Chapter Eight
A breeze blew through the September morning as Seth stood beside his mother in Lower Manhattan, at the edge of South Pool, listening to the names being read aloud in the hushed reverence that always marked this somber anniversary.
Years had passed since the fall of the Twin Towers, but the weight of that morning still pressed against his chest like a stone.
Grace dabbed at her eyes with a tissue as the ceremony continued.
Around them, families clutched photos and flowers, their grief raw, despite the passage of time.
Seth found himself scanning the names etched in bronze around the memorial’s perimeter, recognizing far too many brothers in blue.
Heroes who’d run toward the danger when everyone else had run away.
He watched a young woman trace her finger over a name and murmur, “I miss you, Daddy.”
Seth clenched his jaw. Life is too fucking short to waste on fear.
His recent idiocy smacked him in the face. Here he was, surrounded by reminders that this precious life could change in the blink of an eye…while he’d spent too many days terrified of the very future he wanted most.
When the ceremony concluded, a somber hush fell over the crowd at the memorial.
He and his mother began walking toward the street, neither speaking.
If he remembered some of the fallen officers and firefighters from his childhood, Grace had known many of them personally through his father.
That day had been not only an attack on the country, but a deep scar gouged into New York.
It still showed in his mother’s withdrawn expression and the trembling of her pale hands.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders in silent comfort and guided her toward the car. Halfway there, a familiar voice called out.
“Seth?”
He turned to find Tony Marconi approaching. His former beat partner looked a bit older now at thirty-one, but he still carried himself with that unmistakable cop swagger from their patrol days.
“Tony. Good to see you, man.” Seth held out his hand.
His former partner shook it. “Likewise.” Then he turned to Grace. “Hi, Mrs. Cooper.”
At Tony’s respectful nod, she smiled. “Nice to see you, Tony. You two catch up. I’ll wait in the car.”
“I won’t be long,” Seth promised.
Once his mom disappeared, Tony relaxed. “I didn’t know you were here. I heard through the grapevine that you’d moved to California.”
“I did. Los Angeles. Just here for a few days.”
“SoCal, huh? I can’t picture you there. You were always a New Yorker, through and through. But I gotta admit, that tan looks good on you. You like the West Coast?”
“Mostly. It’s an acquired taste. Weather’s great. Traffic sucks.” Seth shrugged. “It’s definitely different. But I’ve got some good friends out there. And…a girl.”
“Yeah?” Tony clapped him on the shoulder. “Good for you. Is it serious?”
“She’s the reason I moved out there.” He and Tony had been tight once.
Back in the day, he might have said more about Heavenly, maybe even fessed up about sharing her with Beck.
But now? Tony still knew some of the same people his mom talked to.
He couldn’t risk that information getting back to Grace.
“Wow, good for you, man.” Tony smiled.
His former partner hadn’t liked Autumn much. He’d called her whiny and clingy. At the time, Seth had been pissed off. He and Tony had exchanged words. In retrospect, his friend had been right.
“You still in the PI business?” Tony asked. “I know your brother Matt took over here.”
“Yeah. I put out my shingle in Cali. You still at the Two-Four?” He scanned Tony’s passable off-the-rack suit. “Looks like you made detective.”
Tony’s expression darkened. “Yeah, but the precinct isn’t what it used to be. Politics and bullshit. Trust me, be glad you got out when you did.”
Seth had sensed the tone shift at the precinct even before he’d left. “You still single?”
“Not for long. I met a girl online. Crazy, right? Her name is Megan, and we’re getting married in March.”
“Congratulations! That’s fantastic.” Seth glanced at his watch. “Hey… I hate to run. I’ve got an appointment in Yonkers, so I’ve got to get going.” Not that he was looking forward to getting fitted for a tux with his mother’s fiancé, whom he barely knew. “But it was great seeing you, man.”
“If you’ve got time later, I’d love to grab a beer. Maybe hear more about how you made the successful switch from homicide detective to PI?”
Because Tony was thinking about doing the same?
“Maybe next time? I’m only in town for a few days, but I’m back next month. It would be great to shoot the shit.” Seth wanted to hear more about the change in the precinct, especially if it was making Tony re-think his direction in life.
“You got it. Take care of yourself out in La-La Land.” He clapped Seth’s shoulder.
After they parted ways, Seth headed for Grace’s car and found his mom waiting patiently. He couldn’t help but feel a pang of nostalgia for the old days, mixed with relief that he’d left when he had. Some chapters in life were meant to close.
The drive home was quiet after the somber ceremony. It wasn’t until they were sitting in traffic that Grace spoke again.
“Do you ever miss police work?”
“Sometimes. But not enough to re-join the force.”
“California really is your home now, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Because that’s where Heavenly and Beck were.
After dropping Grace off at the house, Seth arrived at the formal wear shop to find Carl Mahoney waiting. He was a bear of a man with reddish-brown hair and a matching beard tinged with gray, weathered hands that spoke of years in construction, and gentle eyes.
The tailor bustled around them with measuring tape and pins. In the awkward silence, Seth found himself searching for something to say.
“So, Mom says you’re in construction,” Seth offered. “What kind?”
“Commercial mostly. Office buildings, a few residential developments. Been doing it for thirty years.” Carl shifted as the tailor adjusted his collar. “Grace tells me you’re doing well with your PI business out in California.”
“Can’t complain. It’s steady work, even if the hours sometimes suck, and I get tired of cheating spouses.”
“I’m sure.”
Their conversation lagged again until Carl cleared his throat. “You know…your mother misses you. Talks about you all the time. She’s so proud of how you held the family together after your father passed. That couldn’t have been easy. You were still a kid.”
Seth felt his throat tighten. “Someone had to step up, and I was the oldest.”
“She says you made sure your brothers stayed in line, that the yard work got done, and that the house didn’t fall apart around her.
That’s not something many teenagers could manage.
You were basically a father to the other boys when you were still growing up yourself.
” Then Carl’s smile turned wry. “And Jack and Connor’s romantic life aside, they turned out just fine. ”
Seth grimaced. “They’re good men. They just…need to grow up.”
“I’m sure you worry about your mom, especially after the way you and I met.
” Carl winced, clearly still embarrassed that Seth’s first introduction had been when he’d walked in on Carl fucking her on the kitchen table.
“Our relationship may have seemed sudden to you, but she waited a long time to open her heart again after losing your father…”
“A very long time.”
“I understand. I lost my wife to breast cancer eight years ago. I thought I was done with love.”
“But it wasn’t done with you.” Seth understood. When he’d lost Autumn at twenty-four, he hadn’t planned on ever getting involved, much less married, again. But he was living proof that things changed.
“No. I resisted my attraction to your mother for weeks, but the more I tried…the more I fell for her. She made me re-think everything. She’s a good woman.”
“The best. And if she finally said yes to you after all these years, she must be sure.”
“How do you feel about that? Danny, Matt, and the twins have all accepted us, but…in hindsight, I should have asked for your blessing before I proposed to your mother.”
Seth softened. “Mom has always been her own woman. If you make her happy, that’s all I need. I’m actually glad she won’t be spending the rest of her life alone. She belongs with someone who knows how special she is.”
“She is, and I don’t know how I got so lucky. I can’t wait for her to meet my kids.”
“You’ve got two, right? Mom said your son lives in Japan and your daughter is going to Notre Dame.”
Carl nodded as the tailor pinned his sleeve. “My son Blake is thirty. He works construction management in Tokyo. My daughter Catherine—she prefers Cat—just turned nineteen. She’s a sophomore.”
Seth raised an eyebrow. “She must be smart.”
“Too smart. She gets that from her mother. Cat is pre-med. Wants to be a pediatric surgeon. Anyway, they’ll both be flying in for the wedding.
Blake is excited to have brothers. And after my wife passed, our house was awfully quiet, so Cat is looking forward to having big holiday celebrations again. ”
That tracked, but Seth had other things on his mind. If he had to spend “quality time” with his mother’s fiancé, maybe he should make the most of it and gather some intel.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” Carl stiffened. It was subtle, but impossible not to notice.
“When Mom asked me to fly out here and talk to Jack and Connor about their behavior, she was hysterical. She seems calmer now, but she’s threatening to cut those idiots out of her life.
I’m trying to keep the family together.” Seth watched Carl’s face carefully.
“You were there. What’s your take on this mess? ”
“You know Grace’s upbringing. Her faith. She sees the world through a very specific lens, so she was shocked.”
“I know. But how do you see it?”