Missing by Sharon Sala Page A

"I turn eighteen two weeks after graduation. Rest assured that I will be moving my ass out of this house and as far away as I can get."
      It was then that Patricia Holden knew she'd made a terrible mistake. Her promise to marry was causing her to lose the person she loved most on this earth.
      "Wait! Wesley...Wes...no, please. Don't do this to me," she begged.
      Wes looked at her as if he'd never seen her before. Then his chin quivered, and it was all he could do to speak.
      "I didn't do anything, Mom. It was you who decided."
     
      As promised, Wes had signed on with the United States army with a delayed induction to begin right after his high school graduation. He'd spent exactly three months and fourteen days under the same roof with Aiden and Aaron Clancy, and it had been three months and fourteen days too long.
      Now the shock of hearing Aaron's name again had given him a mental shake he couldn't ignore. The last thing that flitted through his mind before letting go of reality was that he wasn't going anywhere with that man.
     
     
      Aaron Clancy didn't know what to think about the phone call he'd received yesterday from
Martin
Army
Hospital
at
Fort
Benning
. He'd hadn't seen or heard from Wes in years and, truthfully, had all but forgotten they'd ever had a fleeting familial connection. He'd been ready to tell that army doctor to kiss his ass, until he'd heard the word benefits. After that, he changed his attitude, as well as the tone of his voice. He didn't really give a damn whether Wes ever pulled out of the funk he was in, but he was willing to put him somewhere if he had power of attorney over Wes's finances. Mustering out of the army as a full-bird colonel, with all the perks that came with it, was bound to bring in more money than Aaron's job as shop foreman at a car dealership.
      Having made his decision, he'd packed a bag and headed for Georgia. He'd landed an hour ago, caught a cab to the base, and had been waiting at the front gate for forty-five minutes for an okay to pass. Had it not been for the monthly tax-free money that came with Wes Holden, he would have turned around and headed straight back to Miami.
     
     
      Wes had yet to comment to anyone on the state of the nation, but over the past few days, he'd become aware of the state of his condition. There was a part of him that was ashamed he'd done such a cowardly thing as retreat and hide. But then there was the pain that would come with reality. If he started talking to anyone, then they were going to ask questions, which meant they would also expect answers, and he didn't have any. He'd come to the conclusion that his entire existence on this earth had been one big joke. Every time he let himself love someone, that someone died. There had been so many deaths now, and each time it had happened, he'd tried as hard as he knew to die with them, but it hadn't worked. Now he was faced with more than a virtual awakening. Either he got back into the human race, or—
      "Good morning, Wesley."
      It was the busybody nurse. He almost answered her, then caught himself. He wasn't ready to admit he was present.
      "I'm going to miss you," she said, as she began packing his things into a duffel bag she pulled out of the closet.
      Miss me? Where the hell am I going?
      "I just know that this move is going to be what you need," she rattled on. "I just met your stepbrother. He seems like such a nice man...and so concerned about you. He's already seen to a power of an attorney and everything to make sure you don't want for a thing."
      It was to Wes's credit that he didn't move or speak, but if anything might have caused him to, that would have been it. Aaron Clancy didn't give a rat's ass for Wes's welfare, but if he had already gotten power of attorney, then he was after money. It felt strange to feel anger. In fact, it felt strange to feel anything. He'd allowed himself to disintegrate for so long that the resurrection of emotions was