Page 164 of Cruelest Contract
I touch his shoulder, which is covered by a quilt checkered with pictures of running horses. Peeling back the edge of the blanket, I search for his large hand. He doesn’t resist when I guide his palm to my belly.
“Your grandbabies,” I say. As if on cue, there’s a flurry of activity within as the twins flex their limbs.
His mouth stretches into a smile of wonder. “Sometimes I’d spend so long listening to our baby kick that I’d fall asleep with my cheek on her stomach. It was the same with all four of them.”
This short speech is far more than he’s said since he woke up after being knocked unconscious. I don’t know if this is a good sign or not. But his sons are overwhelmed by this rare glimpse into the life their parents once shared.
Tye breaks down and buries his face in his hands. Getty leans his forehead against the window and says nothing. Fort sinks down on the end of the sofa by his father’s feet with his hat in his lap and his face wilted with sorrow.
And Julian takes a knee right beside me and covers his father’s hand with his own. Their hands are so similar. Big and calloused and powerful.
The smile disappears from Cass’s face. “I shouldn’t have left you alone.”
“You didn’t,” I assure him. “You were protecting me.”
“I left you,” he insists with a groan. “Where are my boys?”
“We’re all right here, Dad,” Julian says.
A brief seizure of some sort grips Cass’s body and the next breath he draws is a ragged, wheezing mission. His hand falls from my belly and a smile of joy lights up his face.
“Angel,” he says, barely above a whisper. “I’ve missed you so much.”
I’ve never seen death stake its claim peacefully before.
But Cass’s reunion with his beloved Teresa is peaceful and there’s still a partial smile on his face when the last second of his life leaves him behind.
There are surely people who will celebrate his death.
However, the man loved his wife. He loved his boys. And they loved him back. That legacy is worth more than the voices of cynics.
There is grief everywhere in this room. Tye is now openly sobbing and Grace gives him a motherly hug. Fort walks over to the window and claps a hand on Getty’s shoulder. Together, they stare at the wintry scene on the other side, united in mourning.
As for my husband, he gently shuts his father’s empty eyes and pulls the blanket up over his head.
Julian struggles with his tears, fights against them, trying so hard to be the unbreakable backbone his brothers need. This is what he’s always been and always will be.
“Julian, look at me.” My fingertips caress his rough jaw. Then I press his palm to my belly. A reminder that not all has been lost.
And he can break for a little while if he needs to.
I might do the same.
We’ll be right here to heal each other.
40
JULIAN
We’re burying him beside his bride. There was never any doubt that’s exactly where he belongs.
Heavy equipment had to be brought in to move the snow and thaw out the ground enough to dig a grave. The weather turned mild after the blizzard and today, three days after his death, we are able to lay Cassio Tempesta to rest.
Our neighbors helped round up the horses in the aftermath. Most didn’t stray far. An hour after my father’s death, just as the snow stopped and the first streaks of dawn were lightening the sky, Luna was the first to return on her own and waited patiently by the front porch until Fort led her to the stable. Omerta was the last to be found. Twenty-four hours passed before he was located sheltering in the coulee among the warmth of the herd.
On that day the McNeal boys also came across the bodies of three men who had frozen to death in the wilderness near the creek. They were not recognized as being from the area and carried no identification but were heavily armed and dressed all in black. For now they are being stored in the county morgue while the authorities search for someone to step forward and claim the bodies. I don’t expect anyone will.
There are certain protocols surrounding the deaths of Mafia bosses and I’ve ignored them all. Usually a funeral for a man like my father would be attended by legions of wise guys crowding around to offer their respects and kiss ass.
