Awakening Book One of the Trust Series(27)

Caitlyn shrugged her off, a bitter laugh escaping her lips. “As special as myself. If you really knew me, you would have discovered that I was nothing special. Nothing special at all.”

“We disagree.”

Garrett could not help but be shocked at Caitlyn’s reaction. Before meeting Caitlyn the first time, he had completed his research of her family and background as required by the Trust. Caitlyn’s life had been fairly normal until her mid teenage years. When her mother died, everything was fine until she turned rebellious for a year or so before settling down and becoming an A student. Her sister had been struck by a car, which Garrett had assumed had acted as a catalyst for Caitlyn’s better performance. But he couldn’t account for this sudden behavior; the coldness was something that he would not have anticipated. She was normally so warm, a feature that he had come to cherish.

He asked the next question when it became apparent Caitlyn was not going to continue the conversation further. “How did she pass away?”

Caitlyn stared out of the porch to the field. Her jaw clenched, and Garrett knew she was listening. Trish glanced quickly at Caitlyn and then to him, clearly concerned from her reaction.

“From our report, she had a blood clot that dislodged itself. She died this morning at ten am.”

“Any word on funeral arrangements?”

“Our sources say it is being planned for Tuesday. I’ve already set up flight arrangements for Caitlyn and you to be there on Monday. The flight is open ended, so you can return whenever you are ready to.”

Garrett glanced at the concierge. “Thank you.”

Trish nodded in acknowledgement, frowning worriedly at Caitlyn before turning back into the house to resume what tasks she had been working on before.

Quietly, without saying another word, Garrett walked over to Caitlyn and reached out from behind her, wrapping his arms around her to offer some kind of solace. She did not acknowledge his action, instead choosing to stare ahead, looking out into the nothingness of the night. Her tears were silent; the only evidence of them at all was the moisture he felt on his arms as they fell. Still, Garrett held on, knowing that she should not be alone in this moment.

“It will be okay.”

She did not move. “Nothing will ever be okay again.”

“You say that now, but it will be.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“I am going to go back with you.” It was not a request. It was a fact. His heart ached at her loss. He wanted, no, he needed to go back with her and be there in her time of need.

She did not say another word the rest of the evening. The next several days would be a challenge for the both of them to get through. Not only would she be in a tremendous amount of grief, but also he recognized that it was a fine line he was going to need to walk. His job was to be there as her mentor, her friend. But it was his continually evolving feelings towards her that might prevent that, and he had to assure he did not try anything inappropriate that she would regret in her compromised emotional state.

The next morning it did not surprise him when Trish advised that Caitlyn was staying in her room and was not coming out. After two days, he was beginning to believe that he would need to force her out physically to attend the funeral. When he had pulled up to the house, he was very relieved to see her standing there on the porch with her suitcases, ready to fly home.

****

Garrett quietly observed Caitlyn as she stood in her black dress, with a black umbrella, trying to protect herself from the drizzle that was coming down a bit stronger than the weatherman had called for. She stared ahead at the casket in front of her, not moving an inch as the pastor said some comforting words about death and the afterlife.

A cold hard man stood beside her, which he presumed was her father. Garrett could see that maybe at one point in his life her father had been a happy man, but the past ten years had clearly taken a toll on him, leaving him obviously bitter and angry. Throughout the entire service, Walter Young never once even glanced at his daughter to make sure she was alright.

So Garrett stood off to the side, watching what remained of her family dynamic unfold. As the casket was being lowered into the ground, some of her cousins stopped by to speak to her father

He was amazed that they did not attempt to talk to Caitlyn at all, instead pretending as if she was merely not there.

It was no wonder Caitlyn carried all this guilt the entire time over her sister if this was how her family treated her. It angered him to know they treated such a good person like that.