Page 20 of Someone to Remember
I’ll be right there with him through it all as he fights for justice for his late wife, but I hate that he has to reopen that wound once again. Eventually, I’ll do the same when the man who accidentally shot Patrick goes to trial. Like Derek, I’ve attended every pretrial hearing and will continue to show up for as long as it takes to make sure the man who took my precious husband from me pays for his crime.
As hard as it was, I’ve forgiven him, though. His life was also destroyed by the events of that day. A while ago, he wrote me a letter expressing his profound sorrow over Patrick’s senseless death, a gesture I truly appreciated. He’s been held without bail and is separated from his girlfriend and young children while he awaits trial. I don’t want to feel for him, but I do. One moment of madness ruined a lot of lives.
Derek is down on the floor with the kids, and I’m filled with contentment in this new family we’ve built for ourselves out of the ashes of our former lives. I was “lucky.” I found my chapter two soon after Patrick died, not that I was looking for it. But there he was at my favorite coffee shop—and then at my workplace after I started as the first lady’s communications director. He understood what I was going through in a way no one else I knew ever could’ve. In many ways, his friendship—and that of our Wild Widows friends—helped me to survive losing Patrick.
My phone rings with a call from Iris, which has me smiling as I answer. She’s one of the best things to come out of my widowhood. I love her like a sister. “Hey, how’s it going over there?”
“I’ve had better days.”
The way she says that sends a shaft of fear through me. “What’s wrong?”
“Taylor lost her husband, Will, in an accident at work last night.”
“No.” I’ve met Taylor and Will twice at Iris’s home, and I’m immediately heartbroken for them and their children. Oh God, she’s due soon with the baby…
Derek looks up at me, his brows furrowed, tuned in to unfolding disaster.
“Wh-what does she need?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“If there’s anything we can do…”
“I’ll keep you posted.”
“What do you need?”
“Could you take my kids for the night? My parents have a wedding tonight for their close friends, and I?—”
“Of course we can take them. Do you want me to come get them?”
“I’ll drop them on the way back to Taylor’s, if that’s okay.”
“We’ll be here all day.”
“Thanks, Roni. I really appreciate it.”
“I want you to tell me what you need because I know you’ll go all out to support her. Let me take care of you.”
“Thanks. That means a lot to me.”
“Love you.”
“Love you, too. I’ll text when we’re on the way.”
“Sounds good.”
I press the red button to end the call.
“What happened?” Derek asks, his expression guarded.
“Taylor’s husband, Will, was killed in an accident at work last night.”
“Oh no. The thing we saw on the news last night… That was him.”
We saw coverage of an unnamed construction company owner falling more than fifty feet to his death.
“Isn’t she having a baby soon?”
