And he came running for her, didn’t he? There she was, alone, scared out of her mind and grieving and where the hell was he? Well, if that didn’t speak volumes about where she stood in his life, nothing did.
Disappointment and more heartache filled her chest. “I doubt he has any clue who did it or even cares. Look, I need to get the rest of my things in the car. Thank you for stopping by.”
She needed to go before she cried like a baby over Ridge. It shouldn’t surprise her really. If she could let go of that scrap of hope it wouldn’t hurt so damn bad.
“Avery,” Stone said as she reached the door to her room. “Let me help you.”
Shaking her head she kept her back to him. “I’m fine, really, Lieutenant. You’ve done more than is necessary.” Tears stung her eyes as she fought to keep them from falling. How many more times would she let Ridge hurt her before she wised up and erased him from her life?
Stone slipped his arm around her waist, led her inside the hotel room and closed the door. Before she realized what was happening he pulled her against his chest and surrounded her with his arms. Avery stiffened as she continued to struggle with her emotions.
“I won’t hurt you,” he whispered, holding her tight. “The last thing I would do is hurt you.”
His words and the light scent of his cologne wrapped around and absorbed into her. No, Stone wasn’t the kind of man to hurt a woman. Slowly she began to relax in his arms and let her head rest against his chest.
“Let me come with you today,” he said, running his wide hand up and down her back. “Let me be the one you can lean on.”
Avery turned her face further into Stone’s solid chest. She hadn’t even known him twenty-four hours yet and already he’d helped her clean the disaster in her home, lined up repairs and stopped by the funeral home to pay his respects to a man he didn’t know only because he was her brother. Stone fed her, offered to take her shopping and here he was holding her when she wanted to cry over another man.
What freaking world did Stone drop out of? Hell, she didn’t even know his first name and it didn’t seem to bother him. A stranger had stepped in and become her knight in shining armor. He’d done more for her in a matter of hours than anyone she’d ever known, more than the man she fell in love with so many years ago.
“I don’t know your first name.” Her voice was muffled against his chest.
He chuckled. “I’m so used to everyone calling me Stone, I forget to give my first name. It’s Kevin.”
What would it hurt to have a friend with her on the day she buried her twin brother? Someone who would be there come hell or high water because that’s the type of man Kevin was. Ridge would be there but then what? Would he disappear again?
She had loved Ridge for so long and with all of her heart and knew one day he’d see that, respond to her affection in kind. One night shared in the midst of grief didn’t exactly count as affection, did it? He hadn’t been willing to share all the misery with her, only showing up out of the blue when it suited him.
Avery tipped back her head and looked up into Kevin Stone’s deep brown, piercing eyes. “I would appreciate the support and company today, Kevin.” One single tear rolled from her eye and down her cheek. Today of all days she didn’t want to be alone.
Kevin whisked her tear away with his thumb and then leaned down and kissed her forehead. “It would be my honor to stand by your side.”
Honor? To stand by her side? No one had ever acted like it was an honor or even a joy to stand by her side. Not that she’d given anyone but Ridge a chance.
“Let’s get your car loaded. What time do you have to be at the funeral home?” Kevin continued to stroke her cheek with his thumb.
“One.” Avery glanced at the clock on the nightstand and realized she only had about thirty minutes.
“I have my uniform in my truck. I’ll change here and then I’ll drive you to the funeral home.” Kevin pushed a stray hair back from her face and then brushed his thumb across her bottom lip.
His gentleness touched her, but nothing stirred in her soul. Not like it did when Ridge smiled at her, or winked like he used to do when he and Cale would visit. Maybe she was too numb.
Kevin obviously saw the hesitation in her eyes. He stepped back but still kept his arms around her. “I won’t push, Avery. Just know I’m here, no matter what. I’m here for you. I won’t lie. I want to be more than friends but I’ll wait for your decision.”
Avery groaned. “I don’t want you waiting for me. I know what that’s like and I will not put another person through that hell only to have their heart broken.” Why did he have to be so perfect and why couldn’t she fall for him?
“It’s my heart,” he said with a serious look in his eyes. “I think you’re worth the risk.”
“You don’t even know me,” she whined, pushing away from him. “Get your uniform and change. We’ll discuss this later.” She couldn’t do it now. A hotel room wasn’t the place and this certainly wasn’t the time for such a discussion.
“Yes, ma’am,” Kevin said, giving her a salute before he hurried through the door.
Avery realized a smile spread across her lips as she shook her head. She hadn’t smiled in so long. When he came back through the door he flashed her a big, bright smile before disappearing into the bathroom. What the hell was she going to do with him? He treated her like a princess, like every woman’s dream. She didn’t want to hurt him.
A loud pop sounded from outside. Avery jumped and Kevin burst through the bathroom door, grabbed her and shoved her to the floor. His large body covered her, weighed her down until she could barely breathe.
“What are you doing? It was just a firecracker or something.” Talk about overreacting. Still, he held her down and peered over the mattress at the door.
“That wasn’t a firecracker, Avery. Stay down and don’t move until I come back and get you.” He stared into her eyes until she finally nodded and then he crept around the bed toward the door.
Avery watched over the bed, her eyes barely peeking over the edge. Kevin had his gun in his hand and the look in his eyes was enough to scare ten years off her life. What the hell was going on?
Kevin positioned himself next to the window and peered between the curtains for what seemed like an hour before going to the door and slowly opening it.
“Damn it,” he snarled, stepping outside and dialing his cell. “It’s Stone. Shots fired at the Mason Hotel, side lot.”
Shots fired. Someone was shooting in the parking lot? This town had gone to hell, first her house and now this. What was next?
“Avery, you can come out now,” he told her gently.
She pulled herself up and walked to the door where Kevin met her and gripped her upper arms. She didn’t like the look on his face. Was someone dead in the parking lot? Oh, God, she hoped not. She couldn’t deal with that.
“Honey,” he said carefully. “That was a gunshot. It hit your car.”
What! Avery stood there unable to move. “Excuse me?”
“The windshield of your car has been shot out.”
He was joking. He had to be joking.
“I don’t know what happened,” Kevin told her. “It could have been a stray bullet, a couple of kids playing with a gun and it went off, it could have been anything.”
Sirens coming down the street filled her ears. Avery stepped away from him and made her legs carry her out the door. Yep, her windshield currently covered the parking lot in small glass beads, along with her back window.
“No,” she said, growing angrier by the second. “No.” Not again. Everything she owned had been destroyed. Why? What crime had she committed against the universe that warranted this punishment?
“Avery, come back inside, please.”
She didn’t want to go back inside. She didn’t want to stand there like a dope, either, but hell if she knew what to do. The world had gone insane. Nothing made sense. How could so much bad luck befall one person in such a short
period of time? Was this how her life would go now without Cale?
Fisting her hands at her sides she glared at her car, at the broken glass, and ignored the officers approaching. No, she wouldn’t allow her life to become one calamity after another. Holding her chin high she vowed to herself that no matter what she’d pick up the pieces and move forward. Nothing stopped her before. Not her father abandoning them and not her mother’s mental illness and not the cruelty of the kids in high school.
This, this was a bump in a road littered with painful events and deep potholes that hadn’t taken her down yet. She could get through this. All she had to do was rely on herself, believe in herself and in the end she’d come out stronger.
“Avery?”
“I have to get to the funeral home.” Step by step she’d make it through this day. Turning to Kevin, she smiled. “Are you still coming or will you be staying to run the investigation?”
Kevin frowned and clenched his jaw. He thought she’d snapped, she could see it in his eyes. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his truck keys and jingled them in the palm of his hand.
“I’m going with you. They can handle this.” Kevin tossed her the keys. “Go ahead and get in the truck. I’ll grab what I can and be along in a few moments.”
His determination to accompany her made her pause a moment. She held the warm metal of the keys in her hand and studied him. Did he truly want to be her pillar of support or did this incident demand he go along to protect her from whatever hateful karma had attached itself to her?
“I’m not leaving you. Not now. Go on, Avery. I’ll be right there.”
Shrugging, Avery grabbed her purse from the small table in front of the window and walked out the door, past her broken car and the officers studying it. She wasn’t ignoring the situation exactly, simply putting it on the back burner to deal with later. It was a car, after all, not a once living, breathing part of her life like Cale. Just a car. Just furniture and clothing, items that could be replaced.
Avery climbed into Kevin’s truck and pushed the keys into the ignition. She’d give him five minutes and then she’d borrow his truck and take herself to the funeral home. He’d understand. Priorities and all.
Glancing out the window she saw Kevin talking with a few other officers, men who’d been to her house yesterday. Their faces reflected deep concern and more than once they all shot a curious peek at her. She wasn’t dim. She knew they were trying to connect this shooting with what happened at her house yesterday.
Was it connected? Avery rolled that question around in her mind. How could it be? This kind of thing only happened to people mixed up with the sleazy types and she certainly didn’t mingle with that kind of crowd. Hell, she didn’t mingle with any crowd. A person had to know people to be targeted this way.
The truck door opened and Kevin slid behind the wheel. “When they’re finished,” he said, nodding toward the men combing over her car, “they’ll gather your bags and drop them off at my house. We’ll go get them after the funeral.”
Huh, she hadn’t even given that a thought. “Thank you. We better get going.”
“Are you okay?” he asked quietly.
“I’m fine, Kevin,” she reassured him with a polite, proper smile. “I know it sounds cold but I’m eager to get this day over with.”
“Yeah,” he responded, starting the truck. “I don’t blame you.”
As they drove Avery slipped into a cocoon of numbness. She barely noticed the air conditioning gently blowing on her legs or heard the music Kevin had turned down low. In fact, nothing seemed to phase her at all. Not the bone-deep grief that overcame her this morning when she woke, or the anger of having yet another possession of hers destroyed, or the hurt of Ridge’s blatant rejection. Nothing.
Oddly, she liked not hurting for a change. If she could only stay here in this void everything would be just fine. Maybe this was the key to life. Feel nothing and whatever happened didn’t matter.
“Avery, honey, we’re here.”
Turning her head toward Kevin, she blinked a few times and realized they were sitting in the parking lot of the funeral home. Time passed quicker in the void, too. “So we are.”
Kevin jumped from the truck and hustled around to open her door. He reached in, gripped her waist and lifted her down. Mr. Heinz, the funeral director, opened the door and gave her a sad but welcoming smile.
“Miss Easton,” he said, stepping back so she could enter the building.
Next to her Kevin did a visual sweep of the area. Was he watching for shooters, she wondered, or was this just part of his nature? Did it matter? Did anything matter?
Mr. Heinz led them into the room where Cale’s casket was presented. As soon as she stepped inside and the crowd of people came into view, Avery stumbled. Some of the faces in the crowd she recognized. The man she worked for, Mr. Celini, stood stoic in the corner next to Cindy. Some of the girls from the local high school in which she taught self-defense were dressed in black and holding hands.
The others she recognized from the airport yesterday. They’d come to help put Cale in his final resting place. Everyone stood quietly, watching her. When her eyes focused at the end of the room she lost her balance. Kevin quickly steadied her with a strong arm around her waist.
Two soldiers stood at attention at each end of the flag-draped casket. Did anything matter? Yes. This mattered. Honoring her brother’s devotion to his country and fellow man mattered. Above the casket hung a large photo of Cale and Ridge dressed in dirty fatigues with their arms around each other’s shoulders, taken more than likely in Afghanistan.
Cale’s smile was huge and mischievous as always, his eyes sparkling with fun and a love of life. Next to him Ridge laughed. Avery could almost hear him laughing now, a rich, deep sound that always made her insides quiver. Ridge’s eyes were filled with dreams and hope. Traits she hadn’t seen since Cale passed.
For some reason that picture of the two men she adored so much ripped through her safe cocoon of numbness and crashed into her heart with a force that nearly knocked her off her feet. The air whooshed from her lungs like a huge hand had reached inside and squeezed the breath from her. Cale was truly gone.
One of the soldiers moved like he was going to rush to her aid. Avery quickly glanced at him and gasped. Ridge. Oh, God. She hadn’t even noticed it was him standing guard.
Kevin pulled her close to his side. “Do you want to sit down?”
Avery continued to stare at Ridge. No matter how hard she tried to shed her intense love for him, it always came rushing back as soon as she saw him. The muscle in his jaw ticked as he watched her and Kevin. This day had to be as hard on him as it was on her. Like her, Ridge had no one.
“No. I wasn’t prepared for all this,” she told Kevin.
Avery had expected only Kevin and Ridge to attend the funeral, not all these people. Overwhelmed didn’t come close to explaining the abundance of support before her. Mr. Heinz stepped up beside her and motioned for her to approach the casket. Kevin met her step for shaky step.
“Miss Easton, would you like to view your brother’s body before we proceed?”
View his body? Could she do it? His head injury was so brutal from what the doctors had said. Did she want to remember him that way?
“The military mortuary did a remarkable job,” Mr. Heinz assured her. “You won’t see anything but him.”
Avery immediately looked up at Ridge. Had he seen him? Did he think she should? Ridge gave a short, curt nod.
“It’s okay.”
Avery blinked at the sound of Ridge’s voice in her head. Ridge frowned.
“Yes, I’d like to see him one last time,” she told Mr. Heinz, quickly looking away from Ridge.
“Very well. We’ll remove everyone from the room and give you a few moments of privacy.”
A flurry of movement sounded behind her as the people left. Avery glanced back up at Ridge. He continued to watch her, never blinking or moving. His gaze captivated h
er, held her and for a brief moment she was sure he reached out and mentally hugged her like Cale used to do.
Mr. Heinz pulled the flag from the casket and carefully opened the lid. Avery never took her eyes from Ridge.
“Do you want me to stay?” Kevin asked beside her.
“No, thank you. I need a few moments.” She didn’t want to be rude but this moment was for her and Ridge alone. A last goodbye.
“Gentlemen. Miss Easton needs some privacy,” Mr. Heinz told Ridge and the other soldier.
When both men began to move, Avery put up her hand. “Stay, please, Ridge.”
He swallowed hard. She could see the muscles in his throat tighten and work. Ridge halted as the other man marched from the room and stood in the doorway, a buffer between them and the others.
“I can’t do this without you,” she whispered to Ridge. “Be here for me one last time.” She had yet to look at her brother. Afraid of what she’d see.
Ridge stepped to her side, slipped his arm around her waist and tugged her close to his body. Avery melted into him as her muscles quivered under the stress of holding herself upright.
“Go ahead and look at him, baby,” Ridge said with a thick, husky voice. “It’s okay.”
Only Ridge’s strength helped her sweep her gaze from the foot of the casket to Cale’s face. Avery drew in a long, heavy breath. “Oh, Cale,” she whimpered, reaching for Ridge.
He pulled her around to his chest and then moved so they both could hold each other and still see Cale. Avery pressed her cheek against his chest.
“He looks so handsome.” His hair was sparkling clean and neatly combed. He even had a touch of a smile on his lips.
“He pissed more than one CO off with that shit-eating grin while we stood at attention,” Ridge commented as he smoothed his hand over her hair.
Avery pressed closer to Ridge’s body. “Look at his uniform, so crisp and proper.” The buttons on his jacket gleamed in the lighting. Even his fingernails seemed to have been manicured.
“They take good care of our fallen,” Ridge whispered as he held and stroked her hair.
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