Keeping Her (The Lexington Series Book 2) (7 page)

I looked up and Lucy was kneeling on
the floor in front of me. “I’m here for you Landon. I’ll help you.” She stood
up and held out her hand for me. I took her hand and stood. Gently she smoothed
out my t-shirt and tucked it into my pants. Then she buttoned up my shirt
slowly starting from the bottom. When she was done she smoothed the shirt and
tucked it in then buttoned my pants. I didn’t move a muscle the entire time, I
don’t remember the last time anyone took care of me in this way. When I either
couldn’t or refused to myself. She walked to the dresser and came back and put
my dad’s favorite cufflinks on me. She fixed my belt and grabbed my tie. My
dad’s favorite color was this ocean blue color so we decided that all of us
would wear something this color today. Lucy had one of those belts girls wear
on their waist, I had a tie, Max a bow tie, Nick a suit handkerchief, Erica
shoes, and Mel a blazer. Sam picked up the pieces to ensure they were all the
same exact shade. The girls also had different necklaces, earrings, bags and
girly shit that color. Lucy put on my tie and straightened it. When she was
done she told me to sit and I watched her as she pinned back one side of her
hair and put in some clip with a blue butterfly on it. She left it out wild and
curly the way I love it. She added her necklace and stuff and finished the look
with some black heels. The dress fit her like a second skin and I eyed her
probably for the first time without lust just appreciation. When she was
finished she put a sweater in her bag and handed me my wallet, keys and things
to put in my pocket. She grabbed my suit jacket and threw it over her arm then
picked up her bag and put it on her shoulder. She held out her hand for me and
I took it as she led me downstairs. Erica and Max were already there waiting,
and Nick and Mel came down shortly after us. We all headed out to the waiting
limo together.

The entire ride was eerily silent,
however comfortable. It seemed like no one was in the mood to speak or do much
else but sit there. Even Max had this deadly calm about him and he’s usually
brimming with energy. When the car stopped in front of the church no one moved
to get out. We all looked around at each other waiting for someone to take the
first step. The driver opened the door and it wasn’t until he stuck his hand
inside in offering to help Erica did anyone start moving. I eyed the church
skeptically. With every step that I took closer to the front doors, the turmoil
inside of me grew. It’s like Lucy knew what was going through my head because
she wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled herself closer. I immediately
felt myself begin to calm and I wrapped an arm around her shoulder. We made our
way inside and the place was packed. There were a lot of faces I recognized and
others I didn’t. Dad’s best clients were there and those that were no longer
clients but he had become friends with were in attendance. I saw a few
colleagues and then finally I spotted James. He must’ve seen us come in and
stood so we knew where to go. There were a million eyes on us but it all faded
away as the casket in the front of the room came into view. Max spotted it and
ran towards it.

“Dad?” I heard Max say and Lucy took
off to his side. She bent down and said something to him and he nodded. I saw
his face fall and the tears started.

I picked up my speed and made my way
to the front and I picked up Max and grabbed Lucy’s hand while avoiding looking
at what was in the casket. We took our seats in the front row and Max climbed
across the seats onto Lucy’s lap and buried his face into her chest. The
preacher was speaking but I couldn’t hear anything he was saying. My main focus
was on avoiding the casket in front of us. I didn’t want to see my father like
that, I couldn’t. I refused to let that be the last memory that I have of him.
I realized that the preacher had stopped speaking and people were lining up to
see him and say their goodbyes. It took a while for everyone to have their
turn. Once everyone else cleared and returned to their seats, James motioned
for the people in the front row to go last… the family. Everyone stood up
except for me.

Lucy placed her hand on my arm.
“Landon you don’t have to do this, but I’m sure you will regret it sometime
later if you don’t. I’m not going to make you change your mind or try to force
you into anything; I just don’t want this to be something that you beat
yourself up about later on. You know I’m here with you right? You don’t have to
do this alone, we’re all here and we all need each other right now.”

I sighed because I knew she was right
and I knew I was just being a coward. “Alright.” I stood up and let her lead me
up to the casket. I looked at my father and I touched his hand. He looked the
same yet so different. A ton of memories of all the good times we had together
invaded my memory and I smiled the first genuine smile in days. I looked over
to Lucy and she was watching me wiping her tears away. I grabbed her hand and
pulled her to me and placed a soft kiss to her lips. “Thank you for having me
do this.” I whispered.

She nodded. “That’s what I’m here
for.”

Seeing him in the casket had the
opposite effect on me than I thought it would. Just seeing him again made me
think past what had just happened and focus on all the good things he’s done
for me and gave me. Once we returned to our seats, the preacher announced that
they were allowing his family to say a few words. When James was planning
everything he asked us if any of us would be willing to talk and we all said
no. Now when he stood to deliver the speech that should be coming from us, I
stood as well.

“James, do you mind if I do it?” I
asked.

He looked a wreck just like the rest
of us. He and dad had gotten really close since James came into our lives. They
were like our mom and dad’s and the two of them together could make the entire
world shift if it came to us. He nodded. “Sure Landon, I think it would be best
if you did it.” I began to walk past him to get to the front when he pulled me
into a hug. I hesitated for a brief moment but I returned it. If I didn’t have
my dad, I wouldn’t have minded him practically adopting me. He didn’t step into
the father role with Lucy, he jumped in full body, feet first and never came
back out. He also didn’t give us hell ever about our relationship unless it had
to do with things he’d rather not imagine his daughter doing, not that I can
blame him. He even took all the rest of us in with open arms because he
understood we had become a package. I couldn’t do anything but respect this
man.

I made my way up the stairs to the
microphone. I let my eyes trail over my father and I smiled. I hadn’t prepared
anything to say but I don’t think I honestly needed to. Talking about my father
is easy. I cleared my throat and began. “Thank you everyone for coming out here
today to pay your respects. My father… where do I start? He busted his ass to
make sure that we would be okay. Although there were times that I wish he were
around more it didn’t bother me much. For a lot of kids my age, they might’ve
been sad or complained about having to go home and babysit their younger
brother because their parents had to work. I didn’t mind because he’s an
awesome kid. I love spending time with him and to be honest I prefer to go home
to be with him than going to a party or something. My dad was an incredible
man. I’m sure everyone here knows that but his dedication to us… his family was
more than most people will ever have. He truly loved us, all of us. He always
did what was right, and opened his arms and his door to those who deserved it. The
one thing I’ve always known in life is that he loved me. Excuse me I mean he
loves
us
. He built a family of his own outside of just blood. He didn’t hesitate
when his sister died and took my best friend and cousin in as his own. He
didn’t hesitate when the woman he was going to marry was a demon in disguise
and saved her daughter from her. He didn’t think twice when it came to my
happiness. Even when it came to Nick’s it was welcomed with opened arms. He
took care of us, watched after us and made sure we were always ok. That night…”
I trailed off as I felt too emotional and needed to contain myself. “That
night, none of us came home he was absolutely devastated. It wasn’t just the
kids he fathered but all of us, he cared for us all. My dad loved and his love
was real and unyielding. There was no guessing with it. My dad gave me so
fucking much. He gave me him, he gave me life, he gave me time, he gave me
family, he
loved
me
,
” I met Lucy’s eyes, “he
brought me love
,
he gave me a fucking chance, he
let
me love, he showed us love, and most
of all he taught us the meaning of love. On top of that he has given me a
chance at the future that I’ve always wanted. He gave me hope, faith,
confidence and opportunity, and I’m not going to fucking let him down.”

The preacher gave me a small
disapproving frown as I passed him to go back to my seat, I guess it’s because
I
cursed
. Let’s be realistic here I’m sure he curses when he’s at home
with his buddies having a beer and playing cards, I don’t see a reason to
change who I am for any reason. I got back to my seat and Lucy’s face was red
from crying. I put my arm around her and held her tight to my chest and just
let her cry until she felt better. I already did, being able to see him one
last time and pay my dad tribute helped calm my demon. We went to the burial
and it was a little more emotional. Max was clinging to Erica and I’m not sure
if it was to comfort her or himself. I had to leave Lucy with Nick and Mel for
a while so I could try to calm her. Erica was contained until they began to
lower him into the ground. It was like something clicked in her head and she
completely lost it. I don’t think I ever remember a time I saw this much
emotion from her before, not even when our mom died. I guess that was different
because we had a lot of time to mentally prepare for it and when it happened we
weren’t surprised. She eventually calmed and we headed home. James coordinated
a get together like how they usually have after funerals with food and stuff,
but he just rented the space and left instructions. He and Sam rode back to the
house with us and we all just watched The Titanic together in silence.

The next day we had to go meet with
the lawyer for details on my father’s assets. No one was really up for it but
it was something that needed to be done sooner than later. It was no surprise
that he left all properties in all of our names including Lucy. Naturally he
has college funds for all four of us as Erica’s was paid off and some trust
funds we get in a few years. We each have our own investment portfolio that
will ultimately be overlooked by the person that has been handling his
investments for years, but we will each have a say in how our portfolios are
handled. Not surprisingly he left custody of us to James. He didn’t give any
argument, he actually looked surprised. I guess he didn’t realize that although
my father had ‘friends’ he doesn’t have people that he would trust us with. I
knew without a doubt he trusted James and Samantha and that was the only option
that really made sense. He was basically like the other half of the parental
unit we had. It should tell you something that we actually listen to him and
Sam, well except for Nick when it comes to harassing her.

Lucy pulled me to the side while we
were waiting in the lobby for James to finish getting the paperwork in order.
“I was truly worried about what was going to happen with Max.” she confessed
letting out a long breath.

I nodded. “Me too but he should be
fine here with them. I’m not worried about them taking care of him and he likes
them well enough.”

She dropped her forehead onto my
chest. “Will things ever go back to normal, or are we going to be sad like this
forever?” she asked in a whisper.

“It might take some time but we will
have to have a new normal. We can’t have exactly what we used to anymore, but
it will be fine. Don’t we make it through everything?” I asked her.

She nodded. “Yea Landon. We can and
will make it through
anything
.”

We drove back to the house and I
spoke to James outside privately. I assured him that I will speak with Max and
we could all contribute into making sure he’s all packed up and ready to move
in with him. He assured me he would take care of any information that needs to
go out to our schools and such. I thanked him and let him know how genuinely
grateful I was for his help. He waved me off and reminded me how Dean had saved
Lucy without a second thought and how much he owes to him because if it weren’t
for him and his choices he probably still wouldn’t know she even existed and
wouldn’t have had any of us in his life either. He did throw in there that if I
were
that
thankful I would consider abstinence with Lucy. He laughed,
like a real belly hurting laugh that had me cracking up when I told him
seriously that was not going to happen so I must not be that thankful after
all.

I went back into the house and
cornered Lucy in the kitchen. “Do you want to consider abstinence Lucy?” I
asked her.

She gave me a confused look. “What
the hell are you talking about Landon?”

I shrugged. “Your dad suggested it
when I thanked him. He thought this was a good way of showing it so I’m asking
you. Before you answer I don’t actually expect for you to say yes.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re a
fucking rabbit Landon, I
know
what answer you’re expecting.”

“Anyway…” I told her backing up
against the counter. “I told him that we’ll talk to Max about moving in with
him and Sam and help pack up and move his stuff.”