Page 121 of Life To My Flight

“I had to tell him that she probably would once they managed to wipe the blood off of her,” she smiled wistfully. “That was the best day of my life, second only to the day I married him.”

We were sitting in the front of the local high school’s auditorium, watching while Mina gave her heartfelt speech.

When she’d told me she was going to do it, I’d been skeptical, but she’d made it through the first five minutes all right, and had the crowd laughing at that.

Shaking her head, she placed her hands on the podium one last time before she looked up at the crowd.

“Tunnel was over the moon four times in his life. The first time, when we got married. The second time, when our daughter, Sienna was born. The third, when he got on with Benton PD. The final time was when he was patched in with The Dixie Wardens MC,” she sniffled.

I swallowed thickly, seeing each and every man on the row with me stiffen.

Heads hanging, they listened intently.

“Tunnel loved The Dixie Wardens. He loved the police department. He loved his life. It wasn’t always that way. We had a tough couple of years, but he made me a promise when we found out I was expecting. And that was that he’d make our girl a life that he would be proud of. And he succeeded by leaps and bounds,” she said as a lone tear fell down her cheek.

“Thank you all for coming,” she said as she looked over the crowd. “He would’ve been so happy.”

With that, she stepped back from the podium, and the preacher, Reverend Spano, whom I’d met only a day ago, helped her to the edge of the stairs.

Mina walked down the steps leading up to the stage carefully, then kept walking around the steps until she came to a rest beside Tunnel’s casket.

Bending over, she wrapped her hands around the flag-covered wood, and rested her head on the top, weeping softly.

Silas got up and rubbed his hand along Mina’s back, talking to her softly.

After a moment’s hesitation at what she requested, he turned around and grabbed her vacated chair, placing it so it was facing the coffin.

She sat down in the chair, facing away from the hundreds of off duty police, firefighters, bikers, and mourning town inhabitants, and placed her head against the wood.

My heart broke for her all over again.

Turning my cheek, I buried my nose into the silk of Cleo’s dress shirt, not caring in the least as my tears soaked it through.

***

Rue

“Why do you think they always have so much food at funerals?” Viddy asked as she covered the fifth pecan pie that was delivered.

Channing shrugged. “No clue. Just exactly what you need when you’re depressed. Tons of food.”

I focused on the turkey I was filling a Ziploc bag with and groaned. “I’ve been eating all day. Literally, have not stopped once since we got here over four hours ago.”

“That’s good. You really haven’t eaten much in a couple of days. I’m surprised you’re not falling down asleep after the last couple of weeks,” Adeline observed.

I thought about the two naps I’d taken today. One on the seat of Cleo’s truck as we followed the funeral procession, and the second while I sat on Cleo’s lap about an hour before the funeral, and smiled.

“I took a couple of naps today,” I explained.

They nodded.

“I did, too,” Channing agreed.

“What did y’all think about Tunnel’s choice of music as the casket was lowered?” Baylee asked as she walked into the room and took a seat on the counter beside me.

I snorted.

Mina had explained that Tunnel really wanted a certain song to be played at his funeral, and had nearly died laughing when we heard Another One Bites the Dust roll through the speakers.

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