The cemetery was a lonely yet beautiful place. There were rows of flowers in every color, lined all the way up the field and around a pond in the center. Austin’s plot was on a hill overlooking the pond. If it wasn’t for the support of his MMA friends, I couldn’t have afforded this elaborate of a resting place. They’d funded the entire service to help me out financially. There was a monument that stood about eight feet tall of an angel warrior, depicting how they all saw Austin in their minds. He was loved by his friends, and especially by me.
The flowers I’d left a week ago were wilted, so I took them off his grave and replaced them with the season’s first set of fall-colored flowers. I sat down on the grass and stared at his name, tracing my finger along the warm marble stone. “I have so much to tell you,” I whispered. “First, I’ll give you the good news.” In my back pocket there was a letter from Southern Trends, a well-known magazine about the top places to visit in the South. I opened the letter and set it on the ground in front of me. “I received a letter saying that our restaurant is going to be featured as one of the favorite local restaurants in North Carolina. Do you know what this means? It means your dream is finally coming true. People will make a point to visit if they’re in the area. It’ll be just what you wanted. Your brother will be ecstatic when he finds out.”
A tear slid down my cheek and fell onto the letter. “The only problem is that you’re not here to see it happen.” I closed my eyes and hung my head. The warm wind blew across the field, bringing the sounds of swaying branches and rippling water in the pond. It was so peaceful. “I miss you, Austin. Every day I think about you and wish that I could’ve done something to help you. If I’d known that something was wrong, I could’ve gotten us help. The worst part of it all is that I know what was going through your mind while they had me. I know you blamed yourself. I have never and will never blame you for what happened.” The sound of his pleas for the men to let me go echoed in my ears. I wanted to forget the terror in his voice and the way it had shattered my heart. I never got to say goodbye or touch his body before they threw him away in the alley.
“All you ever wanted was to be a better fighter, a better husband,” I cried. “I just wish I could’ve told you more often that you were all of those things and more. You gave me some of the best years of my life, even though they were over too quickly. No matter what happens, I want you to know that our memories will always be in my heart. I will never forget you or the love we had.” I folded the letter back up and stuck it in my pocket before getting to my feet. Standing there, I took a deep breath and inhaled the scent of fresh-cut grass and flowers. Every time I visited, I waited to hear Austin’s voice come in through the wind. Sadly, it never came and it never would. He was gone.
“Goodbye, Austin.”
—
Monday ended with Grayson buying everyone at the bar drinks after he heard the good news. Even Philip showed up, but only to tell me he needed to move our appointment to Wednesday instead of Tuesday because something had come up. Since he was there, he ended up celebrating with us. We were excited for the interview and agreed that we’d both be present and we’d make sure Austin was our main focus. Through all of the excitement, I felt bad about telling Luke to make sure Evan left me alone for the day. It would’ve been nice to tell him.
Now it was Tuesday morning and I was super early, all alone in the practice facility parking lot while I waited for everyone to show up for training. Today I had to renew my first-aid certification. Evan would be my partner, and my stomach was in knots knowing I’d see him again.
Coach Joel arrived first, followed by some of the players. There was no news of Jaxon’s death so I was pretty sure Evan hadn’t gone after him for what he did. I had yet to see him or Lindsey. My waiting came to an end when Evan pulled up in his truck and parked beside me. He locked eyes with me and my heart jumped, beating wildly against my chest. Taking a deep breath, I let it out and got out of my car. Evan tossed his gym bag over his shoulder and approached me cautiously.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice gentle, deep.
I nodded but then caught a glimpse of his hands and his bruised knuckles. “I am, but now I have to ask you the same question.”
He looked at his hands and chuckled lightly. “I knew you were going to ask. I’m fine, but I can’t say the same for Jax.”
“So you did go after him. I didn’t know if you would or not.”
“After what he did, he deserved a lot worse. My only concern was for you.” He moved closer and set his gym bag down before reaching for my hands. I let him take them and immediately relaxed with his touch. “I wanted to see you yesterday. I was worried you’d hate me after what happened.”
I squeezed his hands. “Never. I’m just glad I was there and that Luke showed up.”
“Me, too,” he murmured. More people started pulling into the parking lot, including Jaxon and Lindsey. I watched Lindsey storm inside, not even attempting to look our way. Jaxon, on the other hand, glowered at Evan when he got out of his little black sports car.