Chapter 21
Bundled up in heavy winter coats, the main group sat in a row of plastic chairs front and center. Others gathered in standing positions behind and around them. Dakota didn’t want to distract them or call attention to himself. The preacher, a stout man with graying hair and dark eyes, took them through a final prayer. Family members dropped roses on top of the caskets. One by one, a seemingly endless line of people paid their last respects to the twins before offering condolences to their mother and sister.
Dakota removed the oxygen in an ill-conceived attempt to place a lily among the other flowers without making much sound. He stood up and wobbled for a moment. Reaching out, he grabbed his chair as the world spun in circles. His knees gave out beneath him.
“Crap,” he heard T
