Rough Men Read Online Free Page B

don’t want his ashes spread where ours are going to be spread. He is my fucking son, and you are not going to let something he probably did high out of his mind affect where he ends up now. He was a troubled boy, and he died a troubled death. That doesn’t mean that he couldn’t be sweet and that we didn’t love him.” Alison’s speech sputtered off and turned to tears.
    Unsure if he should try to comfort her, Will instead did nothing, just sat at his kitchen table feeling like the worst person in the world, a man who had failed his child.
    Her anger shocked him. He knew it had come from a deep well of dislike that she suppressed, dislike for him and his many failings as a man, husband, and father.
    He took her hand. She didn’t snatch it away this time, not yet. “You’re right,” he said, “completely right. When I talk to Lou, I’ll have him do what needs to be done to get Isaac to the funeral home. I’ve never dealt with anything like this before, not as the person who has to help make things happen, and I’m terrified I’ll get it wrong somehow.”
    Alison squeezed his hand and almost smiled at him. “We’re going to do fine. There are worse things ahead than just planning a funeral. This all feels like a dream; pretty soon it won’t feel like that at all.”
    Will wanted to say something, to correct her, to let her know that everything really would be all right. Instead, he stood and poured himself a cup of coffee, feeling like he was watching himself in a dream.

    Will left Alison in the kitchen, punching his older brother’s number into his cell phone as he went. As it began to ring, he took a seat on the couch and tried to settle on the last time they had talked and figured it had to have happened around Christmas, though he had no memory of it.
How sad is that? I’m calling my brother to ask him for help, and I can’t even remember the last time we talked.
    Isaac answered on the third ring, and the call had obviously awakened him. In any other circumstance, Will would have felt terrible, but of course, this was different.
    “Will?”
    “Yeah, man, sorry for calling so early.”
    “Is everything all right?”
    “No, not at all.”
    “When did she leave?”
    “What? No, man, Ally is still here. It’s Alex. He’s dead.”
    Will could practically hear his older brother waking up, as if he’d dumped a bucket of ice water over him.
    “What? Alex? How?”
    “He was shot to death. We found out last night. Did you hear about the bank robbery here?”
    “Yes, of course,” said Isaac, his voice broken. “I only live an hour away; we still get the news.” Then, slowly, Isaac understood. “Was he a part of that?”
    This is it, the lowest point of my life, when I tell people that my son was in a bank when it got robbed, that he killed an innocent man.
    “He was. I’m sure there will be more information on the news soon, but you can hear it from me first. Something got crooked with him and his dickbag buddies. One of them shot Alex, and then they set him on fire.” Will choked for a second, took a deep breath, and continued. “Cops found the body three days ago, within an hour or so after the robbery scene was secured, I would reckon. They’re going to pull dental records to confirm it for sure, but yeah, they’re sure it’s him. He’s in bad shape; I haven’t seen him, and think it might be best for my own sanity if I don’t.”
    “When do you need me to come up there?”
    “I don’t need you to, not exactly. Alison and I are going to give him the same sendoff we’d always planned—pour his ashes by the Mackinac Bridge. Same thing we want for our own when the time comes. I’d love if you were up north for that. I’m only calling so that you can know that your little brother is still fucking things up.”
    Isaac sighed. “You can blame yourself all you want, Will, if that’s what you’re in the mood for. You and I both know that Ilove that boy—loved that boy—as much as