Page 7 of Luke

"You're leaving now?" Luke asked. "You don't want to know what Knox and I got?"

"You can tell me later. Sorry, I have to take care of something." James got to his feet and looked at Luke. "Are you staying in town? Can we meet tomorrow?"

"No idea," he muttered. "I need to get some sleep at some point."

"Well, keep in touch."

"Sure thing."

"I'm going to leave, too," Claire said, standing up. "I'm around if any of you want to talk." She paused. "Your dad told me that he remembered how difficult it was on all of you when your mom died. He felt so helpless to comfort you. Those days after the accident when your mom lingered in the hospital caught between life and death were the hardest days of his life." Her eyes blurred with tears. "He didn't want you to have to go through that again with him. He didn't want any good-byes. He wanted you to remember him as he lived, the times you shared together. I know it's hard to understand it, but what he did—he did out of love." She gave them a sad smile. "I'm always going to be here for you boys. You know that, I hope. I love you as if you were my own. So don't be strangers, okay?"

"Okay," Luke said, getting up to give her a hug. His brothers followed.

After his aunt and James left, it was just the three of them.

"Well," Gabe said, giving them both an expectant look. "What did you guys get from Dad?"

"You go first," he said to Knox, wanting to postpone his legacy as long as possible.

Knox opened up his envelope and pulled out a key. "What does this go to?" He frowned as he turned the key over in his hand. Then he looked back into the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper. "This is an address. Maybe it's a key to a storage locker. I guess I'm not going to find out what I have tonight." He tipped his head to Luke. "Your turn."

He slid his finger under the flap of the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper. It was also a property deed. It took him a moment to realize what it was. "The Algoma Resort in Yosemite Valley," he muttered. "He gave me the mountain lodge where he and Mom met. This is crazy. Why would he think I would want a resort?"

"I don't think these legacies are about anything we want but what Dad thinks we need," Gabe said.

"Well, I don't need a lodge," he said firmly. The last thing he wanted was roots. But then, his dad had never understood him in life; why should death be any different?

He slipped the deed back into the envelope and pushed his empty glass across the table. "I'll take another drink."

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