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

debate, she felt a hand on her arm.
    Rita said, “I’ve got coffee on. Let me get you a cup.” She left Chuck, Gavin and Jack in the entry hall and followed Rita to the kitchen, still holding Shannon’s hand. “Glen and Laurie wanted to stop by if you’re up to it, and I’ve got a stack of phone messages.”
    “ I owe you.” Bobbi took the steaming cup of coffee from her sister and dropped into one of the kitchen chairs.
    “ I can stay the rest of the day and answer the phone, or I can go with you this afternoon.”
    “ I’ll let you know, thanks.” Bobbi sipped the coffee, then patted the chair next to her. “Here, sit with me, baby. Did you sleep?”
    Shannon pulled the chair a little closer to hers. “A little after Joel left. You?”
    “ I was drugged.”
    “ Kat called me and wanted to know if I wanted to get out.”
    Bobbi patted Shannon’s hand. “You should. There’s no reason to stay around here and smother.”
    “ What are you going to do?”
    “ Catch my breath, get a shower, and then . . .” Emotion was too near the surface. She took a long drink from her coffee to give herself time to regain her composure. “Then Dad and I will have to start making arrangements,” she said quietly.
    “ Would it be disrespectful if I took off?” Shannon asked.
    “ Not at all.”
    “ You don’t need me?”
    I need you more than the air I breathe. “Baby, if you want to go, by all means, go.”
     
    * * *
     
    Running around with Katelyn motivated Shannon enough to shower and change clothes. When Katelyn pulled up in front of her house, she shuffled out and got in the car.
    “ We’re going to Burger King,” Katelyn announced. “And you’re gonna eat something.”
    “ I don’t want anything.” Shannon rested her knees against the dashboard, the way her father always told her not to. What if the airbag goes off? he said. Today, if that happened, she’d just pull her kneecaps out of her ears and go on.
    “ If you don’t eat, they’ll be on your case.”
    “ They’ll be on my case anyway.”
    “ Why’s that?”
    “ My brother was murdered because Jack led him on some wild goose chase trying to track down his grandfather, if the old guy even exists. It’s Jack’s fault. Period.” She said it out loud at last, and it felt good.
    “ Are you serious?” Katelyn’s eyes grew wide. “Mom didn’t mention any of that.”
    Validated, Shannon dropped her knees and sat up straight. “Plus if Brad hadn’t taken the time to throw Jack down, neither one of them would have been shot.”
    “ Wait, Jack has a grandfather?”
    “ Maybe. Some old guy came in the mission, and Jack thought it might be his grandfather. He’s the psycho that killed his wife, so even if it was him, why would Jack want anything to do with him?”
    “ Seriously?”
    “ But, of course, Jack gets a free pass because his mom died when he was little.”
    “ This is so messed up.”
    “ Tell me about it.”
    “ Oh, how’s your mom? Didn’t she freak and have to stay in the hospital?”
    “ My mom never freaks. She’s made of steel. She just fainted and they wanted to make sure it wasn’t something more serious.”
    “ Your mom’s been through a lot.”
    “ No kidding. She lost her parents, then my dad cheated on her, then she had to deal with Jack’s mother, and Jack, and now Brad.” Shannon shook her head. “But she just takes it. Never crumbles, never cracks. I don’t know how she does it.”
     
    * * *
     
    That evening, Bobbi sat on the loveseat in the study, alone. Going to the funeral home . . . so many stupid decisions. Did Brad really care, did anybody care, what color satin lined the casket? Then the stop at Brad’s apartment drained the rest of her energy. Joel offered to take care of things with his dad to spare her, but she had to do it herself. She had to find a way to reconcile reality with denial.
    Joel was like his dad, a man of action, desperate to find something to do in a crisis. When he,