STELLA

I didn’t know how I was singing this beautiful song without breaking down. The lyrics were so apt to the situation Despite how hard it was, I was glad Mrs Wilson chose this song for her son’s farewell.

Sebastian joined in now and then, his guitar playing amazing, but I was surprised he had wanted to be a part of this. Seb was so quiet, and getting up to do this in front of the club would be hard for anyone. Hell, it was hard for me, but I was doing quite well until I saw something that completely shocked me. As I sang the last part of the song, I saw Booth crying. A tear escaped his glassy eyes, and I was done.

My resolve not to cry flew out the window. My strong, handsome man was finally letting down his walls. I couldn’t begin to describe how his tear affected me. One tear. But it hit its mark. My heart. I barely made it through the last chorus, choking on the last three words. Seb strummed the last chord, and I sobbed. It was just too much.

I needed to get away from the coffin. It was closed, a request from his mum, but knowing Dundee was lying lifeless in there was just too much reality for me right then. Even though Creed was waiting for me, I looked to the only person that I wanted, needed to be with at that very moment. I lifted my gaze, and with just one look from me, he was on his feet. His stride was full of purpose as he made his way to me, and in seconds, his strong arms were around me. And I let go with the grief of the day.

I didn’t know what was happening between Booth and me. I didn’t know if anything would come of this, but we had a connection—of that, I was very sure.

“I got you, Honey. You did such a beautiful job for Dundee. He would have been so proud. I’m proud of you, too,” he whispered in my ear. This man could be so hard and cold. Then he would melt me with his kind heart when no one else could hear his sweet words or when he thought no one was watching. I would have liked it much more if he would sing it from the rooftops or had his feelings for me tattooed across his forehead to let people know he liked me. Was it too much to hope that he could maybe love me? He held me tightly against his chest, our hearts beating against one another as he gently made small circles on my back with his hands. He buried his face in my neck and pressed soft kisses to my skin. In moments like these, as he soothed and comforted me, making me tingle, he gave me a brief moment in my screwed-up life to be liked just for me.

I held onto him and this moment for dear life.

“Come on, Honey. Let’s sit down,” he said quietly as he led me over to where he had been sitting. Mrs Wilson got up as I approached and wrapped me in her embrace. She was a small woman and older than I’d thought she would be. I deduced that Dundee was a late-in-life baby. His two sisters looked to be at least ten years older than he was.

“Thank you, Stella. You have a beautiful voice. Kurt would have been so happy to hear you sing.”

My throat clogged with so much emotion that I could only nod in response.

Creed had found his seat when Booth came for me after the song. As Booth guided me to the seat beside him, I noticed he had the guys move down a seat each. Darth was now on the other side of the aisle. No! This wasn’t right. The team needed to stay together.

“Booth, let Darth come back, please. You guys belong together right now. Please.” I didn’t give him the chance to argue with me. Instead, I simply got up and, as quietly as possible, shuffled my way past each of the men of the Wounded Souls so Darth could take his rightful place. He gave me a chin lift, his stoic face hiding a depth of emotion, the tick in his tightly clenched jaw the only sign he was struggling as much as the rest of us.

The rest of the service went off with poise and gentle, respectful laughter. Each of the brothers got up to share a memory or funny story about Kurt, but it was Creed’s story that had the women especially crying softly.

“When I lost my wife and unborn child in a motorcycle accident, I was lost and ready to leave this world. I wanted to be with them. But Dundee wasn’t on board with that idea. He said, ‘You selfish prick. What would your wife think of you if you just gave up? Wasting your life just because things got a bit hard for a minute? You make everything count from this moment on. You make it so their deaths weren’t in vain. You live enough for the both of them. Now I think we should go shoot some fucking guns and then find some willing women to keep us warm for the night.’ Well, we did exactly that, and that night, Kurt Dundee Wilson pulled my head out of my arse.”

Oh, God. Hearing Creed speak of his wife and child for the first time ever left the whole place with tears in their eyes. And it had tears spilling down my cheeks. Charlotte, Mia, and Rainn were crying, too. Reaching over the aisle, I grabbed the handful of tissue from Darth that Charlotte had passed down to him to give to me. I mean really, who came to a funeral without a blasted tissue? Hello. I guess I did.

As I wiped my face, I completely forgot about what my make-up was supposed to be hiding. I watched Booth as he made his way to the podium. I hadn’t realised I had uncovered my split lip.

“It is never an easy thing to lose a comrade. It is even harder to lose a friend, a man who fought side by side with you, saving your life, and the lives of others, day after day after day.” Pausing, Booth stared intently at Dundee’s mother. “Your son gave his life for three people who mean the world to the club, to Deck, Creed, Steel, Mannix, Darth, and to me. He didn’t think twice before putting himself in the line of fire. To Dundee, there was no choice to make, just to act, and I, for one, will be forever grateful for that act.” Booth stopped again and looked over at me. His sombre face was suddenly wary. He was looking so intently at me, I started to feel conspicuous. What on earth?

“Psst.”

Looking behind me, I could see Rainn had made her way from her seat in the second row across the aisle to the one behind me.

“Rainn, what are you doing?” I hissed at her. Booth had resumed speaking, but he kept looking over at me. He had his eyes narrowed at me the entire time. What was his freaking problem?

“Stella, you’ve wiped off some of your make-up. The cut above your lip is showing,” she hissed back at me. Oh, my God. Seriously? I needed to get to a mirror as soon as possible. The last thing I needed was Booth on a rampage after my stepfamily the day he buried a friend.

Thankfully, I was saved by movement near Kurt’s casket as six patched officers all stood to take their places around their friend’s coffin. A lone soldier dressed in his dress uniform stood with them and started to play ‘The Last Post’ as each man took a handle on the coffin, and at the order given by Booth, they lifted their mate onto their shoulders. I was grateful for the fact that Booth could no longer see me. Rainn passed me her compact and foundation powder, and I made very quick work of fixing my blunder, then I swiped some more lipstick onto my lips, which would have to do until Rainn could get me alone and fix it properly. I had just enough time to slip the items next to me on my seat when Seb got my attention. Time for another song.

The trumpet player finished up with the haunting sound of the music every soldier around the world recognised, and I made my way back to Seb. Taking a deep breath, I started to sing ‘Amazing Grace’ as Booth and his brothers carried their mate away for the final time.