Page 36 of Her Saviors

Without a word, Kyler leaves Gavin’s lap as he slowly walks closer to Scorch. When he’s a foot away from the man, he stops and his eyes lock onto Adrianna as she sleeps in her dad’s arms.

“Kyler, this is Adrianna. She’s smaller than your sister Mia. Both of them are little princesses and we have to take good care of them, don’t we?” Scorch asks Kyler as he remains staring at Adrianna.

“I watch out for Mia,” he whispers. “I can watch out for her too,” he says, reaching out to touch Adrianna’s blanket. “Mommy said I was a good helper.”

Now I hear a bunch of clearing throats. We may be former military, but this kid is breaking all of our hearts with what he’s saying. Gavin’s tears are still flowing, but I see a small smile cross his face as he watches his brother staring down at Adrianna.

“I’m sure you are a good helper, buddy,” Scorch says, his eyes suspiciously damp and voice huskier than normal.

We all turn from the scene before us to give Scorch and Kyler some time to themselves. This is another private moment between them. Gavin gets off the floor and sits back on the couch with me as Fetch walks back over to us. He’s got his arms full of a few things that he sets down on the floor in front of him.

“What’s that, Fetch?” Goliath asks him as he picks up Dillion in his arms.

“It’s a playmat for boys that I picked up one day when I was at the store. Figured the boys would like playin’ with it. It’s one of those ones that have all the roads and things like that for it. I’ve got a bag of road signs, those orange construction cones, and some more cars and bikes. I thought Kyler might like to play with it as we wait for the women to get back. Um, did you want me to grab somethin’ for dinner for everyone?” Fetch answers, his cheeks turning a faint shade of red as he sets everything up on the floor.

“I play?” Kyler asks Scorch without taking his eyes off Adrianna.

“Yeah, buddy. You go play and maybe later you can hold Adrianna if you want,” Scorch says, standing up from the crouched position he was in.

Kyler moves over to Fetch where he’s just finished setting everything up and gets down on the floor. The two of them talk quietly as Jethro wanders in the living room and lays down on the floor behind Kyler. It’s like he senses our boy needs him and he’s gonna be there for him. I’m gonna owe that dog a damn steak dinner for what he’s doing here tonight.

When Mia starts crying from her car seat in the kitchen, Gavin gets up and goes to take care of her. Nanny helps him change her diaper before handing him over a bottle so he can feed her. My best friend doesn’t look at anything other than his baby sister as Nanny and Anguish talk to him just low enough that no one else can overhear them. Nanny shows Gavin when to burp Mia and she lets out a loud belch that makes us all laugh because it’s the last thing we expected to hear from such a little girl. Mia honestly isn’t much bigger than Adrianna is and there’s several months between the two girls. We’ll have to get Doc here to check the kids out. No, I’m not saying Carrie and Gavin’s dad didn’t take care of their children. I believe they took very good care of them. At least to the best of their abilities when it comes to Mr. Calhoun. Plus, Doc can help us with getting their old medical records so we have those baselines moving forward.

As we all continue to sit around the house, Fetch leaves long enough to grab several pizzas, wings, and garlic bread from our favorite pizza joint. Brooklyn messages me and lets me know they’re on their way home so we’re ready to help them unload everything. I have a feeling our wife put a small dent in the joint account we have set up. She can spend it all as far as I’m concerned because I really don’t give a shit about money. As long as the kids have what they need to be comfortable here, Gavin and I can earn more money any day of the week.

“The girls are on their way back. Fetch and them should all arrive back here at the same time. Jethro is gonna have to go outside or somethin’ because we’ll be in and out of the house with everythin’ they bought,” I inform the group of people in our home.

“Good. The women can eat while we bring everythin’ in. Brooklyn is gonna need to tell us where everythin’ goes. I don’t think you’ve picked out which rooms will be the kids’ yet,” Anguish says, as he looks around at us all.

“No. She didn’t even go upstairs when we got back here. We’ll figure it all out. Um, Gavin, I just got a message from the funeral home. I think you need to come here for a minute,” I tell my best friend, looking down at my phone.

Gavin brings Mia with him as he walks over to find out what’s going on. I turn my phone to show him the message as the rest of the guys step closer to us. None of us know how he’s going to react and I’m the only one who knows what this says.

Director Oswald: I’m sorry to bother you, Mr. Sord. We’ve had a donation in the name of Carrie and Craig Calhoun. Someone donated a tree to be planted in memory of them. No one came out to collect the few ashes we do have from them for the kids. We can add the ashes to the tree and have it sent to you if you’re not still in town.

Gavin reads the message and I watch to see what his reaction will be. For the first time since all of this started, he doesn’t shut down and close himself off. Gavin looks at me with tears in his eyes and nods his head.

“Tell them to please send it here. We can plant it behind the house for Kyler and Mia. Maybe add some flowers around the tree in a sort of memorial for our parents. I can make a plaque or somethin’ to put out there, maybe a bench,” he says, rocking Mia in his arms as I hear one of the SUVs pull back up to the house.

“Okay, Gavin. I’ll get everythin’ arranged and taken care of,” I assure him as I stand from the couch and head to the door to see who’s here.

Me: Thank you, Director Oswald. We are back home in Odin’s Gap. If you could please add the ashes and have a way to transport it here safely, I’d greatly appreciate it.

Director Oswald: I will have it transported by my nephew. He does this all the time and knows how to keep everything alive and okay until it’s delivered. Make sure you plant the tree immediately when he drops it off to you.

Me: We will. Thank you for making this as easy on us as possible.

Director Oswald: You’re very welcome. I’ll be in touch when the tree is on its way to you.

Looking out the door, I find the women getting out of the SUV they took and grabbing several bags each. Letting the guys know they’re here and need help, I make my way outside as Fetch pulls up with dinner. While the women eat and get the kids taken care of, the rest of us unload the truck and SUV. Kyler watches on with wide eyes at everything we bring in the house. Tonight is going to be a long night, but with the help of everyone here, I know we’ll get through it quicker than if the three of us were alone. It’s good to have a large family at your back regardless of if they’re blood or your chosen family.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Soul

EVERYTHING THE WOMEN bought is now in our home. Brooklyn and the ol’ ladies are going through all the clothing and bedding, taking all the tags off and getting it out of any packaging to put in the washer before the kids use it. I can hear them talking and laughing as they go through everything. Fetch and Theo are getting all the new toys out of the packages. Theo is sitting on the couch as people pass him things and he isn’t moving too far so he doesn’t injure the leg he had surgery on. Gotta give him credit too; he’s not letting his temporary situation keep him from doing whatever he’s asked to do. He’ll make a good addition to our family once we patch him into the club. He’s watching everyone as they talk and laugh. Everyone is busy either watching the kids or doing something to help us put everything that’s been bought away after unpacking it. Goliath and Hulk are putting away all the food as Nanny directs them. I love how our family is here to help and we’re only missing one person. Autumn is in Dobber’s Cove with the club there and I’m not sure when she’ll be back.

I turn my attention to Kyler where he sits on the floor. My baby brother is looking all over the place and I can tell he’s getting very overwhelmed. His eyes are large and he can’t keep his attention on one thing. I don’t think Kyler’s ever been around this many people at one time. On a good day we’re a lot for everyone to take in. With everything my brother’s been through over the last week or so, there’s no telling how he’s feeling about everyone in the house. Especially since he’s not even paying attention to Jethro and he’s been with him since Fetch brought him into our home. Something needs to change and I have to do something to get Kyler out of this crazy mess before he has a meltdown and we set him back in some kind of recovery as we all navigate this new way of life.

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