Chapter 42

I had no idea there was so much to do when a person died. Granted, I was pretty young when my mother's parents passed away. I vaguely remembered her being gone a lot. The list I was making for Zach was getting longer and longer as the day went on. I decided I needed more space than my phone could provide, so when we got back to our apartment, I got out my laptop and settled at the kitchen table. Opening a new spreadsheet, I started entering the to-do list.

Zach came in shortly afterward carrying Cody, who had fallen asleep. "I'm going to put him on our bed," he said quietly. He came back a few minutes later and looked over my shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Making a spreadsheet of all the things you have to do in order of priority. I'll send it to you when I'm done. You can let me know if something needs to be changed."

He leaned in and kissed me. "You're the best."

The downstairs buzzer rang, and we both got up to help Marco and his crew bring Cody's things into the apartment. They took Zach's old bed out to the curb and set up Cody's new room with his stuff from Allie's apartment with military efficiency. They were all done by the time the beer and pizza arrived.

Zach was talking to Andrea and Dante when his phone rang. He looked over at me, a deep frown furrowing his brow. "It's my mother."

I looked at the time. It was after three in the afternoon. I knew Zach had reached out to his parents multiple times. How were they only getting back to him now? Since Cody was still asleep in our room, Zach went into Cody's room. I followed him in because I had a feeling the conversation wasn't going to go well.

I walked in after the conversation started.

Zach was pacing the floor, listening to his mother, who seemed to be complaining. He finally interrupted her. "Mom, stop for a second. Is Dad awake?"

I heard her from where I was standing. "Of course not. You know Saturday is our night out. Why are you trying to interrupt us having a good time?"

Oh shit.I saw the look of fury on Zach's face and knew she was in for it. And frankly, I didn't feel sorry for her. "Because your daughter is dead," he snarled. "I thought maybe you'd like to know since you gave birth to her. But then again, I don't know why I bothered. You didn't care enough to make sure she was fed and clothed when she was a kid."

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. Then, she shouted, "You're lying! That can't be true!"

Zach squeezed his eyes shut. "Why would I lie about that, Mom?" he asked wearily.

I didn't hear what she said next, but Zach replied, "Cody is with me. Allie made me his guardian." His brows drew together sharply. "Why would she? No one could reach you last night because you and Dad were out drinking. Where would Cody have been if Allie had to rely on either of you?"

There was a longer pause, and then Zach said curtly, "I'm not discussing this. Cody is staying with me. I'll let you know what the funeral arrangements are." He ended the call and just stood there holding his phone in a tight grip. I eased myself under his arm. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close. "Why do my parents suck so badly?" he lamented.

"I wish I knew," I murmured.

"Mommy!" Cody screamed from the other bedroom.

Zach and I both went running into the room. Cody was thrashing on the bed, calling out for his mother. My heart broke a little bit more for him. Zach scooped Cody up off the bed and cuddled him in his arms. "It's okay, Cody. I'm here," he crooned.

"No! I want Mommy! I want Mommy!"

Zach sat on the bed and rocked his nephew, doing his best to comfort the little boy. He looked up at me and said quietly, "Would you please find his Batman toy?"

"Sure," I replied and hurried out of the room. I knew it wasn't in Cody's bedroom because he hadn't been in there since we came back. I practically ran into the living room and asked frantically, "Have any of you seen Cody's Batman?"

What proceeded was seven grown adults crawling around on the floor looking for a Batman action figure. Finally, Gabe called out triumphantly, "Found it!" He brought it over to me. "It was in one of the boxes of toys. Cody must have put it in there when we were at his mom's place."

"Thank you," I said as I hurried back to the bedroom. Cody had settled somewhat and was cuddled in Zach's lap with his thumb in his mouth. I knelt beside the bed. "Hey, Cody, look what I found."

Cody took the toy from me and looked at it for a long time. "Batman's mommy and daddy died."

"Yes, they did."

"And he was sad," Cody said.

"He was," I replied.

"So it's okay to be sad," Cody concluded.

"It really is."

"Are you sad?" he asked me.

I nodded. "I am. I'm sad for you, and for your mommy, and for your Uncle Zach."

He patted Zach's face. "Uncle Zach said I can cry as much as I want."

"That's right," Zach agreed.

"I don't want to cry right now," he said. "I'm hungry."

I rose and held out my arms. "How about we get some pizza?"

He nodded, still subdued. "Okay."

I took Cody in my arms, and Zach mouthed the words, "Thank you."

I kissed Zach's still-damp cheek and took his nephew to the kitchen to get pizza. Everyone was still hanging around, eating, chatting, and drinking beer. "Someone wants pizza," I announced.

Gabe, who seemed to have taken a real liking to Cody, came over to us. "Hey, little buddy, I see you got your Batman back."

Cody nodded. "I'm hungry."

Gabe took him from me. "Then let's get you some pizza."

I shook my head and smiled. It was always adorable to see a big man carrying a little kid. Marco stood next to me, watching his friend have an animated discussion about Batman with a three-year-old. "He loves kids. Always has. Every time we were deployed, he inevitably found the little kids in the area and ended up playing some street game with them."

"You served together?"

Marco nodded. "We were in the same unit for six years."

Liam situated himself under Marco's arm and snuggled into the larger man's chest. Marco smiled indulgently and kissed the side of his head. "Miguel," Liam said. "I called Sean to let him know what happened. He and Jeremy are going to come by in about fifteen minutes to check in and see what you and Zach need. Is that okay?"

"Um, sure." I'd completely forgotten about calling Sean. And I should have called him because I was going to need to take the week off to help Zach.

Strong arms wrapped around me from behind, and Zach nuzzled in and kissed my neck. "Hey, baby. Thanks for giving me a minute to get myself together."

I settled into his embrace. "Anytime."

Cody was now making the rounds to all the people in the living room, waving around his Batman action figure and saying how he was going to fight bad guys when he grew up. "It looks like Cody's gotten himself an aunt and a bunch of uncles," Zach said.

"He'll be the safest kid in town," I observed. "Nobody will dare mess with him."

"Good," Zach replied with a hard edge to his voice.

The downstairs buzzers sounded, and I started. "That must be Sean and Jeremy."

"Really?" Zach asked. "I didn't know they were coming."

"Liam called Sean to tell him about Allie."

The door buzzed again. "I'd better go get that." He let me go and hurried out of the apartment to open the downstairs door.

Zach came back with the two men, who were carrying takeout bags from the hotel restaurant. Liam spotted them first. "Oh my god. Did you bring desserts from Joanna?"

"Of course," Sean replied.

I headed to the kitchen. "I'll get coffee started."

Jeremy brought out paper plates and napkins, and Sean opened the dessert boxes and set the yummy goodness on the table so everyone could take what they wanted. I got out the coffee mugs, sugar, and milk. Soon, everyone was happily indulging in the delicious desserts courtesy of Chef Joanna.

The door buzzed again, and I ran to get it, hoping it was Albert. When I saw my best friend standing there, I burst into tears. He pulled me into his arms and held me for a long time.

"I'm here. I've got you," he crooned.

When I finally calmed down, he pulled a tissue out of his jacket pocket and handed it to me. I shook my head. "How is it that everyone but me has tissues?"

"We live to serve you, darling," he snarked.

When I led him into our apartment, Liam glommed onto him and dragged him over to introduce him to Marco. Gabe handed me a plate of chocolate cheesecake and a fork. "How are you holding up?" he asked.

"Better now that my bestie is here."

"I hear you," he replied. "Everything is better when you have your friends around you."

I wandered into the living room, looking for a place to sit. Sean had pulled Zach aside, and they were having a pretty intense conversation, during which Zach nodded occasionally. Cody had zeroed in on Jeremy as someone new to talk about Batman with. I looked around, and warmth filled me. This was what found family was all about. Showing up for each other when they needed it, no questions asked. I knew Zach hadn't expected it and wasn't used to it, but I had a feeling we would both need it.