. He was a Sergeant in the National Guard, a high school history teacher, and the town' s beloved football co

r training, and sometimes, a sudden deployment would take him away for months. I wa

was at work, volunteering for a charity drive for Gold Star families-families who had lost a

t' s a bit of a drive, out to Mill Creek. A family needs some donated furn

aid, smiling. "I'

eek was a small, quiet town, the kind of place where everyone knows each other. I found th

o the driveway, ready

I saw

, a faded t-shirt and jeans, and he was tossing a small football with a little boy. The

ossible. He was in Nevada. He' d sent me a

y basket. She walked over to a clothesline and started hanging up men' s

"Mike, honey, be careful with Cody! Don' t

easy smile I knew so well. "Don' t w

arms, kissing his head. The boy wrapped his small

e steering wheel. This wasn't a visit. This was

ife. A whole

fternoon sun. The woman, Brianna, walked over and put a hand on Mike' s

quietly they didn't even look up. I drove away, the donated baby supplies still rattling i

married d