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Pastor Henry met her eyes and gave her a brief nod without interrupting his speech. “I ask you not to think of this as the last time we are gathered in Trent Stone’s name, as an ending. I ask you to look to God and live. In Proverbs, it states that a man will come home to the kingdom of God. I tell you this is true. I tell you that Trent is back with his father and his mother.”
Even though Cheryse hadn’t listened to the whole speech, she could feel all the Stones wince a bit at the mention of their parents. She’d never felt devoted to any religion per se, but she knew God was there. That was the only way she’d gotten out of the dark place she’d been in for so long after everything happened. Between praying to God and moving back to South Port, she’d managed to find herself again.
She took Hunter’s hand.
He jolted out of his trance and immediately pulled her close. She leaned into him and felt the familiar comfort of having Hunter by her side.
Her relationship with Hunter and Trent had been up and down at different points. She’d dated them in high school, but then she’d informed them she could never be with a SEAL. Maybe it’d been harsh, but she couldn’t be the wedge that split them apart. Too bad it had mostly ended the friendship and everything between them until she’d come back to South Port.
When Hunter and Trent had found out everything that had happened between her and her first husband, they’d just loved her. Hunter had said, “We’ve all been through hard things and we’re not afraid of it, Cheryse.”
That had been the tipping point to Cheryse opening her heart to them again.
Her mind went back to the day they’d all reconciled, and she thought of how Trent had taken off his shirt so he could flex. He’d pointed at her and said, “Before we continue our friendship, we’ll need you to tell us which one of us is the most attractive.”
Maybe that was what had truly rekindled their friendship.
Just thinking about Trent and his flexing ways made Cheryse tear up. Trent was gone. It couldn’t be true. Her body shook, and she pulled a tissue from her black purse, a compact little thing that had been with the veil in the box of her mother’s things. She dabbed at her cheeks beneath the veil. Trent couldn’t be gone. They had all just been together at Trent and Liberty’s wedding only six months ago.
Pastor Henry continued, “By the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we dedicate this grave, and we ask you, God, to comfort these people here today. Let them feel the truth that Trent will never be gone.”
Cheryse lost it, crumbling into sobs. She hated herself for it, but she felt Hunter’s arm around her, pulling her in. Their cheeks touched as their tears mixed.
The service ended, and people slowly dispersed. She didn’t move from Hunter’s side, and he didn’t move either. She held him by the waist, and he had his arms around her shoulders. Both of them stared at the coffin as it was lowered into the ground.
Of course, the rest of the family was there. Liberty was huddled between Trey and Ava. Micah was next to Ava, holding little Trey.
Cheryse wanted to go comfort Liberty, but she couldn’t pull away from Hunter. She couldn’t imagine how horrible Liberty felt.
Marshall and Kat stood together, holding hands. Cade was on the other side of Marshall, leaning into him. Marshall looked like he wanted to rip someone’s head off, which was normal, but this look was worse than she’d ever seen it. Kensi and Tim were next to them. Kensi leaned into Tim with a tissue in her hand. Brooks was on Hunter’s other side, his arm around Serenity.
Cheryse would have teased Brooks about his eyes being red, if the circumstances were anything other than … this.
Pastor Henry and his wife Lily stood on the other side of the casket, both looking forlorn. Dawn and her mother, Mrs. Roxy, were next to them. Lucy and Matt and Tatum were next to Dawn.
The whole crew was there.
Of course, the whole town was there, but no one disrupted the little group huddled around the coffin.
For a long time, none of them spoke.
As the people who worked at the cemetery finished lowering the coffin, Trey stepped forward and threw a handful of dirt down into the hole. “I love you, brother.”
Ava did the same, and then Marshall and Kensi followed suit. Then Brooks.
Hunter didn’t move.
Cheryse started to pull back, but Hunter gripped her tighter. When she looked up at him, she found that his tears were gone and his jawline was hard. He glared at the place where his brother rested.
Finally, Pastor Henry cleared his throat and asked, “Hunter, do you need a moment? Should the workers pause?”
Hunter said nothing. Then he turned to the pastor. “No, we’re not covering this up.” He looked around at everyone and let go of Cheryse’s hand. “You guys are the biggest jerks I’ve ever known. Trent’s not dead. He can’t be dead. I don’t believe it. He’s out there somewhere, and I’m not gonna go through all this pomp and pretense and pretend like he’s dead when he’s not.” He spun away from the group and stalked off.
“Hunter!” Trey called after him. “You can’t just walk away.”
“We need to talk about what this means about Banks and the key,” Brooks added.
Hunter whirled back to face the group. “I’m done with Banks. I’m done with … everyone.”
