Then they lowered his casket into the freshly-dug grave and we took turns with the spade, shoveling dirt onto it.
After I finished my turn, I stood back and watched while John did his. My eye was caught by a woman about thirty feet away from our small group of family and close friends. She stood a few rows down in the shade beneath another tree. She had her hair up, and she wore a black dress and a pair of large sunglasses. I almost didn't recognize her. I thought she was just visiting some other grave, but there was something familiar about her. I glanced at her again and realized who it was.
Celia.
My heart squeezed to see her. I glanced around, wondering if Graham had come with her as well, but I didn’t see him anywhere.
I was surprised to see her at the cemetery. I didn't think she'd care enough to show up and offer condolences. She'd never spoken to me again after that one night we spent together. She'd passed me over for Greg, who she must have thought had better prospects.
I frowned and glanced away, not wanting her to know I saw her.
I had nothing to say to her, nor did I want to hear her voice or listen to any condolences she might express about Sean's death.
When the ceremony was over, we left the graveside and made our way back to the limos that lined the narrow road through the cemetery. I slipped into the black limo behind the hearse and tried not to look around and see where Celia was, but failed, unable to resist checking to see if she was still there. I noted that she remained where she’d stood during the ceremony, and did not approach my family or friends to say anything. As we drove off, I saw her go to the grave and throw a single yellow rose onto the mound of earth.
That got me in the chest. I wished things had turned out differently for us.
Back then, I had the serious hots for Celia but had fought my lust for her. I’d thought she hated Spencer and would side with me and my family, but I was wrong. There was a reason I stayed single, not getting too deeply involved with any women. I knew how fickle they could be, telling you they loved you in one breath and then ending up with your best friend in the next.
I didn't need it.
Don't fall in love.
Don't get you
r hopes up too high.
Don't trust what people say. Watch what they do instead. Actions speak louder than words.
Celia proved that to me, and Graham proved that to me. I'd learned my lesson.
I made a trip back to Quantico when the paperwork came through for a hardship discharge. I was sad to be leaving before I’d be able to take a new group of hopeful officers through their paces, selecting the best of the best to join the Corps as Marine officers. I filled out the legal documents, presented statements from my father's doctors about his condition and prognosis, and had the paperwork about my brother's death sent to my CO.
One week and an hour of signing papers later, I was out.
I came back to Boston, back to my family's business. I was determined to find out who had ratted Donny out and get revenge. But to do that, I had to get really dirty.
In the meantime, I familiarized myself with my father's business while he recovered from Sean's death.
"It's not fair for a father to bury his son," he said to me one day while we sat in the office going over business receipts. "That's the worst thing a parent can imagine."
"I know, Dad," I said and leaned over to give him a squeeze, my arm around his shoulder. "It's hard to lose a big brother, too. I always looked up to Sean. You know that."
"I'm so glad you're out of the Marines," he said, his eyes wet. "I've been so afraid that you'd be killed over there in that mess. Every day while you were in a combat zone, I was afraid for you. Every phone call that came in, every time I saw a black sedan drive by the front of the building, I was afraid it was someone coming to tell me you were dead."
"I was lucky," I said, nodding. "I lost some men over there. My special operations unit was tight. We only went on operations that were planned down to the second. I was probably safer then than I will be now."
"None of us could have imagined Sean would do that," my father said, shaking his head and mopping his eyes with a handkerchief from his pocket. "I never would have thought he'd do something so rash."
I inhaled deeply, just as shocked and horrified that Sean had shown such bad judgement.
"Thank God you came back," he said emotionally. I stood up and put my arms around his shoulders while he tried to regain control over himself. "I'm so sorry, Hunter," he said between sobs. "I'm so sorry…"
"It's okay," I said softly. "I understand. I feel the same way."
It was going to take a while to get over what happened. With Donny in prison awaiting trial, and Sean dead and buried, it was just my dad and me running things, with the help of John, who managed the gym.
Conor would return to Vegas in another week or so, where he was training with one of the best amateur boxing organizations in the country. My father didn't want to see him go so soon, but Conor promised to come back at a moment's notice if anything changed, or if my father or I needed him to help with the business.