Page 38 of Keg's Revelation

“Did he really hear you?” Reagan asked.

“I never asked him when he came home. But talking to Sergeant Bear made missing my dad a little easier.”

“I miss my daddy sometimes,” Reagan said, and I could have kicked myself for making her sad.

“Would you like Sergeant Bear? He’s a great listener.”

“Do you think if I talk to him, my daddy will hear me all the way in Heaven?”

“I’m not sure, Reagan. But would talking to Sergeant Bear make you feel better?”

She nodded.

“Then his is yours, sweetheart. Sergeant Bear needs a place to stay other than in a box. And I know you’ll take good care of him.” I held the bear out to her.

“Uh huh,” she said, and gingerly took the bear from my hands and pulled him into her chest.

“What do you tell Reed, Reagan?” Raven made eye contact with me and smiled. The look in her eyes tightened my groin. I should’ve never kissed her. Since then, I’ve fought off the urges to kiss her again. My resolve diminished more each time I was around her.

“Thank you, Reed. I promise to take care of him.”

“You’re welcome. Well, two boxes aren’t much to tote to the truck. We can handle that, don’t you think, Ry?”

“Yep. Are we going now?”

“Might as well. I was looking for something I wanted to show you, but they weren’t in any of the boxes. Another day when I’m here, I’ll look in the garage.”

“Some boxes could be mixed with Sami’s stuff,” Raven said and walked to the other side of the shed and moved down the row of Sami’s things.

“Possibly, but who knows where in the stacks. She has twice as much stuff stored in here. I’ll look another day for them, it’s no big deal. We’ve been in here a few hours, and I want to swing by my house before we go to Lugio’s. By then, everyone should be hungry.”

“I could eat,” Ry offhandedly said while he put the cards away and closed the lid on the box.

I chuckled. “I’m not surprised.”

“Hey, I’m still growing.”

“Wouldn’t want to be responsible for stunting your growth.” I ruffled his hair as I passed.

“Reed, I think I found one that might be yours. I see part of the R, but the rest is blocked by the boxes in front of it.”

I turned to see Raven stretched on her tiptoes, trying to move the top box on a stack of five. Other than the possibility the whole pile would fall and land on her, the position had her t-shirt pulled up enough; it showed the small indention of the lower back above her jeans that were strained across her ass. It took everything in me not to groan out loud.

“You’re going to pull the whole pile over on you.” I grabbed her waist and held on until she was flat on her feet. “Let me do that.”

Starting at the top and setting aside two boxes, I saw the box Raven was trying to get to. It was mine. I moved a couple other of Sami’s things until I could lift the box and set it down. Beside it was another one of mine.

Once my two additional boxes were pulled, I placed Sami’s back in place. These had to be what I was looking for. The weight of the boxes made it almost a guarantee.

“Hey, Ry. Why don’t you open these?”

Raven looked at me questionably, and I smiled. She’d definitely forgotten these had been in my bedroom on shelves my dad had made to display them on. Then again, we’d been in my room for a different purpose.

Ry, without question, ripped the tape off both box tops, then pulled the tops back, revealing what the boxes contained. Lined from bottom to top in each box were motorcycles of different styles and eras encased in their own clear display case. I’d collected them for years. There had to be at least forty.

“Look, Mom. Reed puts together models, too.” Raven and Reagan bent to look in the boxes, and Ry looked up at me. “I have models, too.”

“Your mom told me you liked putting them together. It’s actually what made me remember these were out here.”

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