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

Abby and Ryan had arrived that afternoon, Joel had graciously taken phone calls, while Abby handled the food folks brought over and Ryan cut their grass.
    She was so thankful for him. She didn’t have the strength to assess what needed to be done, much less accomplish it. Every muscle, every joint ached. The sharp headache she’d wakened with never relented. Most of all, her heart hurt. The overwhelming shock was giving way to a gnawing sense of loss and injustice. Tomorrow they would have the visitation, and Sunday the funeral. After that, there would just be emptiness.
    She leaned over and laid her head on the armrest of the loveseat and closed her eyes. Dear God, how could You ask us to go through this? Is this some kind of punishment? What have I done that You would take my son from me?
    “ Honey, can I sit with you?” Chuck asked. She hadn’t heard him come into the study at all.
    “ Always.” Bobbi pushed herself up to make room for him. Even from across the room she could see tears in his eyes. “You don’t have to be tough anymore. It’s just me.”
    “ Thanks,” he whispered, slipping in close beside her. She reached an arm around his shoulder, and with her touch, he began to cry, then sob. After several minutes, he swallowed hard and said quietly, “I’ve never hurt like this.”
    “ I know.”
    “ Shannon and Jack . . . they’re looking for answers. I don’t have them.”
    “ I don’t either.”
    Chuck reached around and took her in his arms. “I am so thankful for you. I couldn’t do this without you.”
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 4
    Impact
     
     
    Saturday, June 14
     
    Jack never took his eyes off the mirror as he worked with his necktie. “Over, around and back, then back around, and up through the top,” he recited just the way Brad showed him that first Easter he spent with his family. He had his first real tie, not a clip-on, and he wanted to surprise his parents.
    It was worse than learning to tie his shoes, but after a long afternoon and dozens of failures, he got it. Kind of. If he had to do this every day, he’d have to get up twenty minutes early just to tie the thing.
    He adjusted the knot, then straightened his collar and his jacket. “There you go, Brad. Just like you showed me.” He heaved a deep sigh and dropped on his bed. “I can’t do this,” he whispered.
    “ Jack? You ready?” His dad eased the door open.
    “ Does it matter?”
    “ Of course it matters.” He stepped inside and shut the door behind him. “Is something else going on? You avoided me and everybody else yesterday and all day today.”
    “ It just hurts.” Jack barely got the words out before the tears started.
    His dad sat on the bed with him and let him cry. “I know it hurts,” he said gently. “We’re all hurting, and it’s going to hurt for a long time.”
    Jack twisted away and paced to the window. Being a blubbering crybaby wouldn’t help anything. “I fall apart every time I hear Brad’s name. How am I supposed to do this tonight?”
    “ Jack.” The bed squeaked as his dad stood. “The folks coming to the funeral home tonight, they’re grieving, too. We need to help each other through this. They’re going to want to talk about what Brad meant to them, and we need to soak that in. It’s a special gift to see how many lives Brad touched, and how many people love us.”
    Jack nodded and wiped his eyes once more. With his dad, it always came back to doing the right thing. “I guess I owe it to Brad, don’t I?”
    His dad patted his back. “It’ll be tough, but I think it’ll help you out.”
    “ Yeah, I just don’t want Mom to see me like this.”
    “ I’ve got a news flash for you. Mom already knows you’re like this.”
     
    * * *
     
    Downstairs, Joel stood at the sliding glass door, staring out across his parents’ backyard, wrestling with a newly realized responsibility. He was the oldest now. He was the big brother. His parents would be depending on him once they