Unlikely Lovers

Chapter 1

Caityln POV

Keep your composure. Don't let them see you fall apart. You can make it through this.Caityln thought to herself. Just a few short months ago, she'd told her boyfriend Jeremy that she'd marry him. Now, she was watching his casket being slowly lowered into the ground. It didn't matter that he wasn't physically in it. He'd requested to be cremated and have his ashes shared between his mother and her. She'd found a handmade mahogany box to put hers into. Out of respect for his mother, she'd requested that his mother be given the flag that had been draped over the casket.

Caitlyn had flown to the medical center when she'd been contacted about Jeremy's injuries. To her shock, Tyler and a few of their other team members were there as well. Jeremy had been hurt the worst since he'd taken the lead of the mission. That had been a month after they'd left for deployment. From the stories the others had told her, he saved many of their lives. Jeremy, unfortunately, had succumbed to his injuries just weeks after being brought stateside.

At the beginning of the funeral, Jeremy was given numerous medals post mortum. The plaques sat beside her. Tyler had wanted to be here, but his doctors weren't ready to release him yet. He'd suffered numerous internal injuries and, thanks to modern technology, still had mobility in his left leg, although limited. The fact he hadn't been here had hurt her too. He'd become a rock for her while waiting for Jeremy to wake up. He'd brought her food when she refused to leave Jeremy's bedside. When he'd taken his last breath, Tyler had been the one she'd cried into as all the machines had been turned off. Caitlyn's flashback to the worst day of her life was cut by the sound of a loud Harley being parked nearby.

How dare they have no respect for the dead, thought Caitlyn. To her shock, the rider was walking his way to their grave site. Without being told, she could tell this was Jeremy's older brother. He looked like a more rugged version of Jeremy. Where Jeremy had the muscles of a man who hit the gym frequently, Brandon had muscles that were made from hard labor and an even harder life. Just like his brother, he had jet black hair that he had trimmed on the side while the top was grown out and held back in a tight braid. She wasn't able to see if they had the same eyes since he had reflective sunglasses on his face. As he came closer, he picked up the plaques sitting beside her and took a seat.

"Thank you for saving me a seat angel." He whispered to her.

"That seat wasn't for you. If you had any respect for your brother, you'd have shown up on time. Now, if you don't mind, leave me alone." Caitlyn angrily whispered back.

Caitlyn hated that her focus had been moved to her fiance's brother instead of listening to the pastor. His presence began to take her focus away from the ceremony and it upset her. Shouldn't she be paying attention to what was being said as a closing to the love of her life's life? Instead, she was caught up in the weird stares that their friends and family were giving Brandon. Some were rolling their eyes while others looked to be in complete shock that he'd even shown.

From what little Caityln had been able to get out of Jeremy about his older brother. He'd disappeared shortly after he'd turned 17. There was more to the story, but Jeremy never wanted to tell her more about what had happened. He'd felt that since she'd never meet his brother, she didn't need to know what had happened. The few times they'd traveled to go see his mom, you could tell the locals were eager to share gossip with her, but refused to do it with him here. She'd just shrugged it off as a small town thing. Now, she wanted to know what had driven him to leave.

Before she realized it, the service was over. Gathering up the plaques, she began to make her way to her car. Before she could open the door, a strong hand grabbed her arm. Turning, she glared at who had the nerve to put their hands on her. "Kindly remove your hand from my arm."

"I just wanted to say nice to meet you." Brandon said, removing his hand.

"You could have just said that." Caitlyn responded, resuming climbing into her car.

"Can I follow you to the reception? I don't know where it is?" Brandon asked her.

"It's at the restaurant on Cornell Street. If I don't want to park a mile down the road, I need to leave now."

"I'm sure, as my late brother's girl, they'll have a parking space saved up front for you."

"Still doesn't mean I should leave the reception line for your mother to do alone."

"Thanks for telling me where it is. I look forward to getting to know you."

"Don't expect to do that. If you had wanted to know me, you'd have been part of your brother's life."

"There are some things that I couldn't avoid." Brandon had a sad look on his face and Caitlyn wondered what secrets the two brothers had.