Legacy Rangers (Book Two of the Chosen Universe)

Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO: PRESENT DAY.

KIMBERLY

She'd taken the day off to try and process some of the things that were going through her head. She went for a walk and found herself in the same place she often ended up on days like this. "Hey, Billy," she said sadly as she sat beside the tombstone. There had been no body to bury, but they'd still had a funeral. Everyone had chipped in to send Billy off and they'd given him the nicest headstone money could buy. It wasn't just for Billy; it was for Josh. They'd all decided Josh deserved to have a place to go to mourn his father. He'd still been in the hospital during the funeral, but they'd held a smaller memorial after he got out so he could say goodbye.

"I miss you so much, Billy," Kimberly said as tears formed in her eyes. Of everyone, she'd had the hardest time letting go. Part of her was still in denial. Billy couldn't be dead. They'd never found him... There was still hope. She tried to keep that to herself because no one had believed her initially. Casey had confirmed he was gone, and with her Native American training as a Shaman, she was never wrong about these things. It was enough to convince the others, but it felt so wrong to Kimberly... She came to his grave to remind herself that he was gone.

She stayed at his grave for nearly two hours, just talking to him. Billy had always been such a good listener. Whenever things went wrong in her life, Kimberly knew he was the one person who'd put everything aside and be there for her. Sure, Jason did it, too, but until six months ago, he'd lived in Florida. Of course, Kimberly knew Tommy would literally drop anything for her, but she couldn't let him. Tommy was with Kat, and they were happy, and Kimberly would never get in the way of that. Besides, her husband Mark hated Tommy. He was insanely jealous of him. While Kimberly still saw Tommy and Kat frequently, she was careful not to rely on them too much.

Her bond with Billy had grown even stronger after his wife died. While Billy pushed everyone else away, Kimberly refused to let him. She had held his hand while he watched Marilyn waste away before his eyes. She'd watched Josh while Billy desperately tried to find a way to save his wife. After her death, it had been Kimberly who planned her funeral because Billy was too grief stricken. She'd stayed by his side, helping him explain to his seven-year-old son that his mother was never coming home. She'd held him while he cried, and he'd let her. That was surprising, as Billy sometimes didn't let people touch him, especially when he was upset. Billy stopped trusting nearly everyone as they refused to listen to him when he insisted his wife hadn't died of natural causes, but Kimberly let him talk about it. She believed him. Billy wasn't the sort to imagine things like that.

When things started to get really bad in her personal life, Billy was the only person Kimberly could turn to. He'd been trying to convince her to leave her husband for a while, but her parents always convinced her to go back home. Since Billy had died, Kimberly hadn't had anyone to turn to. Occasionally, if things really got out of control, she'd call Tommy and Kat, but she hated doing it. Since Jason had moved back to town, she was turning to him more, but she never told him what was going on. She couldn't tell Tommy or Jason. They'd both kill Mark if they knew.

When Kimberly finally left the cemetery, she went home. Unfortunately, as she'd suspected, Mark had been drinking. "Where were you?" He demanded.

"I just went to the cemetery," Kimberly said quickly. "To see Billy."

"For all that time?"

"I miss him, Mark."

"You're lying. You were with Tommy, right?"

"No. I haven't seen Tommy since Kenny's competition last week."

"Bull! I know you're lying to me, Kim!"