want to see him one more time.” His lips twitched for a moment before he got his emotions under control once more.

The doctor, having no reason to deny him his request, asked Kyle to wait a moment while they clear the equipment and staff from the room first. Kyle nodded and patiently waited on his feet before the doctor returned and escorted him to a set of closed doors.

Kyle stood at the door, hesitating for a moment before pushing his way through to the operating room. He got three steps through before his stride was interrupted by the harsh reality in front of him that threatened to cause his knees to buckle. Despite his intent, he turned away from the sight in front of him. Inside him, his mind and heart raged. One unwilling and the other unable to grasp the enormity of the loss that he had been dealt. Steeling himself again, he slowly turned back to look at the table with the sheet mercifully covering the body that lay on the cold steel table in the center of the room.

With a shuddering breath, Kyle slowly moved to the table. He grabbed a stool that was nearby and moved it to the side of the table. From the sensations in his knees, he surmised he would be unable to remain standing for very long. The covered body lying there seemed to almost call to him as he lifted his hand to pull the sheet back to reveal the face underneath. His mind experienced a short, ludicrous moment when he half expected to find a stranger there and all of this was just some kind of sick joke. But the cruel reality would not be denied as his eyes fell on that face that was so much like his own.

Kyle swallowed hard to prevent a sob. It was a marginal success as only a slight sound managed to escape his lips that sounded like a wounded animal. As he sat there, all the memories of a lifetime played through his mind. Each memory filled him with the influence of this one man’s unwavering, powerful and indelible love that he knew could never be replaced. The emotions racing through his heart etched themselves onto Kyle’s face all at once. Joy, laughter, safety, pain, guilt, anger and finally grief played out in his heart in a battle for supremacy. He was forced to look away and rub his hands over his face to steady his nerves. A deep, labored breath and a small noise of pain from his throat was all he could let out for now.

There was no sign of time passing as he sat there. His hand lifted up and came to rest on his father’s forehead. The skin felt cold and clammy, confirming to Kyle that he was truly gone. In the span of a few hours, the foundation of his world had been washed away, leaving him uncertain of his own life and his place in a world that was suddenly made colder than the one he woke up to that morning. Was it really just this morning that everything had been normal? Wasn’t he seeing his father’s smile greeting him in the kitchen only hours ago? A tear sprung free from his eye and slid down his cheek, wishing he had been given a chance to say goodbye. To say more to this man who had been his world for so long and now suddenly taken from him. So many things left unsaid. So many questions left unanswered.

The soft noise of the door opening behind him caught Kyle off guard. He quickly stuffed his grief away and wiped his face before turning to see who was intruding on his privacy.

“Kyle?” Andy’s voice was subdued, but the concern for his friend was evident as he stepped inside with Brian behind him.

“I’m fine,” he lied, not caring if he was believed or not.

“Everyone is at the house.” Brian’s voice sounded almost timid and laced with grief that caused Kyle to feel a misguided sense of anger flare up within. This was his father lying here, not theirs. Even as the emotion formed, he felt ashamed and reminded himself that his father was more than just one thing to one person in this world. Many lives would be changed before this day was over.

Kyle turned back to the body laying before him in an effort to hide the pain that he felt creeping towards the surface. “I… I’m just… I need a few minutes is all,” he said. The words took effort to get out while the pain steadily grew inside him. There was a silence in the room, followed by the scraping of metal on the floor as two more stools were pulled up to his. Kyle squeezed his eyes shut to block out the tears even as his lips raised in a pain-filled smile, knowing that his friends were taking their places on either side of him.

“We’ll wait until you’re ready,” Brian said compassionately.

Kyle sat quietly, unable to look at them for fear that the overwhelming pain in his heart would be let loose. His eyes stayed focused on the face that remained still and unmoving. His mind swirled with memories of the smile he would never see again. The voice he would never hear again. He didn’t want to leave, knowing it would be their last time together. “You… you should go. I’ll be fine on my own.”

Silence hung in the air until he felt a hand come to rest on his shoulder. Warm and alive. Squeezing him gently in affection. Andy leaned in close to his ear and whispered, “Kyle... On this team, we don’t leave anyone behind.”

Hearing his words, Kyle wanted to laugh but it turned into a choked sob. The deep breath meant to contain the chaos inside him only proved to give his pent-up emotions fuel as that one sob led his entire body to shake. Wave after wave of grief crashed over him. There was a sensation of falling into a dark abyss only to feel strong arms wrapped around him, guiding him to safety. A loud, grief-filled cry filled the room as a flood of tears blinded his eyes.

The arms tightened around him, and a voice filled with a love that existed beyond friendship broke through the pain. “It’s okay. I got you. Just let it out.”

He wept and held fast to Andy, trying to regain his composure. Another hand touched his shoulder and Brian leaned in to offer his own support. “We’ll get through this together, Kyle. I promise.”

What seemed like hours might have only lasted a few seconds. The tears subsided and eventually ended as Kyle pulled himself together. A few more deep breaths later he managed to get to his feet. With a small, grateful smile kissed Andy’s cheek in thanks before doing the same to Brian. He turned back to his father’s body one last time and leaned down to kiss his forehead before pulling the sheet back over him. With that complete, Kyle turned to them and said, “let’s go home.”

****

Jacob sat on the couch holding a weeping Aaron in his arms. The trip to pick up the children from school still seemed like it happened to someone else in his mind. Elizabeth had been in the hospital on duty when the news came of David’s death and hurried to the school on her own, showing up only seconds after he got there. He was glad that she had had the presence of mind to speak to the principal first instead of waiting for the school day to end. The man had been quick to spring into action, calling the school counselor and sending messages to the teachers to hold the three boys, Emily and Aaron in their classrooms until after everyone else was dismissed before escorting them to the office. With the counselor and the principal’s help, Jacob was able to tell Matthew and the others about David’s passing. Of course, they took the news badly as anyone would. But the manner of how they were told helped to mitigate the grief a little bit before he could take them back to the house.

Now, they were all gathered in the front room, being comforted by Jacob, Troy, Colt and Liz while they waited for the others to show up. His heart leapt into his throat when he heard the back door open. He thought it was Kyle only to be mildly disappointed to see Sam walk quietly into the room and join them. Jacob watched with reddened eyes as Carter went to sit with his grandfather and be held. His own heart was in turmoil as he tried to process his loss, but his focus was on the children, which gave him time to avoid his own emotions.

Aaron and Emily had taken the news badly. Neither of them fully understanding what or why it happened. They were so young and innocent, the idea of losing someone they loved had never occurred to them. Since they came home, Aaron had yet to leave Jacob’s side. Matthew had reacted with a stunned silence and a few tears before his friends gathered around him in mutual comfort. He didn’t cry like Aaron had which concerned Jacob. The counselor had cautioned him that Matthew and all of the other children would come to terms with it in his own way. Blake and Carter wept, but they held strong to each other and Matthew which lessened their pain for the time being.

He wasn’t sure how Tanner and Chase were feeling. Troy had pulled them out of their classes at junior high school and given them the news there, so he wasn’t sure what they had been told. When they arrived at the house, they were both quiet with a deep sadness etched on their faces as they sat together away from the rest, leaning on each other for support. As he stared at them, his mind recalled a fuzzy memory of David ecstatically telling him about Tanner’s birth and how badly he wished he could have been there. Jacob’s eyes scanned the room and thought he saw a picture of David holding Tanner as a baby hanging on the wall near the television. There were so many pictures in the house. Some he didn’t even know who was in them. And now, those pictures were all that remained of his beloved adopted father. Even with the room filling up with everyone, how empty the house suddenly felt without him there.

So caught up in himself, he only noticed Kyle’s return when he stepped into the room with Andy and Brian beside him. Keeping a hold of Aaron, Jacob rose from his place and crossed the room towards him. With his free arm he held onto Kyle tightly and breathed in his scent for comfort. When they let go of each other, Jacob realized how different Kyle looked. There was a heaviness in his eyes and his face seemed to have aged years in the hour or more they had last seen each other. Putting all that aside, he asked in a quiet voice, “what did the doctors say?”

Kyle didn’t answer and instead looked around the room. When he saw Matthew sitting next to Troy, he smiled sadly. “Matt? Come here.” He moved over to the couch Jacob had been sitting on and looked at his son as he came over. When Matt came to stand in front of him, Kyle pulled him into a tight hug. “I’m so sorry, Baby Boy. Your dad told you about grandpa?”

Matt nodded as he moved to sit next to Kyle. His voice sounded younger somehow. Where Kyle may have aged years in a day, his son had grown younger. “He died?”

Kyle nodded. “I’m afraid so. I know you’re hurting right now, just like I am.” He subtly raised his voice so everyone in the room could hear him, though he kept his attention focused solely on Matt, Jacob and Aaron. “Just like we all are. The reason why I wasn’t there to tell you myself was because I wanted to be able to tell you what happened, so that there’s no guessing or blaming or any anger.”

He took Matt’s hand as he explained. “The doctors examined him and told me that your grandfather likely had what they call a sudden cardiac arrest. It’s not like the usual heart attack where a blood clot stops blood pumping to the heart. You know all about that from school, don’t you?”

Matt nodded as his lower lip twitched slightly. “In health class.”

Kyle nodded. “Good. The kind of thing that happened with your grandpa is that the little electrical pulse that makes the heart pump was interrupted. When that happened, his heart stopped and that’s what he died from. They told me there would have been no hint of any problem and that it would have happened very suddenly with no real cause for it.” He tried to smile to reassure Matt before he continued. “But, what’s important really… that while it is sad that he passed away, the one comfort we can take is that…” Kyle paused as his eyes teared up and his voice tightened again as the grief returned again. “… he didn’t feel any pain. He wasn’t scared. He just… closed his eyes and left.”

Liz wiped her eyes and said quietly, “most people who have that kind of arrest don’t survive unless they’re already in the hospital when it happens or there’s an EMT right in front of them. Even if there’s a few minutes lost, there’s usually very little that can be done.”

Kyle nodded and kept his eyes on Matt. “So… while we’re all going to miss him, because we loved him, it’s good that he passed in a way where he was happy. You remember how he was this morning. All smiles and talking like usual? He was so proud of you and Aaron. And Tanner and Chase, Emily, Carter, Blake… all of us. I know it hurts a lot right now because I’m hurting a lot too. But it will get easier. And we will be here for you and your brother.”

Matt nodded and leaned in to hug Kyle. “I’m sorry, Dad.”

Kyle held him tight and kissed the top of his head. “I am too.” He finally looked around at the others. “I didn’t want to explain it over and over with all of you, so I’m glad we’re all here so I only had to do it once.” He held onto Matt for a few more moments before reluctantly letting go and slowly rose to his feet. “I’m going to go upstairs now and find a suit for him to wear.” Without waiting for anyone else to say something, he quietly left the room and went up the stairs.

A heavy silence filled the room with Kyle’s absence for a while. The adults were keeping themselves busy comforting the children. Colt hesitated before speaking. “Do we know what Davey’s wishes were as far as his funeral and such?”

Jacob shook his head, wishing he didn’t have to talk about it. “He wanted to be cremated. That’s all he ever said to me. Kyle probably knows more.”

“Maybe he left a message,” Troy offered.

Sam spoke up in a somber voice. “He wanted to be cremated and have his ashes and Travis’s buried in the orchard. He didn’t have any hangups about a funeral, so whatever we want to do would have been fine by him.”

Brian shrugged. “Doesn’t matter what we want. The person who needs to make the decisions is Kyle.”

“I don’t think he’s in the right place in his mind right now to make those kinds of choices right now,” Andy muttered quietly. “Let’s just wait for a bit and see what happens.”

Colt nodded but already was planning on a phone call or two in his head. He squeezed Aaron affectionately as he stood up. “Let’s go get some fresh air.” Aaron didn’t reply and just allowed himself to be lowered to his feet and took Colt’s hand as they left the room.

Tanner and some of the other boys stepped out, seemingly choosing to join Colt and Aaron. Jacob left to use the bathroom and the room was nearly silent. Sam remained in his seat and watched Matthew who silently remained seated where Kyle and Jacob had left him. From Sam’s point of view, the little boy reminded him of a friend of his from a long time ago. Stoic and silent. Looking sad and lonely. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out to check the message. After reading it he let out a long, tired sigh and got to his feet. He crossed the room and put his hand on Matt’s shoulder. When the boy looked up at him, Sam said, “you feeling okay there?”

Matt shrugged indifferently. “I’m fine.”

Sam nodded as if he expected to hear that answer. “If you’re up to it, I have to run an errand across town. I could use some company on the trip. That is, if you want to get out of here for a few minutes.”

He seemed to think about it before getting to his feet. “Okay.”

A ghost of a smile played across Sam’s lips. “Alright then. We won’t be gone long.” The pair quietly headed out of the house, without anyone stopping them.

****

Colt walked quietly through the orchard with Aaron at his side. The memories of the past five years almost always led to this place. When Colt had planned his retirement from the marine corps, he had no clue what he wanted to do or where to go. It was only when he met and connected with David that he found someone he wanted to live with and to share his life. David had been the catalyst that gave Colt the drive to go see the world and to do new things. And it was with a mutual love and respect for each other that he had somehow come to find this place as his home.

With David’s death, he wasn’t sure where he belonged now. For all he knew, Kyle might be expecting him to leave. A part of him did feel like he wanted to leave here and never come back. He had faced death on more than one occasion in his career. But none of them had affected him as deeply as this loss. Like a part of himself that he only just found was suddenly gone and now he was one of the walking wounded. Where he belonged or what he was going to do next was a puzzle he would have to solve later.

A tug on his arm brought Colt out of his inner thoughts as he stopped to look down at Aaron. “What is it, bud?”

The small boy looked up at him with a confused frown. “Colt?”

The old marine knelt down to look at the boy in his eyes. Somehow, he managed to find a small smile inside himself. “Yes?”

With no hint of remorse, only honest curiosity, the little boy asked in a quiet voice, “why did grandpa have to die?”

Colt smirked despite the pain he felt in his heart still. “I honestly don’t know, sweetheart. I wish I did. Maybe if I knew for sure why he’s gone, maybe it won’t hurt so much.”

The answer seemed to not satisfy Aaron as his eyes sparkled in the fading daylight. “But why?”

Colt moved a little closer to Aaron and lowered his voice to almost a whisper. “Do you want to know why I think it happened?” The boy nodded his head and waited for him to answer. “Well…” Colt quickly stowed away his own grief for a moment before he continued. “Now, you know I told you how marines are just about the best people in the world, because when they have a job to do, they get it done, right?” The boy’s face turned skeptical, but he nodded. “Well, I think God was needing a new angel. Maybe someone to take care of little boys and girls who might be lost somewhere out in the world. Who don’t have anyone else to turn to when they need help. And I think what happened was that God asked your grandpa for help.” Colt smirked slightly. “And you know him. He’s always eager to jump in and help if he needs to.”

“So, he’ll come back?”

Colt shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that, sweetheart. When you sign up with God, that’s your job for good. For all we know, he’s out there somewhere right now keeping some little boy out of harms way.”

Aaron wasn’t sure he liked this answer as his lower lip trembled. “But I need him.”

“Oh,” Colt smiled and brushed the dark hair out of the boy’s eyes. “I’m sure God took that into account. But He knows you have two great dads already and they love you and your brother more than anyone’s ever loved a little boy like you and Matt. They’ll be here to always take care of you when you need someone.”

“Oh.” That answer seemed to sink in a little more. “So, you think he’s somewhere out there?”

“Yup,” he answered with a nod. “Doing what he loved most. Protecting those who need him.” He watched Aaron’s face. He could tell, the boy was still grieving, and it pained him to see the little mouth tug down as a sign of tears threatened to fall. He put his arms around the little boy and whispered in his ear. “Aaron, he loved you so much. You were the best thing that ever happened to him. So, I’ll let you in on a little secret. If you ever find yourself alone… If you’re ever scared and you have no one else to turn to, all you have to do is think about your grandpa. Think really, really hard that you need him. I know your grandpa. If you really need him, he’ll come runnin’.”

Aaron sniffled as he rested his head on Colt’s shoulder. “You sure?”

“Absolutely,” Colt whispered. “You may not see him, and you may not hear him. But you will feel him in your heart. And then you’ll know he’s with you. And he’ll protect you.”

The boy held onto him in the comforting embrace for a long time. Eventually Aaron sighed and said in a sad voice, “I’m going to miss him.”

Colt closed his eyes as the pain of David’s death seemed to hit him hard. He swallowed his tears and said in a mournful whisper, “yeah. Me to, little man.”

****

Matt sat quietly, playing a mindless game on his phone. When he agreed to come with Sam to run his errand, he didn’t know what to expect it would be. The last thing he considered was sitting in a small, squat brick building that smelled old like some of the bathrooms at school. They arrived a few minutes ago and Sam motioned to the plastic bench off to the side of him to sit while Sam spoke quietly to a lady who was sitting behind a large desk that had a bunch of computers around it. A cursory look around him found a large set of doors at the other end of the room they had entered with windows looking out at a seemingly empty field. Without questioning what they were there for, Matt sat down and distracted himself with his phone.

When his teacher had walked him and his friends down to the principal’s office, his first impulse was that they were in trouble for something. Carter and Blake had both shrugged when their eyes met, unsure themselves about what was going on at the time. When they walked in and saw Emily and Aaron already there, Matt knew something bad was happening. He looked at his father for answers and was stunned to see eyes red from tears, which only alarmed him more. It was when the counselor sat down with them, and Jacob carefully told them about his grandfather dying that he was stunned silent. He could remember hearing Emily and Aaron crying and Blake’s squeak of pain when he heard the news. Out of reflex, Matt put his arm around Blake in a side hug as Carter did the same to him.

Through it all, he had remained quiet. A part of his brain kept telling him if he stood still and stayed quiet, then it didn’t really happen. He knew that couldn’t be true. He understood what death was and what it all meant. Yet, he remained quiet and calm. Even when Kyle explained to him what happened, he listened even as his mind grasped onto the last image of David in his mind. Just this morning. Right before heading off to school. That bright happy smile he always got that gave him a warm feeling inside. Hearing the pride and love in his voice was a sound he was never going to forget.

Pushing buttons on his phone and trying his best to keep his focus from what was going to happen when they went back home, Matt was doing everything he could to avoid the twist and swirl of feelings that were inside him. There were enough problems right now with his dads hurting and Aaron and the others at the same time. The least he could do right now was to stay out of the way and not add to their problems. In the background, he thought he could hear a great whooshing sound followed by the roar of an engine slowly coming closer to where they were. He glanced up at Sam who was staring solemnly down at the floor. Going back to his game, Matthew kept his eyes on the screen to keep everything else at bay.

A few moments passed and the sound of the engine came very close before it began to slow and eventually go quiet. Everything in the room went quiet again while Matt kept his head down and his eyes focused on his phone. Only a few seconds later, he felt a nudge on his shoulder and looked up at Sam. Sam met his gaze and then turned his attention towards the large doors at the far end. Matt’s eyes followed. He first heard the click of footsteps on the old linoleum floor before his eyes saw a figure walking towards him. The sight before him brought so much confusion mixed with joy and pain. Without thinking, he was already on his feet and slowly walking towards them even as the pain in his heart reached a breaking point. He could no longer hide from the awful truth of what had happened that day as his legs propelled him faster.

The mix of feelings within him all burst from his mouth as he whimpered and choked on the only word that could come out of his mouth before the sobbing and tears overtook him. “Grandma!”

Helen Stratford smiled sadly at her grandson breaking into tears as he ran towards her. She stopped and leaned down to take him into her arms. She closed her eyes and focused her attention on the boy. “Oh, my darling child.”

Matthew cried loudly. On some instinctive level his mind knew that if she was here, there could only be one reason for her arrival. Tears streamed down his face and onto the lapel of her suit jacket as he wept. “Grandpa,” he choked between his cries. “He…”

She shushed him gently and hugged him tightly. “It’s alright, Darling. I know. I know. It’ll be alright. It’s okay to cry.”

“He was just here,” he whimpered as sobs wracked his little body. “He was just here!”

“I know, sweetheart. We’ll miss him so much. Just remember how much he loved you. And that he will always love you, no matter where he’s gone to now.”

After a few more sobs, Matthew started to settle down as Helen fawned on him. When he was able to look at her, he meekly said, “I’m sorry for getting your clothes wet.”

Helen smiled and looked down at herself. “Nonsense, Darling. That’s what dry cleaning is for. Could you take my bag for me?” She motioned to the small rolling suitcase that stood next to her and he dutifully obeyed as she stood and brushed her hand over her jacket and skirt to straighten it out.

Sam came up to her and watched her as their eyes met. They stared at each other for a long moment, both of them sharing a mutual loss and understanding between them. After decades of friendships and love between all of them, they were the only two remaining out of the six that had shared so much in their years. “Helen.”

The corners of her lips lifted slightly in a sad smile. “Sam.”

He took a step closer to her as he lowered his guard for a moment so that she could see the sorrow in his eyes. “I lost my best friend today,” he said in a slightly choked voice.

Her smile lifted up more in sympathy as she nodded. “Yes, I know,” she whispered in understanding. “But…” She reached her hand up to touch the side of his face in an act of sympathy. “…At least now, Emily has someone new to keep her company.” Sam closed his eyes and nodded as he took this latest loss in stride along with all the others from their shared past. It was a time to mourn for them both. But also, a time to celebrate the life of someone and those who went before him. They silently stood there, each of them finding solace in the silence between them before Helen took a breath, signaling that it was time to move on to the next task. “Now, take me to my son.”