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Chapter Twenty Four – December 20 - Kevin

If I hadn’t been used to traveling, my body would have gone into temperature shock for sure. I had just left snow-covered Kentucky and landed in muggy, rain-drenched Florida. I checked into my hotel, changed into my black suit, and had just enough time to get to the church. I was glad the guys couldn’t see me now; I was Mr. Punctual. Nick would have razed me for days…except I had a feeling Nick wouldn’t be in the razzing mood today.

My cab pulled up to the church and I stepped out, feeling a deep pit of dread in my stomach. I had seen Aaron grow up; the Carter brothers were like my brothers. It didn’t seem like Aaron could have let himself go that far, that fast.

Of course we all had let ourselves go at one point in time. I had just survived that point. Not all of us do.

The Littrells and McLeans were inside as I walked in. My footsteps didn’t make a sound on the soft carpet. I placed a hand on Brian’s shoulder as I slid into the pew behind them.

“I didn’t know you were coming,” Brian said. He stood and pulled me into a big hug.

“I needed to come,” I said. I hugged Leighanne as she stood up.

“Hi sweetheart,” I said.

“You look good, Kev,” she said, hugging me tightly.

“Hi Uncle Kevin!”

I smiled down at Baylee. It was scary; he was looking more and more like Brian every day.

“Hey, buddy.”

AJ and Rochelle were next in lines for hugs and greetings. By the time we were done chatting, Howie and Leigh walked up. When we were done with that round of hugs, Howie pulled me aside.

“Nick wants to do a song or two. I thought we’d go up and join him,” Howie whispered. “Do you want to?”

“Which songs?”

“Brian suggested Go Rest High on That Mountain and I suggested Never Gone.”

Both songs I knew well. I should; I wrote Never Gone. I nodded. “Absolutely.”

Brian, AJ, Howie, and I stepped out to a more private area to get our pitches right. We had just sat back down when I heard Leighanne tell Brian that Nick just walked in.

I stood up and turned around. If I hadn’t spent a great deal of my life living in close quarters with the guy, it would have been hard to believe this was the same Nick Carter. He seemed…so grown up. Of course having a pregnant fiancée probably helped that picture of maturity. He held onto Olivia like the most prized possession in the entire world. She was a pretty girl, in fact, the two of them just looked right together. She leaned into him and whispered something; he nodded and kissed her cheek. Then he spotted us; he stopped right where he was.

The guys and I walked up and hugged him tightly. When it was Brian’s turn, Nick began to cry.

“I’m sorry, Nick,” Brian whispered. “He was like my little brother too.”

I think we all felt that way.

We returned to our seats as Nick and Olivia found a place in front of us in the Family section. The service started not long after. A blonde sea of Carters (sans Angel and Olivia with their dark hair) all sat stoically, heads bowed. Nick didn’t let go of Olivia’s hand for a moment. Several times I saw his shoulders begin to shake.

After a slideshow of Aaron’s life, the preacher stepped forward.

"And before we conclude the services for today, Aaron's brother Nick would like to symbolize our reflection of Aaron’s life with song. Aaron lived to sing and perform; there could be no better tribute that could be given to help his soul alight to Heaven," he said.

I saw Nick stand. I was the first one to him; I draped my arm around his shoulder and gave him a little tug for old time’s sake. He gave me a small, grateful smile as we headed up to the front of the room. When we were all in one line, we lowered our heads in prayer. Then the organist began to play.

Besides the occasional Sunday church service, it had been awhile since I had sang in front of anybody. It especially hit me as we sang Never Gone that I truly missed making music and performing music. There’s nothing like the power of song.

After we had finished, we filed past a picture of Aaron on a golden stand. Aaron was standing at the beach, the sun behind him, a radiant smile lighting up his face. I kissed the frame, praying that no matter what, Aaron had found peace.

We filed back out into the drenching rain. Without a body to bury, there was no gravesite service. I walked up to Nick and squeezed his shoulder.

“I’ve got to catch a plane back to Lexington,” I said apologetically. “Kristin’s flying Mason in for Christmas with me.”

“How are things going, Kev?” Nick asked.

“I’m taking it one day at a time,” I answered. "Just getting Mason here for Christmas was challenging, but those wonderful reference letters you guys sent in helped a lot. I think we've almost settled on a custody schedule. We'll be back in court January 10. If everything's agreed upon, the divorce will be finalized by the end of February or first of March."

“Thank you for coming,” Nick said. I hugged Nick tightly, shoulder be damned.

“Anything for you.”

I spent a few hours after the service doing some Christmas shopping. I hit up the huge toy stores for Mason and was just about ready to flag a taxi back to the hotel when something in the window of an antiques store caught my eye.

It had Addy’s name written all over it.

After an early dinner at the hotel, I checked out and took a taxi to the airport. My mind was still on the small package nestled into my carry-on bag.

I hadn’t bought a gift for a girl (sans Kristin) in a long time.

It felt good.