Run, Girl (If You Can)

Gray seemed surprised to see his half-brother when he arrived in the visitation area. Even prison hadn't managed to stop him from acting debonair as ever. Completely shameless.

"I didn't think you were coming this month," he said slyly.

Aaron sighed as he sat down. "My father-in-law died. Things were a bit chaotic at home."

"I'm so sorry to hear that. He was a good man."

The sentiment had been shared with him several dozen times since Robert passed away but this one particularly grated on him. It was probably Gray's tone of voice. No matter how many times Aaron visited, he could never make himself like this insincere creep.

But he kept his true feelings to himself. He had always been good at that. Gray didn't seem to suspect a thing, either.

Sometimes Aaron wondered what kind of relationship he expected them to have when he got out of prison. It wasn't like he was willing to welcome a murderer into his home with open arms.

His children didn't even know they were related to not one but two murderers. Aaron didn't want them to feel like there was something wrong with them. They were perfectly normal, good kids who happened to be related to a couple of psychos.

Alistair was already gone and the kids, aside from Violet, had never met him. But Gray posed a potential problem. Would he be willing to stay away from his niece and nephews or not?

Aaron was fully prepared to cut ties despite his many years of carefully cultivating some sort of relationship with this ticking time bomb if it kept his children away from someone dangerous. The two of them had never discussed what would happen when Gray got out of prison.

He got the odd feeling his half-brother was simply biding his time in here. Despite being imprisoned for nearly twenty years he didn't look much different than he had before. He was a bit paler and his dark hair had gone completely gray but it wasn't limp and lank like the other prisoners.

Gray looked very good for a fifty-year-old man who had spent such a long time in prison. That made Aaron suspicious. Everyone else in here radiated an aura of defeat—they did every time he visited—but Gray never had, even in the beginning when he first got caught.

You would think that after a while prison would have gotten to him. Doing the same rigid thing day after day would affect most people.

His casualness about his imprisonment made Aaron think he was up to something. But how much trouble could someone cause when under so much surveillance?

"Thank you," he replied neutrally. "I'll be sure to pass your sympathy onto Keeley."

"How is she handling it?" Gray asked. "If I remember correctly, they were quite close."

"A lot better now that the funeral is behind us."

It was such a rough week for the entire Hale family. Everybody was crying all the time and Aaron, as the least teary person there, had to hold it together for everyone else.

Life went on though. As much as it felt like the end of the world when someone you loved died, it didn't mean your obligations went away. Dealing with his obligations barely managed to keep him alive and functioning when Keeley died.

Aaron had to admit, seeing a coffin being lowered into the Hall family's grave was rough. The last time he saw that happen was when it was his wife's.

Holding onto her as they watched it go down helped remind Aaron that he wasn't reliving his worst nightmare but it was still hard, especially since she was crying the whole time. Her dad had gone out naturally this time but he was willing to bet she was struggling with memories of watching a coffin being lowered too.

Keeley had experienced so much death in both of her lives. Yet losing her father for the second time showed that you could never really get used to it.

Aaron sincerely hoped that his wife wouldn't have to experience any more loss. As much as he didn't want to lose her, he didn't want to be the first to die because she would be alone again.

It would be best if they passed on together, like in that sappy old romance movie Violet liked. The wife had Alzheimer's or dementia and couldn't even remember her husband unless he told her their love story. They died holding hands in the hospital.

Although Aaron really hoped she didn't have Alzheimer's, especially since it did run in her family. Both her grandmother and father had now succumbed to the disease.

Ugh, why was he thinking such morbid thoughts now? They were still relatively young. They had plenty of time left together. Thinking about these sorts of things would only serve to put him in a bad mood.

"Aaron? Earth to Aaron," Gray said lightly.

He shook his head to recalibrate his thoughts. He needed to pay attention during this visit.

"Sorry, I was thinking about my father-in-law. What were you saying?"

"I was asking how your children are handling it."

"Not super well," Aaron admitted. "They were very close to their grandfather."

"Well it's good they were close to one since their other grandfather was completely useless."

Gray said it lightly but there was clearly venom under the surface. After all this time he still hated Alistair Hale. Even his death couldn't change that. It was a justifiable hatred though; you never stopped loathing the ones who took your most important person away.

Aaron understood that perfectly. It had been two lifetimes and he still hadn't completely let go of the anger at former enemies long dead.

Having his family helped a lot. Most of the time he was able to forget everything he and Keeley had suffered. But once in a while it would hit him and he would be angry all over again.

He tried to appreciate the fact that he was able to have the happiness he had been denied for so many years now. Usually it worked. But he had a hard time when his parents died because he felt their deaths were too good for them. They should have suffered more.

As much as Keeley changed him for the better, he was still a Hale. He shared blood with Alistair and Gray, both of whom were capable of murder. Aaron never acted on his violent tendencies toward Lacy Knighton for his wife's sake and was glad he did but they had still been there.

The universe had allowed him to be happy but that didn't necessarily make him a good person. If Lacy had pushed him just a little more…if Gray hadn't gotten to her first…it could very well have been him inside a prison cell instead.