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Bright blue eyes on the casket, Chase shoved his hands into his pockets. “Um, there’s one other thing you should probably know.”
Of course, there’s more.Frank Ford had always been up to something. When Dylan arched a brow, Chase shrugged. “Apparently, we have a half-sister, too.”
Dylan’s dark eyes went wide. “What?”
“Yeah. Again, according to Robert.”
“Is she here?” He glanced around, but didn’t remember seeing anyone young enough.
Chase shook his head. “No. But, he said her name’s Riley.”
“Riley.” Dylan gave his head a shake, trying to process everything that seemed to be happening at once. “Have you met her?”
“Nope. I found out about all this pretty much right before you did. It’s funny to go from having no siblings to now having enough to have a damn family reunion.”
“Yeah, it’s insane. I mean, kinda cool in a way, but fucking nuts.”
Then, Chase and Dylan both burst out laughing.
“It’s weird,” Dylan said. “I always wished I had siblings.”
“Yeah, me, too.”
Hollis looked from one brother to the other and couldn’t help but smile. She had a feeling they were going to be good for each other.
“Guess we have some catching up to do,” Dylan said.
“For sure. Dinner, tomorrow night, right?”
Dylan glanced at Hollis. As long as things went smoothly at the Santa Lucia, then yes. “Yeah, I’ll call you,” Dylan said.
The small graveside service lasted less than 15 minutes and only a handful of people attended. Dylan didn’t know any of them and he appreciated the way Hollis held his hand the entire time.
Mixed emotions filled his head and heart. In all honesty, Frank Ford was a useless piece of shit. He had left Nora and Dylan with nothing but debt and then stumbled in and out of their lives every blue moon. He drank too much so it was no surprise when Robert, Frank’s best friend, told Dylan that Frank had died of liver failure.
Even though he had been a crappy father, Frank taught Dylan the two things he loved most-- piano and jazz music. And, for that, he would be forever grateful.
Actually, finding out he had a couple of siblings gave him two more things to be happy about. Frank hadn’t given him a lot of good things to look forward to while he was alive so this was a nice change. Almost like a final gift.
After the officiant finished the final blessing, Dylan and Hollis stood next to the casket for a moment and Dylan reached deep down inside himself and found forgiveness. And, for the first time since he could remember, he felt lighter.
“You okay?” Hollis asked and squeezed his hand.
He nodded. “Yeah, I am, actually. Thank you for being here.”
Hollis laid her head against his shoulder and they stood there for another minute. Then, Dylan let out a breath and turned to her. “Ready?”
As they started walking toward the car, Chase drove by and waved. “See ‘ya tomorrow, bro!”
Dylan waved back and realized how much he was looking forward to getting to know Chase. They may only be half-brothers, but they were still blood. He actually had somebody in the world he could call a relation. Hell, apparently he had a sister, too.
He couldn’t wait to find out more about them both.
∞∞∞
Later that evening, Tony Burke waited in the shadows outside his father’s house, biding his time, and he waited with the patience of a saint.
Darkness hovered at the windows and only a small lamp illuminated the intricately-carved chest as Diamond chiseled away the last few pieces of coral with utmost care.
