Read Precedent: Book Three: Covenant of Trust Series for Free Online

got up in years, and he had a duty to watch out for Shannon. Somehow, he also had to be there for Jack since he’d lost his hero. Joel let a deep breath go. How was he supposed to help Jack when he’d lost a hero, too?
    “ What are you thinking?” Abby slipped an arm around his waist and leaned against him.
    Joel hugged her close and kissed her gently. “I feel kind of alone.”
    “ You’ve still got Shannon and Jack.”
    “ I know, but Brad and I grew up together. The little kids never knew Grandpa Jim, and they missed so much with Grandma. Growing up, it was me and Brad. I feel like I’ve lost some of my childhood, I guess. Does that make any sense?”
    “ Quite a bit.”
    “ We went through Mom and Dad’s separation together. Nobody else really knows what that was like.” Then Joel couldn’t resist a smile. “Of course, he was a jerk until he was about twenty.” Abby returned the smile and gave him a gentle shove. “We were close, Abby. I confided in him, asked him for advice. . . . I’m going to miss him.” Joel wiped his eyes quickly and glanced behind him. “I don’t want Mom to see me.”
    “ I don’t think your mother expects you to be emotionless.”
    “ She needs to do her own coping, and not worry about how the rest of us are doing.”
     
    * * *
     
    Bobbi stood on the sidewalk of Bricker’s Funeral Home waiting for Chuck to join her. What she wouldn’t give to be one of the people in the cars driving by, scurrying to some appointment, untouched by a profound loss. Shannon and Jack stood ready to follow her inside. She straightened Jack’s tie and brushed his shoulders before kissing him lightly on the cheek.
    She turned to Shannon and held her for just a moment. “We will get through this, I promise,” she whispered. “I’m not sure how, but we will. You’re a beautiful, strong young woman. You can do this, baby.”
    “ Thanks, Mom.”
    She felt Chuck’s hand in the small of her back. “Are you ready?” he asked.
    “ No, but I never will be.” He steadied her up the steps and held the door for them. Don Bricker met them with a polite smile and directed them to the viewing hall. She pulled away from Chuck without looking back. “Give me just a minute.”
    She closed her eyes and stepped around the corner, met by the fragrances of lilies and roses. She forced her eyes open, forced herself to look at him at the other end of that narrow room, in a place where a son should never be. Her breath caught.
    With each step toward him, images blitzed through her memory. That first smile of recognition. The triumph of getting his driver’s license. The prayer offered at his graduation. The Mother’s Day card spelled momy . Tying his shoes. The football physical—“any broken bones?” the doctor asked. “Not yet,” Brad said. The way he could never remember which was a pumpkin and which was a pickle—that made Halloween interesting. The heartbreak when his first real girlfriend broke things off.
    He changed her life. With every “first,” he redefined her. He gave her a focus, a purpose and a confidence that she never found anywhere else.
    She eased her hand around his, and the unnatural coolness prompted the first tear. The left side of his mouth was slightly drawn as if in an eternal private joke. The day’s stubble on his face was just as she remembered, and his hair flipped up in perfect spikes as if he’d combed it himself.
    Such a fine young man. So handsome. This was so senseless. So wrong. She leaned over and caressed his cheek, then kissed him gently, her tears spotting the shoulder of his suit. “I love you, Brad.” Then she hung her head and shuddered with great wrenching sobs.
     
    * * *
     
    Chuck watched Bobbi as long as he could bear, then he crossed the room to her. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he gently pulled her away from the casket and into his arms.
    “ This is so unfair,” she whispered.
    “ I know it is. I hate this for you. No mother