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“It’s just the way they do things when they’re dealing with people like that. Gavin was pulling out all the stops and even offering his personal finances to get the family out of there. He could have gotten in a lot of trouble for doing that, but he did it just the same, hoping to get the captors to let the family go,” Erin said.
“Poor Gavin,” I shook my head. I wanted to cover my ears. I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear any more of the story. To think that he offered his own money in exchange for the lives of those people because he couldn’t do anything else with the government funds showed me just how good of a man he was. He clearly wouldn’t let anything get in the way of doing the right thing.
“Right?” Erin said. “I cried when Neils told me he did that. I can’t even imagine if I was in that situation, but that’s what he did.”
“Did they take it?” I asked. “They did, right?”
“No,” Erin said. “They told him they would release everyone, starting with the youngest—the little girl who was close to Libby’s age. She came out of the building with a blindfold on, and Gavin was the one who ran up and scooped her into his arms. He yelled for them to release the rest of the family, but they never did.”
“You mean they died?” I gasped.
Erin nodded, and I found tears welling up in my eyes. I couldn’t believe it. My heart broke for Gavin. I couldn’t wrap my mind around what he had been through trying to save those people, just to have them not make it out of there.
“He’s a hero,” I said. “I hope he knows that.”
“Me too,” Erin replied. “Neils said that Gavin quit K & R after that, and I bet you he blames himself a lot more than he lets on. I know how men are. I know how Neils is when it comes to his past.”
“He can’t!” I blurted out.
“I figured you’d want to know. I bet you that’s what he didn’t want you to walk in on the other day. It’s not as bad to you and me as it is to him. Neils told me that, and I wanted to pass it along, so you would know what was going on. I don’t want you to think he’s hiding something from you that you can’t know. He’s not sharing something with you because it’s hard for him to deal with the fact he’s experienced it,” Erin said.
I nodded, unable to speak. She put her arm around me, and I hugged her, holding her tight for a moment.
“Thank you for telling me,” I said. “I have to talk to him.”
“I’d give it a little bit,” she said. “He’s a little busy right now,”
“I’ll find a good time,” I promised. “But thank you, seriously.”
She hugged me again and said nothing, feeling the pain for Gavin with me.
But at least now I knew the truth.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Gavin
I lost track of time playing the piano with Libby.
She was smart and clearly knew the concept of what she wanted to accomplish but wasn’t able to figure out how to execute that concept. All it took was me showing her, and before the end of the afternoon, she had made a lot of progress.
Neither of us wanted to stop playing, but with everyone else getting ready to head down to the beach for a while, we did, of course, go with them.
That night, Krissy came into the bedroom earlier than she had the previous evening.
“What are you doing here already?” I asked.
“I figured I’d come find you and hang out for a bit,” she smiled.
“Oh? What about spending time with Erin and Neils?” I asked.
“They’re playing with Connor, and Libby’s in her room reading. I could hang out in there, but I wanted to see what you were doing,” she explained.
“Not much,” I told her. “Just about to put on a movie and start reading, too,” I said. “But if you’re here, I don’t want to make you feel ignored.”
“Not at all,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I don’t mind if you want to read. I just wanted to hang out with you.”
“That’s good,” I told her. “What are you going to do with yourself?”
