Seeley fingered the BB gun that Pops kept in a locked drawer in his office. He was now standing in the backyard, across from a tree stump that he and Jared used for target practice. Seeley had only felt the weight of a real gun in his hands only a couple of times. Pops wouldn't allow them in the house, so he took Seeley to the shooting range occasionally. He never understood Pops' unending need to spend time with him. He assumed it was because Pops felt bad about how he was treated by his father. Trying to right a wrong or some altruistic reason.
"Shrimp," Seeley heard the backdoor swing up and his grandfather's heavy steps on the porch. "You practicing to be a Sharpshooter?"
"Yeah," He aimed the gun into the distance, pulled the trigger and let one of the small, metal balls fly out of the barrel. "I guess."
"Have you thought about how you're going to tell your brother and sister?" Hank sat on a nearby patio chair.
"Can't you do it?" Seeley turned around and looked pleadingly at his grandfather.
"No, Shrimp, it's your decision and your duty to your family." Hank shook his head.
"Well," He stepped up onto the porch and sank into a chair next to Hank. "I guess I want to tell Jared first, get him on my side. Kelly isn't going to take it too well, is she?"
"I don't know." Hank shook his head. "But if I were you, I'd rethink telling Jared first for two reasons. One, do you really want Jared to hold a very important secret for you? And two, is that really fair to Kelly to try to protect her like that?"
"Well," Seeley seemed lost in thought. "I'm supposed to protect them, right? I'm supposed to make sure things don't hurt them."
"Ever think that the things that could hurt them the most would be their own family?"
"You think I should tell them at the same time?"
"I think you should do what feels right. If it's telling them separately, then do that. But remember, everything you've given them, they've given back to you two-fold, because there's two of them." Hank smiled as he pushed himself off of the chair.
Seeley hated his grandfather's sometimes cryptic lessons.
"If you think I'm doing something wrong, why don't you just tell me so I don't do it?" He shouted as Hank reached the back door.
"It's not my place, Shrimp. I can't live your life for you, that's for you to do. All I ask is that you-"
"Listen to my heart, yeah, yeah." He sighed
"It hasn't steered you wrong yet, has it?" Hank quickly winked before he disappeared into the house
"Then I'm running dangerously close to having my number called." He grumbled as the door slammed shut.