Two days later, the weather for Jack Moxley's funeral was bright and sunny. Mox silently thought it was appropriate since a rainy day would indicate sorrow over the man's death. He was pretty sure nobody was sorry about that except…
He glanced at Leah who sat quietly next to him as he slowly drove the narrow road through Summerville Cemetery. She seemed sad but he wasn't sure it was for her late husband. Then he mentally shook himself. Whatever it was, it wasn't going to be his concern.
As he rounded the corner and slowed down, his jaw dropped open at the number of cars parked behind the hearse. He saw a crowd of people standing close by the grave, easily recognizing Roman and Jericho. But who were…
"Jon? Are these people Jack knew?" Leah hesitantly asked as he parked the truck.
Mox slowly shook his head as he started to recognize people. "No. They know me." Without any more words, he got out of the truck and walked to the other side to open Leah's door. As soon as she was out of the truck, he shut the door and escorted her onto the grass of the cemetery. His blue eyes scanned the crowd of people as more turned to see who had arrived.
"Uncle Jon!"
"Princess?" Jon whispered, seeing the small girl running towards him with her arms outstretched.
Leah watched in amazement as Mox caught the little girl in his arms and hugged her.
"What are you doing here?" Mox asked. The only response he got was the child wrapping her thin legs as much around his waist as she could while wrapping her arms around his neck.
He looked in surprise as Roman's wife approached and gave him a kiss on his cheek.
"What's she doing here?" Galina smirked. "Well, when she was told she couldn't come, she threw the mother of all unholy fits to the point Dwayne threw up his hands in surrender and backed away."
"Scared your Uncle Dwayne, huh, Princess?" Mox chuckled.
"Had to come," was the whispered reply.
"Told you more than once who gives the orders," Roman grinned as he pried his daughter away. "Come on, baby girl, he's got to greet the others."
Galina smoothly turned to Leah. "I'm Roman's wife. You must be Leah Moxley. Please accept our condolences."
"Thank you," Leah quietly replied, watching as Mox slowly walked away with Roman.
"Mrs. Moxley?"
Galina took the opportunity of the interruption to follow her husband. She'd noticed the look of surprise on Leah's face at the sight of the crowd and nodded to herself. 'That'll show her that Jon has family of his own.'
Leah turned and was startled to see a short portly man with pale skin and jet black hair and eyebrows. "Uh…yes…"
"I'm Paul Bearer, the mortician for your husband."
Leah managed not to shiver at the high-pitched voices. "Oh yes."
"I hope everything is to your satisfaction." Paul folded his hands in front of him.
"Whatever my son has done is fine with me," Leah weakly answered.
Paul didn't mention that his orders had come from Roman. "This is Brother Love who will be conducting the service."
If Paul's appearance had startled her, she barely managed to keep her jaw from dropping open as a florid-faced rotund man in a white suit and bright red shirt held out his hands. "Sister Leah, how are you?"
For a few seconds, Leah wondered if these two were Mox's final slap in Jack's face. Then she forced a smile. "As well as can be expected, thank you."
"I understand the service is to be as short as possible, but can you tell me a few things about your husband to put into the service?" Brother Love's blue eyes twinkled behind his gold-rimmed glasses.
"He wasn't a good man. The less said about him the better," Leah quickly answered.
"I understand," Brother Love smiled. "Nothing will be said."
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"Roman, what is everybody doing here?" Mox hissed.
Roman gave him a side-eyed look. "What do you think?" he answered.
"Hey, man, how are you doin'?"
Mox turned at the sound of Seth's quiet voice, then shrugged. "Okay, I guess. But what…"
Seth stepped up into Mox's personal space and lowered his voice. "No matter the feelings or relationships between you and them, your friends aren't letting you go through this alone. So, accept it graciously, okay?"
Mox stiffly nodded once, then relaxed as Seth squeezed his arm.
"And this is from Mitch!"
Mox grunted as Nikki practically slammed into him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"He wanted to come, but I didn't think this was a good place for him," Nikki admitted.
Mox patted her back. "No, definitely not a place for Mitch to be."
Nikki stepped back as Ryder and Kendrick approached and shook hands with Mox.
"Mitch running the business today?" Mox muttered.
"Actually, yes," Ryder snickered, then flinched when Nikki glared at him.
Kendrick shrugged. "We had time to kill waiting for the finish on the furniture to dry."
Mox nodded again. "Thanks…uh…for coming."
"Of course, we came."
Mox found himself being simultaneously hugged by both Zelina and Naomi. He grunted a little as both women were stronger than he'd thought.
"Aleister sends his regards. He was going to come, but I was afraid he'd scare people," Zelina teased.
"And you know I can't take the twins anywhere." Naomi rolled her eyes.
Despite himself, Mox snickered.
"Cops at three o'clock," Jericho quietly warned.
Mox looked towards the roadway to see Cena and Styles getting out of their car. Parked just behind them was Regal's Lexus. He saw Regal and Alexa get out of the car, Alexa flashing the two detectives a warning glare as she walked towards Leah.
"Sorry to be late. Horrid traffic jam." Regal shook Mox's hand.
Roman saw Paul nodding at him. "Looks like we're ready to start."
As everyone began walking towards the grave, Regal leaned close to Mox and murmured, "Call my office for an appointment towards the end of the week regarding that matter we discussed." He hesitated then continued, "We need to talk after the service."
Mox silently nodded and joined Leah.
As the service started, Styles and Cena kept their distance, quietly observing the brief ceremony. They noticed Leah raising a handkerchief once or twice to her eyes and Mox remaining stone-faced.
Mox was glad the service only lasted about ten minutes. He wasn't sure if that was because he'd told Roman it needed to be brief or the glare Roman gave Brother Love when it appeared he was winding up for a longer oration. In either case, he sighed in relief when the service was over and done with.
"Jon…I'd like a few moments alone, please."
Mox shrugged and walked away.
"Take as long as you wish, Mrs. Moxley," Paul smoothly spoke.
"Thank you." Leah looked at both him and Brother Love. "And for the service."
Brother Love smiled and took Leah's hand. "Just remember, God loves you!"
Leah forced a smile and nodded. Then she closed her eyes in relief when the two men walked away.
Leah lowered her head slightly but kept her eyes on her son.
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"Well, it wasn't the weirdest funeral I've ever gone to; but it damn sure was the shortest," Styles drawled under his breath.
"I guess if you can't say anything good about the deceased, keep it short and simple," Cena quietly replied. His blue eyes scanned the crowd. "Nobody unexpected showed up. I think the woman with the little girl is Reigns' wife. That would make the little girl his daughter."
"She sure seems attached to Moxley," Styles pointed out. "Makes sense, I suppose." He glanced at his partner. "You want to talk to anybody?"
Cena shook his head. "Nothing to say."
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Mox gave Roman's daughter a kiss on the cheek and put her feet on the ground. "Go to your Mommy, sweetheart. Mr. Regal and I need to talk." He grinned when she pouted but obeyed.
"Angle wants to meet with you on Monday to go over your testimony," Regal quietly spoke. "I explained about…this situation. He expressed his condolences but was reluctant to put it off. However, I will put it off if you wish."
Mox frowned, then shook his head. "I'd rather get it over with," he decided. "Just let me know what time on Monday."
Regal nodded. "The police are leaving so we'll take our leave as well. I'll be in touch." As he walked away, he nodded towards Alexa who'd been standing between Leah and where the detectives had been standing. She joined him in walking towards his Lexus.
Mox deliberately turned away and took a deep breath.
"Boss, why…"
Mox almost shuddered then sighed. "Nikki, don't…"
"All we need to do is put another coat of stain on the furniture, and we're done," Kendrick interrupted. "We just need to know if we should keep the place open or…"
Mox rubbed his forehead. "No, when you're done, shut the place down for a few days. I won't be in until Tuesday, so let's plan to reopen then."
"Sounds good," Ryder grinned.
Whatever Mox was going to say was cut off when Nikki tightly hugged him again.
Seth caught the motion Roman made to him and slightly nodded. As Roman motioned for his family and people to make their way towards the cars, he walked towards Mox. "I'll be a minute," he whispered to Nikki as they passed each other. Raising his voice slightly, he called, "Mox? Got a minute?" He stood so that Mox had his back to the gravesite. "I know it's not the right time, but I wanted to ask you about our project without Nikki overhearing."
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As the others made their way towards the cars and Seth got Mox's attention, Roman quickly walked to where Leah stood next to the open grave. "Mrs. Moxley?" he quietly spoke.
Leah, who had noticed him coming, slowly looked up then sadly smiled. "Mr. Reigns. Thank you for coming. You…and the others."
"Of course, we'd come," Roman smiled. He took her hand and squeezed it. "Again, not only my condolences, but the condolences of my…family."
Startled, Leah looked down at her hand being squeezed by Roman.
"I'm not sure you know it, but when your late husband deserted Mox, he came to live with my family." Roman's voice remained quiet and calm. "He became my brother, and I'll anything I can for him….to protect him."
Leah slowly looked up to Roman's face and caught her breath. His grey eyes were cold chips of ice. Her eyes widened when his voice lowered to a threatening timbre.
"So, my family and I would not take it kindly if you did or said anything to upset my brother in any way by dredging up the past."
"I…I…"
"I need to be sure you understand. Don't upset my brother." Roman released his grip on Leah's hand and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "There would be serious consequences if you do."
Standing to his full height, he slowly smiled although his eyes remained cold. "Again, my sincere condolences."
Leah blinked several times and took a couple of deep breaths as he walked away to where her son stood with another man. She was pretty sure she knew how to break Mox, and it would have to be soon. But she would need an exit strategy in place when she broke him to avoid Reigns'…serious consequences. She would have to text Becky despite the plan of not communicating for a while.
Leah took one final look at Jack's coffin. "Burn in hell," she hissed.
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Roman walked up to where Mox and Seth were talking.
"…so I really owe you for hooking me up with that upholsterer," Seth was saying.
Mox shrugged. "Glad it worked out." He looked up as Roman approached. "Hey, when is the Princess and Galina going back to Florida?"
"Tonight. Princess can sleep on the plane," Roman grinned. "Be warned. Rumor has it the Princess has a tea party planned."
Seth snickered as Mox rolled his eyes. "Hey, one more thing. I'd like you guys to seen the renovations to the upstairs. How about dinner at my place on Tuesday evening? Like I told Mox, I make a killer spaghetti sauce."
"As long as it's not too spicy," Roman sighed. "It'll interfere with a medication I'm on."
"I'll cut the garlic to just a quarter of what I normally use," Seth promised with a grin.
"Throw a lot of that in, do you?" Mox teased as they began to walk towards the cars.
"Trust me, no vampire comes within three miles of my place when I normally make it," Seth solemnly answered. "Tuesday at seven? Come to the bookstore."
Mox shrugged. "Fine. I'll probably come straight from work."
Roman nodded. "Can I bring anything?"
Seth shrugged. "I've got beer. If you want anything else, bring it." Impulsively, he held out a fist to the other two men.
Smirking, both Mox and Roman bumped fists with him before they separated.
As Leah walked towards Mox's truck, she nodded to herself. 'I'll have to break him quickly.'
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Roman pulled out his phone as he walked to where Jericho waited by his car. He sent a quick text, leaning against the car as he finished it. Putting the phone in his pocket, he quietly spoke, "Told Paul to get everything ready for the other funeral but wait on my call."
"Think it's safe to wait very long?" Jericho asked, his blue eyes watching as Mox helped Leah into his truck.
"I overheard Regal tell Mox that Angle wants to go over his testimony on Monday," Roman explained. "Mox plans to go back to work on Tuesday, and we're having dinner with Rollins Tuesday night." He heavily sighed. "Make arrangements to clear everyone out of the house on Wednesday."
"Somebody will have to stay," Jericho warned.
"Then that somebody stays out of the way," Roman sternly ordered. "No matter what."