Authors: Robert B. Parker
Chasing the Bear (11 page)
The train to Denver started to board.
“Okay,” I said.
I hugged each of them. I could feel my eyes begin to tear.
“Okay,” I said again.
I picked up my suitcase and stood for a moment looking at them.
My God!
They were tearing up too.
My God!
They were tearing up too.
“Take care of yourself,” Cash said.
Patrick nodded without speaking.
“We’re here,” my father said.
I nodded and made a small hand wave at them and stepped up into the train. I found an empty seat by the window and looked out it and cried as the train pulled out of the station.
Chapter 47
“I
wished they could come with me,” I said.
wished they could come with me,” I said.
“You were never away before,” Susan said.
“Except for my trip down the river with Jeannie,” I said.
“Of course you were homesick. How did college go?”
“I played strong safety,” I said. “And returned punts. At the start of my junior year, I tore up my knee and couldn’t play anymore.”
“And you didn’t stay in college?”
“No,” I said. “Without a scholarship we couldn’t afford it. So I quit and boxed for a while.”
“You were good?”
“I was good, and I got a lot of fights. The Great White Hope and a former college kid to boot.”
“But you didn’t like it,” she said.
“I fought a couple guys who became contenders, one became champ for a while. And I realized the difference. I was good. They were great. And the only way I was going to get to the top was to play the White College Boy thing.”
“Which you didn’t want to do,” Susan said.
“Correct,” I said. “So I moved on and took the exam and got on the state cops and you know how that all went.”
“And you weren’t tempted to go back to West Flub-a-dub?” Susan said.
“My father and I talked about that,” I said. “He was certain that Boston was where I should be and I was too. So I stayed and missed them every day.”
“They were here,” Susan said.
I looked at her for a moment.
“They are here now,” she said. “With us. Wherever you are, they will be. You contain them.”
I felt my throat tighten for a moment. I nodded slowly.
“Yes,” I said. “With us.”
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