Page 72 of Chaos has a Name

“Does Elizabeth get hurt and die?”

Timothy sighed.

“We all die, Wyler. I can’t share the when and how. With each day, with each choice, she alters that path. That’s how life is. We make what we want out of it. Will she die one day? Yes. That’s why her children need to know more. A war is coming, and they will need to survive.”

That worried him.

“Beyond that, Wyler, this endangers so much. She moved everyone here, and you know she’s in constant danger. Life is about sacrifice, Wyler, and you’ve taken more than you have given. I hope you balance that scale before your time. On your last day, when the time has run out, the Great Spirit will use that scale and measure to see if you’ve wiped the slate clean.”

Wyler hated that he put Elizabeth in danger.

“She’s my daughter,” he said.

Timothy immediately went there.

“You were very lucky to have fifteen years with her. I had less than one. She came, she was with child, and then, I got to hold one of my great-grandchildren. What wouldn’t I give to have a conversation with Charlie or CJ? What wouldn’t I give to kiss TJ, and play with EJ in the trees?”

He understood that.

Wyler had been lucky. He complained about babysitting all the kids, but deep within his heart, he loved every moment they needed him.

His sons didn’t. They’d grown up protecting each other and themselves, but his grandchildren…they needed him still.

“I’ll never be the man you were, Dad. Losing you was very hard. I still dream about you, and miss you like your death was yesterday—not over a decade ago.”

Timothy took his son’s face in his hands, and the juxtaposition of age wasn’t lost on either of them. Now, Wyler was old, and Timothy was young again.

“How do you think they will all feel? On top of that, you burdened her with giving you the same ceremony that she had to plan for me. Wyler, you shouldn’t have come here. It’s dangerous here.”

The man sighed.

“I’m sorry, Dad. It’s not dangerous here at all. This is home. It called to me.”

His son had no clue as to the storm that was heading their way. As they spoke, Elizabeth was on the cusp of being dragged back into another case—a dangerous one.

“And what about your youngest son? Did you think it was a good idea to dump him on Ethan? You had him, Wyler. And once more, you’re bailing on your parental duties. That seems to be a repeated theme with you.”

He gasped.

“Dad, I have cancer. It’s not like I drove away to buy hookers and beer.”

“Again,” Wyler said. “And we all wonder where Callen James got his behaviors. It certainly wasn’t me.”

“I tried.”

No, he hadn’t.

And again, he wasn’t trying. Because he was tired of this song and dance, continually used by Wyler, Timothy stopped that then and there.

“And your family has the means to fight it. You’re a coward, Wyler. I would have fought as long as I could. In fact, I did fight.”

Wyler got angry.

“Well, I’m notYOU!” he said, loudly.

It echoed through the trees around them. It sent birds into the air, and it made the trees dance in the wind that kicked up.

Timothy simply stared at his son.