Free The Keepers Book Two of the Holding Kate Series by LaDonna Cole

her grandmother. Shaking hands reached out and smoothed the lapels of her rose colored jacket. “I love you, Grammy.”
    She patted the stiff mottled hands, then jerked her hands away and pressed her palms together. “I met the Beautiful One, Grammy. He is everything you said. I wanted to talk to you about him, but now I’ll never have that chance.” She bent over the body as sobs wracked her slight frame. Trip and I both closed in to support her between us.
    She drew strength from our presence and stood up, hands still clasped and against her chin. Looking over the lid of the casket, she froze, face contorted in a grimace.
    Anger flared, and she jerked backward. Pushing me aside, she stomped around to her mother’s casket, approaching her father. He bent over the body of her mother.
    Kate shoved at his arm. “Get away from her!”
    He jerked up, startled by her vehemence. Kate slapped him as hard as she could. “You don’t deserve a chance to say goodbye,” she wailed and shoved at him. I ran to her and she lost all strength, collapsing into my arms.
    “Corey, Corey! I can’t stand it.”
    Her father staggered back into a spray of flowers, knocking them over. Trip had run around behind him and steadied him from falling over.
    “Nooo. Make him get away from her, Corey! Make him leave her alone!” She sobbed into my chest.
    I caught Trip’s eye and jutted my chin toward the door. He clenched his jaw and turned to Kate’s father. “Sir, are you finished?”
    Mr. Wilson straightened his posture and adjusted his jacket, then nodded curtly. He gazed at Kate over Trip’s shoulder. His face fractured into unfathomable loss, guilt, and grief. He broke down and wrapped his face in a hanky. His wife took his hand.
    “Then let’s give Kate some time alone with them.” Trip escorted them to the door, handed him over to the funeral director, and shut the door behind them. He turned and fell into his familiar bouncer stance, guarding us.
    Kate, hunched over her mother, reached down and touched her dress and then her hair. She spoke softly, cooing as she would to a child. She tucked something into her folded hands. Then she reached over and drew me to her side.
    “This is my Corey. I wanted you to meet him. He is my husband, Mommy. He is going to take good care of me now.” Her voice splintered into a high-pitched whisper of a wail, and her knees buckled. I held her up and cradled her to my chest while she sobbed.
    “Kate, my darling, Kate,” I whispered into her hair and kissed her temple. I could feel her pain, physically. It clamped my organs in a vice grip. I sent up a prayer for her strength.
    She finally stilled into sighs and sniffs.
    “Kate, love. Do you want to see Jimmy?”
    She nodded. I directed her over to the small silver casket, careful to bear her weight as much as I could. People had tucked tiny treasures inside the casket. A Spider Man action figure, a Pokemon index, a bag of Skittles, and a Mario pin were among some of the things kindred had given as their final token.
    Jimmy and Kate were as different as two siblings could be. Thick, bright, red hair topped a round beefy face dotted with freckles. To the degree that Kate appeared feminine and slight, he looked big for his age and all boy. Tears trickled down my face at this sweet life stolen so young. We were meant to have a lifetime together. I had always wanted a little brother, and I had anticipated spoiling this one rotten, bonding and building a life of security and love around Kate. That future evaporated in sorrow.
    I watched Kate. She seemed almost serene as she gazed at her brother’s body. She placed her cheek against his little chest and began softly humming. I didn’t recognize the tune, a haunting lullaby in minor scales. Her hands trembled as she rearranged all of his treasures into safe little nooks and pockets, then reached into her own pocket and slipped something into his hands. “Goodbye, Jimmy-Jim-Jim.”
    She stood up and