Holloway stepped forward.
“We discussed the way Kyler assisted Rhys yesterday evening, and we settled upon a plan. We wished to acknowledge the things you achieved regarding our deceased leader’s boy.”
Kyler looked up, cautious now, but no longer afraid.
Hendrix held out a small box.
“We have arranged a tuition account under your title. The money will wait there for you whenever you are prepared. Whatever university you select.”
For a second I thought I had misheard.
“Excuse me?” I spoke, slightly higher than a low breath.
Kyler just stared.
“You are not required to choose a single detail today,” Holloway continued. “Yet we desire for you to understand — the gift exists thanks to your courage.”
Yates’s jaw dropped.
Kyler looked at me, stunned.
“Mother…?”
I shook my head softly, overwhelmed. “I… I simply lack any proper words to speak.”
“You are not forced to speak a single word,” Holloway mentioned. “Simply grasp the meaning here — the action your boy took was not minor.”
Then he drew something from inside his jacket: an army badge.
He carefully set the fabric on Kyler’s arm.
“You gained this reward,” he spoke. “Plus I promise you this — Rhys’s dad would have felt extremely happy with you.”
That broke me.
My vision blurred at once.
I pulled Kyler closer, my voice cracking.
“Your father would have felt pleased, also,” I spoke softly.
Kyler’s face tightened, and he nodded once.
