CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

“Mac is dead,” said Major, staring at the group. “Luke and Eric found him on a beach in Key Largo. He just wanted to see one last sunset, so they let him.”

“Damn,” muttered Brix. “You know what, I’m almost glad it ended that way for him. No jail time. No hospitals. No handcuffs.”

“He asked to be buried next to his wife. Eric said he had a sport coat, tie, and photo of their wedding in his small bag. Bastard didn’t have more than four or five hundred dollars,” frowned Major.

The air in the room seemed gone all of a sudden. What was remaining was heavy and dark. Mama Irene walked toward Major, hugging his big body.

“He’s in a better place, baby.” Major nodded, looking around the old woman. He saw Baptiste, Rose, Claudette, and Jake but not Matthew.

“Where’s Matthew?”

“Oh, he had things to do,” she said casually. Major looked at Baptiste, who only shrugged.

“We got word from an anonymous member of the bridge club that Jeffrey might be joining his brother tonight in getting his shit back from the DEA tonight. We think it’s happening tonight, and the rest of the gray squad might be joining him. We know it’s a warehouse,” said Sebastian.

“Do we know where it is?” asked Brix.

“We have three possible locations,” said Emelia. “The DEA and police don’t seem too concerned with our warnings and aren’t willing to share their information. Cam called the POTUS to see if he could get them to share nicely, but we’ve had no response so far.”

“Then we’ll have to go to all three,” said Sebastian. “We’ll split up and watch all three. Major, Brix, Garr, and Alistair will be team one. Chief, Hex, Jalen, and Tiger team two. Torro, Milo, Chase, Em, and me, team three. We’ll head to the locations at 2300 and see what we see.”

“You can’t do that on an empty stomach. We got the chef to let me use the kitchens this afternoon. They’re bringin’ up dinner. Home cooked,” said Mama Irene.

“That’s why I love you!” laughed Torro.

“I love you, too, baby.”

While they ate the delicious meal, Irene, Rose, Claudette, Jake, and Baptiste updated them on their list. Almost two-thirds of the way through, they’d made an impact with almost everyone. A few on the list had already passed, a few had been helped by family members.

It still didn’t fix the problem, but they were making the difference they’d intended. Baptiste had already contacted Jean to set up a fund for just such a thing in the future. They’d decided to call it The Silver Savior Fund. A good name.

When Luke and Eric walked in, their faces told everyone the story before they even opened their mouths to give details. A few moments later, Matthew entered. His shoes were covered in sand.

“Matthew, why do you have sand on your shoes?” asked Emelia.

“Oh, well, I was out walking, and they were putting sand down around the mall. I must have stepped in some.” He smiled at Emelia, kissing her cheek. “Hello, my love.”

“Hello, darlin’,” smiled Irene. “Are you good?”

“I’m just fine,” he said, nodding to his wife. “Did you save some catfish?”

“Of course,” she laughed, filling his plate.

Baptiste smiled at his father, knowing that somehow he’d been there when Mac passed. He may have even helped Luke and Eric come to grips with it all. Either way, the man was at peace now, and he felt sure that his father had a hand in that.

“Mama Irene, when we get back to Belle Fleur, I’d like to start planning our double wedding with Maddie and Forrest. Nothing big, just something simple.” The entire room laughed at her. “What? What’s so funny?”

“Babe, there are four hundred people on our property. Who are you excluding from this wedding?” smirked Sebastian.

“Geez, I forget how big we’ve gotten,” she frowned. She looked at Irene and Matthew, their angelic faces giving her a sense of peace. “Can we keep going, Matthew? I mean, is there enough room for us to continue to grow and stay together as one family? I’d hate it if we have to split up.”

“There’s more than enough room, honey,” he smiled. “We don’t want anyone split up either. We want all of us to be together for as long as we’re able.”

“That’s good,” said Emelia with a sense of relief. “I know it seems silly for a woman my age, but I don’t want to be separated from my sisters or my parents. Hell, I don’t want to be separated from any of them.” She pointed to all the men in the room.

“It’s true,” smiled Alistair. “We’ve all grown up together, and it feels as though we’re brothers and sisters.”

“Ew,” frowned Sebastian. “Don’t do that to me.”

“Sorry,” he laughed. “For the rest of us, it feels that way. But you know what I meant. We’re all so close I’d be sad if I ever had to leave any of you.” Major stared at his friend, tilting his head sideways, then opened his mouth wide.

“Ho-lee hell. That’s why you broke it off with Brittany. She wanted you to move to Colorado to be closer to her family.” Alistair said nothing, looking down at his plate of food. “Brother, we would have come and seen you. If you loved her…”

“I didn’t.” Major quieted, waiting for Alistair to continue. “I didn’t love her, and I realized that almost too late. Almost. There was always something nagging at me about her. She was beautiful and smart. She worked hard at her job, but she wasn’t passionate about it. Her apartment was always messy, and she hated cooking or eating at home. She always wanted to eat out. She asked me to go to Colorado with her to visit her family.”

“What happened?” asked Emelia.

“Nothing.”

“What do you mean, nothing?” asked Brix.

“I mean, they greeted her with a hug. Said hello to me but didn’t shake my hand or hug me, which is fine. Kind of. They said they’d be ordering pizza and for everyone just to relax outside. No firepit. No chairs. Just relax outside.

“Every damn meal was ordered in. No one cooked. No one cleaned. There was nothing productive happening at their home. Nothing. I offered to do some basic repairs on the house, and her father looked as though he might tear my head off. I left it alone after that. Told her that I needed to leave early because of work, but I think she knew. There was no way I could be a part of that family. She thought everything was perfectly normal.

“When she got back, we met for dinner. She kept saying, ‘isn’t my family great,’ ‘isn’t Colorado wonderful.’ I just nodded. Then she said she was quitting her job and moving back home. I wished her luck but said that it wasn’t for me. I needed to be closer to home.”

“I’m sorry, brother,” said Garr. “I knew something was wrong, but you never told us.”

“Wasn’t a reason to,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ve always known that I would return to Belle Fleur and make it my permanent home. Either someone wanted that with me, or I’d be doing it alone. Either way, I was coming home.”

“She’s out there for you, baby,” said Mama Irene, squeezing his hand. “You just have to be patient.”

“You’re always sure, Mama Irene,” he said with a sad smile. “I wonder if maybe some of us weren’t meant to be alone. I mean, we can’t all find our mates and live happily ever after.”

“Now, you listen here, Alistair Thomas Fitch. Your great-granny is one of my dearest friends in the whole world. We know things, the two of us. We know you’re gonna be happy with a beautiful, smart woman who will make you the best version of yourself. You just be patient and don’t worry so much.” She took his empty plate and filled it with more food, handing it back to him. “Try wearin’ a different cologne. Sometimes that makes a difference.”

With sage advice from Mama Irene, Alistair was surprised that he was already feeling better. Bellies full, hearts warm, and souls replenished, they relaxed for a few hours before heading out to the three possible locations.

Geared up, comms on, and everyone knowing exactly what they should do, they waved at the seniors.

Tonight was going to be a long one.