Page 25 of Kylie

“Sure. I’ll get the stones put into settings for the girls.”

It seemed so simple. Speaking it, at least. I wasn’t sure how easy it would be for Gage to hand over Kylie’s wedding bands, knowing they would be melted down. That seemed like the most difficult part, although I understood her reasoning.

“We should have Jessie go through her stuff, too,” Gage suggested. “See if there’s anything she wants. Joe, too.”

“Yep,” I agreed, nodding because I didn’t know what else to do.

Then we were silent again, minutes ticking by.

“She loved us,” Gage finally whispered.

“With all that she was.”

And we had loved her the same.

Chapter Eight

One week later

Saturday, February 27, 2021

Travis

I had spent the past week focused on my family and my business.

I went to work every day, as did Gage. But rather than mope as I had been for weeks, I engaged with others, checking on things myself rather than leaving it to everyone else to figure out. I even managed to have lunch with Kaleb and Sawyer, the three of us talking about surviving the snow-pocalypse.

With the winter storm behind us, school was back in session, the kids returning to their routine. I alternated taking them to daycare to give Gage a break, and I picked them up the same. I helped Kate with her homework, although I still didn’t understand why she had it. She was six. There were plenty of homework years ahead of her. No sense stressing out a first grader.

And when we were settled in at night, I ensured it was time well spent. I didn’t stalk Brantley or Reese, and I didn’t comb through the internet looking for possible news updates. I left it to them to deal with, trusting that when the time came, they would let me know. Instead, I avoided my home office, opting to be where Gage and the kids were.

But today was the day we’d set to check off one of the things on Kylie’s list. With the weather warming up nicely and quickly, we decided it was the perfect time to plant a tree. Or rather multiple, since, yes, Gage had liked the idea of helping the environment, too.

“Where’re we goin’, Daddy-O?” Kade asked when I helped the kids buckle into their seats.

Kade, Avery, and Haden were with me, while Gage had taken Kate and Maddox to run a couple of errands before we met up in a little while.

“We’ve got somethin’ to take care of today,” I explained.

“What somethin’?” Kade inquired, always with the questions.

I looked at the boy and smiled. “You’re gonna plant a tree.”

His eyes widened, a look of confusion and concern on his little face. “Why would I do that? Trees come from the grass.”

Grinning, I tapped the brim of his baseball cap. “Actually, they don’t.”

“What about me?” Avery called out. “I wanna plant a tree.”

“You’re gonna help. We’ve got three to plant.”

“Three?” Kade’s shock was dramatic. “That’s a buncha trees.”

“It is, yes. But I figure you can handle it, right?”

“What about me?” Avery repeated, a harumph in her voice this time. “I wanna plant a buncha tree.”

I chuckled. This could go on forever, I knew.