So he opened the letter. Here, read the letter for your self." Joy gave Nicole the letter. It read:My darling Nicole,I love you with all my heart. But...I must have hurt you so much that you now hate me and refuse to see me. Without you, my life is useless. I do not want to hurt you anymore. So, by the time you receive this letter I'll be dead. God bless you.Your loving father."Oh God! What happened?" answered a troubled Nicole."After reading the letter, my father rushed to the house that night. “Tell me,” she said more serious. “How did Kieren get his scars?”“Which ones?” Russ feigned innocence.“The ones his back bears.”“He is a man.” Russ sobered and returned to his seat. “What true man does not bear scars?”“None like his,” she said, positioning herself before him.“Oh, and you think yourself and expert on men now?”Russ’ eyes no longer teased, they were serious and focused clearly on hers.“If you wish to know something in regards to your man, you simply need to ask him.”“I have.”“Then. They took the bait. Joe asked if I'd show any of it to them, in a half-joking sort of way."I dunno, can you guys keep a secret?" I asked. "Are you serious?" Joe asked."I asked you a question," I said. "Could you keep it a secret?"When we came home, Karen came downstairs. She'd just gone to bed and was wearing nothing but panties and a rather transparent nightshirt that barely covered her ass. Her nipples were nearly poking through the material. It was obvious she'd been drinking but even so, I. He picked her up, finding her corpse lighter than expected, and carried her to their bed. The smell of urin and death hung in the air, but he could also smell her perfume and....something else.As he arranged the corpse on the bed he was overcome again with a wave of numbing grief which drove him to his knees. He gathered her by the shoulder and clung to her, burying his face in her chest. As he sought comfort in the touch of her still warm body, he recognised the scent that had touched.