“We only took a few samples,” Cade said. “We’ll have to have it tested. What if the company interested in purchasing the mountain, discovered it, and wants to buy it out from under us?”
“We don’t know if it’s real,” Owen insisted. “Maybe Dad guessed it might be?”
“Where can we take it discreetly?” Mason asked.
“At least a couple of towns over,” Dillon responded. “We can’t trust anyone here.”
Owen’s phone rang. Glancing at it, he said, “It’s the funeral home.”
“Hello,” he answered.
“Hello, I’m calling to inform you Mr. Wolfe’s bodyhas returned to us. If you want to come down, we can make the arrangements,” the secretary told him.
Owen sighed. “We’ll come down this afternoon.” Hanging up the call, he peered at his brothers. “We need to keep up appearances. It appears we’ll invite the town to the wake. We’ll have Dad cremated and throw a small gathering at the house. Tonight, we’ll return the map with the capsule. None of us will be safe if it’s found. Tomorrow, we’ll take these to someone to test.”
“Not all of us need to go,” Mason said. “Why don’t you and Cade take care of the funeral arrangements? I’ll stay behind with the boys.”
The men left, and Leslie joined the boys, tossing the ball to one another. They grew bored in the house, and the sunshine felt nice.
They watched as the brothers returned. “They’ll cremate him today, and we can hold a service on Wednesday. Can you call the paper?” Owen asked Leslie. “I want to get rid of the rocks until we take them tomorrow.”
“What about your dad’s wishes? He wanted you to take him to the swimming hole and have a party,” she asked.
“We can do it on Wednesday afternoon. We’ll hold the service at eleven, have a catered lunch, and they’ll be gone by two or three,” Owen informed her. “We need to act like we don’t suspect anything while they test the rocks.”
“Why don’t you take them today? They’ll be out of the house, and hopefully you’ll have your answer before the deadline,” she suggested.
“She’s right,” Cade agreed.
“Gather everyone, and we’ll do it like the bank,” Owen said.
Leslie watched them leave again. Somehow, she felt like Jeremiah Wolfe called his boys home for something special, something to change their lives. It already forced them to work together. His funeral might make them play together. Maybe he outsmarted his boys after all. What boy turned down a mystery?
CHAPTER 31
On Wednesday,Leslie greeted the guests as they offered their condolences to her and the boys. They directed them to the service area outside, where Jeremiah’s ashes lay with a bouquet of wildflowers from the mountain.
Elias watched the monitors as the guests, more like nosy neighbors, took their seats. Conner rose and read a poem.
“Dad always said every sunset brings a new dawn. There’s a time for every season and a time to rest. I’m here today because he showed me the sunsets, and we enjoyed every season. Now it’s time for him to rest,” he said, his voice cracking as he held back tears.
Leslie rose and led him back to his seat, hugging him as he cried.
Tucker went next. “Grandpa said nature always wears the color of the spirit. It’s why he wanted us tobury him on the mountain. This way, we can see him in everything we do.”
Owen stood, representing his brothers. “We thank you for coming today. As you know, my father battled his demons, and he won. We stand here as brothers to say goodbye and wish him peace in his eternal rest.”
The guests mingled as they ate, and soon the house emptied. With no fresh gossip from the Wolfe family, they left shortly after they ate.
Owen placed the dishes in the dishwasher while Leslie vacuumed the floor.
Turning to the boys, he said, “It’s time to say our real goodbye like your dad and grandfather wanted. Get your bathing suits on, and the first one down swings into the pond first.”
Elias turned on the security system and planned to monitor it with a small tablet while they said goodbye to Jeremiah.
The boys took off, and the men came out wearing swimming trunks and T-shirts. Owen carried the ashes and boxes his father carved for each of them. Owen’s lid contained a lone wolf. The other brothers contained different animals, each representing one of them.
As they got closer to the pond, the boys raced ahead. Even Wyatt got into the spirit of his childhood and raced to the dangling rope. Mason lagged behind, pushing the boys in a wagon.
