“Wiver’s picture!” Rosie ran back inside, and Junie ran after her.
Leah sighed. “Sorry, Ginger.” She leaned into the house. “Rosie, what pic—”
Rosie was holding the picture of River and the girls that they had on the windowsill, causing another onslaught of emotions. Leah choked out, “Good idea. Where’s Junie?”
Junie came out of the bedroom holding two crayon drawings.
“What have you got, honey?”
“A picture for Wiver.” As they walked outside, Junie said, “And one for Tank.”
Leah stopped in her tracks and looked up at the sky, trying to keep more tears at bay.
Ginger put her arm around her. “How can I help, sweetheart?”
“Please tell me Tank is still coming to the cemetery.” She needed him to be there as much as the girls did. She felt stronger when he was around.
“He’s beside himself with worry about you and the girls. It would take an act of God to keep him from being there for you today, and even then, I’m pretty sure he’d find a way to show up. Come on, let’s get you and the girls in the car.”
Leah stared out the window on the drive to the cemetery, hoping Ginger and Tank wouldn’t think badly of her for not ordering flowers or having a service, but she hadn’t wanted to drive the cost up. As she’d been doing every day since the accident, she tried to remember every little thing about River, and Tank’s voice blew through her mind.
He was a hero. Never forget that.
Sadness consumed her, making it hard to breathe as they wound through the narrow lane on the cemetery grounds. Leah fought with everything she had to hold herself together for the girls, but she felt like a sapling in a monsoon—about to be ripped from her roots, blown to pieces.
Ginger parked near a sharply dressed man with olive skin and dark hair, who looked to be in his forties. “That’s Lenny Covington, the man you spoke with on the phone.”
Lenny opened Leah’s door. “Leah? I’m Lenny. I’m so sorry for your loss.”
He had kind eyes and a warm voice. As he helped her out of the car, Tank’s voice whispered through her mind again. We call him Saint.
“Thank you,” she said nervously as he opened the back door so she could get Junie out. “Come on, baby girl.”
Junie held Mine’s ears and her drawings as Leah lifted her out of the car. Ginger and Rosie joined them. Rosie clutched River’s picture in one hand, Boo in the other.
“It’s nice to see you, Ginger.” Lenny kissed her cheek.
“Thank you for helping our special girls,” Ginger said.
Ginger’s proclamation gave Leah a warm feeling, which was a nice buffer against the sadness swallowing her.
“My pleasure.” He looked down at Rosie. “You must be Rosie.”
Rosie nodded and held up River’s picture. “This Wiver. He dead.”
She said it so matter-of-factly, Leah didn’t know if she should be sad or glad that Rosie wasn’t falling apart. But one thing was certain: She wished she had Rosie’s resilience.
Lenny nodded. “Yes, I know. I’m sorry about that.”
“He with Gwampa.” Rosie pointed to Junie. “That Junie.”
Lenny smiled at Junie. “Hello, Junie.”
Junie’s brows knitted. She put her arm around Leah’s leg, leaning against her. Leah put her hand on Junie’s back.
Lenny led them toward a beautiful hill by a large tree. A casket with white roses and greenery draped over the middle was surrounded by a green ground covering and several pretty stands holding beautiful bouquets of roses and carnations. There was a large wooden easel facing away from them with what looked like an enormous sign on it. Leah looked around, wondering where River’s gravesite was, but as they walked past the easel, she saw the sign wasn’t a sign at all, but a poster-size photograph of River’s smiling face. RIVER MICHAEL YATES was printed across the top, and FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS was printed beneath the picture.
“Wiver!” Junie and Rosie yelled, and ran to admire the picture.
Thank goodness, because Leah’s tears were inescapable as she turned to Ginger and Lenny. “How…?”
“Tank,” Ginger said softly.
Leah opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a sound of disbelief.
Rosie tilted her sweet face up. “Mama sad?”
Leah tried to get her voice to work, but how could she say she was okay when she was anything but?
The rumble and roar of motorcycles cut through the air, and they all turned to see Tank leading a convoy of fifty or more motorcycles, headlights on, with several cars following them. Leah’s knees buckled, and she grabbed Ginger’s arm, asking, “Who are all those people?” as the girls yelled “Tank!” and started waving and jumping up and down.
“That’s your Dark Knights family, sweetheart,” Ginger said. “Behind Tank are Conroy and Preacher, followed by the rest of the members and their families.”
“But…they don’t even know us,” she said through her tears.
“Many know you from the restaurant, and they were all at the hospital the night of the accident, praying for you and your family.” Ginger hugged her against her side. “Tank also set up a gathering at his house. A celebration of River’s life for you and the girls after you’re done here. But if it’s too much for you or the girls, there’s no pressure to attend.”
Emotions clogged Leah’s throat. “He did that for us?”
“Yes, sweetheart. He’d do anything for you.”
More tears fell as the convoy parked along the road, and Tank climbed off his bike. His eyes locked on Leah and the girls as he strode toward them in his black leather vest over a white dress shirt, jeans, and black boots, followed by a sea of men dressed the same and women wearing jeans, dresses, and everything in between. Junie and Rosie ran toward Tank, carrying their lovies and pictures.
He scooped them up in his strong arms, kissing their cheeks as they hugged him. Relief and something much deeper washed over his handsome face. Junie waved one of her pictures in front of his face, telling him she’d made it for him, and the look in his eyes made Leah’s heart turn over in her chest. She wanted to be in his arms, too, but she was overwhelmed, frozen in place, and grateful beyond words.
His eyes never left hers as he closed the distance between them, holding one smiling girl in each arm. Junie rested her head on his shoulder like it was made for her.
“Tank…” Leah’s voice cracked.
He stepped forward, bringing her into the fold between the girls. He didn’t say a word. After all he’d done, he didn’t have to. He pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, and she felt his emotions as deeply as she felt her own, whispering, “Thank you.”
“I’ll always be here for you, darlin’.”
She didn’t even try to hold back her tears as they went to stand by River’s casket.
Tank stood with Leah and the girls, a pillar of strength when they needed it most, with Ginger and Baz to Leah’s right and Conroy and Gunner to Tank’s left. The rest of the Dark Knights and their families formed a circle of support around them as Leah and the girls put their pictures on River’s casket and said tearful goodbyes to the brother, father, and friend they would miss every day for the rest of their lives.