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“I can’t believe it,” I sobbed. “I can’t believe Granddaddy is gone; that we’ll never see him again.”
Within moments, we were both sobbing and trying to console each other. I knew Slate was out of his element with emotional things like this.
I didn’t know a lot about Slate's background, but I knew that his father had not been a man that had earned his respect. My mother had shared that much with me.
“What about Grandma?” I finally thought to ask. “Who is with her?”
Mom dabbed her eyes again, trying to stop the flow of tears.
“Oh, Mrs. Marshall their neighbor at the condo in Fort Myers came and picked her up at the airport and is staying with her. Daddy’s body has been released to a mortuary in Indianapolis. Mom can’t get a flight at the moment because of the holiday.”
“So, when?”
She can’t get another flight until the day after Christmas,” she sobbed. “Mom is stuck in Fort Myers for the next two days with no family, virtually all by herself. This is so terrible.”
Slate could take no more. He was on his feet in an instant hovering over Mom.
“Shh, baby,” he soothed. “You don’t worry about that. I will leave this minute and drive all night to get her and bring her here, okay? Taz will go with me.”
“Oh Eric,” she said, clutching him, “I want you here with Bryce for Christmas. Besides that, it is at least a fourteen to sixteen hour drive down and back. By the time you got back, it would almost be the 26th anyway.”
Her body was racked with sobs. I’m sure that Slate felt helpless, something that did not come easily for him.
I suddenly had a thought.
“Mom,” I said, “Fort Myers is close to Naples, right?”
“Yes,” she said, still sobbing.
“Maybe I can help. Slate, I need your phone to call someone.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out. I dialed Kyzer’s cell phone number, praying that he would answer. It was Christmas Eve; he might be out at some holiday event or party. It was a long shot, but it was all I had.
My heart lurched when he answered. I knew he wouldn’t recognize Slate’s number so I identified myself.
“Kyzer,” I said in a voice that was full of hope, “I really need your help. We’ve had a terrible loss in the family. Is your family’s plane and pilot available?”
“Lindsey,” he said his voice now full of concern, “what happened? Tell me what you need?”
CHAPTER 13
Once again I found myself alone with Taz. This time it was in my mother’s Mercedes. He was driving.
We initially rode in silence to the private airport where my grandmother was due in on the private jet that Kyzer’s family had dispatched at my request. I was amazed at how responsive Kyzer was to my request for this major favor.
“I am so very sorry for your loss, Lindsey,” he had consoled over the phone. “Please hang tight. I will call you back in a few minutes with the details, okay?”
“Thanks, Kyzer,” I had replied, holding back my tears. “I don’t know how I can ever thank you for this.”
“There is no need. You are a very special friend and this is what friends do for each other.”
True to his word, Kyzer had phoned back fifteen minutes later and provided the details of where the plane would be waiting. Their pilot had filed a flight plan they were clear to take off as soon as someone could get Grandma there.
Slate had then phoned Mrs. Marshall who assured him she would get Grandma delivered safely to the small, private airport.
Slate had not wanted to leave Mom. She wasn’t in good shape at emotionally. He had asked Taz to drive me to the airfield to pick up my grandmother. I was extremely uncomfortable being with him on this particular mission. I was not about to break the silence.
“So,” he finally said, “are you doing alright, Lindsey?”
