What he didn’t know at the time of the divorce, was that Linda was dying of cancer. When she moved in with her mother, he’d thought she was just going back to the home she’d grown up in, to recover from the divorce which had wrecked them both.
She’d kept her secret until it was too late. Too late for him to be at her side, holding her and telling her how much he loved her. Too late to help her with their son, as he grew. Why the hell she’d thought this was the best thing to do, he’d never know. And by the time he’d found out about it, it had been too late to argue with her. She’d broken his heart a second time when she passed, leaving things that way.
Now he would concentrate on his son and being the best father he knew how to be. He felt that he’d let Linda and Scotty down. He would never let his son down again.
Scotty was growing faster than he’d realized.
He now had full custody of his son. Linda’s mother couldn’t take care of him anymore, but she’d been taking care of the boy while he cycled out of the teams.
Travis had given his chosen career up for his son and walked away.
Now Travis planned to spend the rest of his life raising his boy and making sure his son knew how much he was loved and how much Travis had loved his mother.
The call from Hank Patterson, a SEAL vet, and the head of the Brotherhood Protectors, when it came, was like a tap on the shoulder from a guardian angel. One vet looking out for another. The Protectors talked and as they were from various US military branches and stayed in touch with men they’d been on missions with, word often spread quietly that another good guy was getting out and needed to find a new life path. Hank offered that option and as a result his guys were tight, and always worked well together.
Travis would join the Brotherhood Protectors and move with his son to Montana.
He and his boy would make a new start out west, in the land of horses and cowboys, amid good old fashioned American values, like his father and his grandfather had taught him. He could think of no better place to raise a child.
* * *
Ellen was dreaming again,this time in the unfamiliar bed in her new room at the center. Unlike the shelter she’d been staying in before, she had her own room here, and there was no one to hear her or to wake her from the bad dreams she often had.
Rigby Mortimer was leaning on his mop, just outside the door of her classroom. “I can carry those for you,” he said.
Again. No matter how many times she turned him down, he was always wanting to carry things for her.
“Thanks,” she said. “But these aren’t heavy at all. I’ve got them.”
Still, he moved in front of her, to open the door which led outside. Pushing it open, he stood holding the door, while she walked through.
“Thank you,” she said.
“See you tomorrow,” he said.
“Good night,” she said.
She was halfway to her car when she realized he’d made a mistake.
Tomorrow is Saturday, so he won’t see me tomorrow. But I’m not going to go back to correct him.
She set the milk crate on the ground and popped her trunk. Then she bent down to get the milk crate and set it inside.
As she closed the trunk and turned around, there he was.
Rigby Mortimer stood in front of her, blocking her path to move away.
Why is he standing so close?
He smiled at her. “I’m taking a dinner break, now,” he said. “Come with me. I’ve got a roast and vegetables in the crock pot and it’s too much food for me to eat by myself.”
“Oh,” momentarily surprised, Ellen didn’t know what to say. “No, I can’t. Thank you though.”
“Sure you can,” he insisted. “You’re hungry, aren’t you? You skipped lunch today.”
How does he know I skipped lunch?
As if he’d read her mind, or the expression on her face, he said, “You had that meeting with the principal and then you stayed to redecorate your classroom. You stayed a lot longer than usual, tonight. That apple on your desk must not have lasted long. You must be hungry. I have a chocolate pie from the diner for dessert.”
