"Grandfather."  

Cooper bolted from the office chair, his arms flailing as he spun around. A picture tumbled from the desk. Wide-eyed and sweating, he surveyed the room, half expecting the man to be nearby, laughing.  

The young doctor collapsed into the office chair, rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes. It was impossible to put his hospital duties on the back burner while he struggled to make sense of his grandfather's business. After being summoned to the hospital during the night, he'd come into the study to unwind and fell into a restless sleep. 

Leaning over, he retrieved the picture frame from the floor. He focused on his grandfather and grandmother. They were smiling as if they didn't have a care in the world. 

"How did you do it, Grandpa?"  

His fingers tapped the picture frame. "This man — this man looks like you, but it's not the man I despised as a teenager. I couldn't understand your thirst for power and money. When you and mom sent me away to school, I thought I'd escaped the dirty world you lived in." 

Cooper opened the desk drawer, removing a leather-bound ledger. He laid it on the desk and flipped through it, running his finger down the pages and stopping to read scribbled notes in the margins. 

He planned to settle his grandfather's outstanding debts, if possible, and then move forward, far away from all of it. He'd been surprised at what he discovered in his grandfather's private papers. 

"Grandpa, why did you keep the real you hidden all these years? The way Grandma looks at you in this picture, it's obvious she adored a good man." 

Cooper stood and walked to the window, staring past the garden his mother loved so much at the church on the corner. He saw two nuns walking with several children toward the Children's Home. For years, the sisters had scrimped and saved, hoping for enough money to build a new building; then, it happened. An anonymous donor answered their prayers and provided all the money they needed. No one ever knew who it was, but now, Cooper knew. He'd found the note scrawled at the bottom of a ledger page. It read, "A donation for all the children in need." 

In the past few days, Cooper learned to respect and love the man he once considered dark and evil. He'd found note after note about donations for groceries to be delivered anonymously to Sister Grace's back door. 

He returned to the desk, pulling a stack of canceled checks from the drawer, each handwritten and sent to families in Ireland. Cooper couldn't stop himself from wondering where all the money had come from. Had his grandfather pulled off the jewelry heist, stealing the necklace he'd planned to buy as a gift for his wife? Cooper closed the ledger and returned everything to the drawer. He refused to believe it but didn't have another plausible explanation. The ledger didn't balance. 

A knock on the study door ended his musings. "Come in." 

The door opened, making a crack only large enough for the man's head. "Beggin' yur par dun, sir, but the boys' av gathered as ya requested." 

Cooper stared at the man for a moment, then quickly recovered. "Oh, yes. I seemed to have forgotten. Tell them I will be right there." 

"As ya wish." The head disappeared, and the door closed.  

Cooper sighed and went into the bathroom, splashing cold water on his face. He stared at the weary-looking man in the mirror." I'd have welcomed this opportunity a few days ago, but now, it doesn't seem as black and white as I once thought." 

He wiped his face with the hand towel and left the study. He wasn't looking forward to the meeting in the clubhouse, but it needed to be done. 

********************************** 

A warm sensation filled Cooper's chest as he surveyed the men sitting around the table. He wondered if this was the bond his grandfather had shared with his army. It was an emotion he hadn't expected.  

He stood at the head of the table. A hush filled the room, and all their eyes focused on him. He felt their respect and was humbled. He was the revered surgeon at the hospital, but here, in his grandfather's house, he was simply a man. 

"Gentlemen, my grandfather would be honored that all of you continue to arrive at our doorstep every morning and stay the night to guard and protect his home. I can't say I fully understand the bond of loyalty you shared, but I respect it." 

Every man, including the younger ones, raised a coffee cup and cheered, "To Frank, may he rest in peace." 

Their enthusiasm overwhelmed Cooper, and he paused, hating to deliver the dismal message he intended to give them. He hadn't expected it to be so difficult. "Thank you." Cooper nodded and cleared his throat. "I never expected my grandfather's passing to affect anyone as much as it has my mother and myself, but this morning, you all have proven me wrong. It's clear you loved and respected him." 

Another round of cheers rose from their table, each man offering a toast. 

"To a good man." 

"One of the best, for sure." 

"May the wind be at Frank's back and the sunshine on his face as he kneels at the feet of our Lord."  

"Until we meet again, Frank." 

An older man raised his hand and spoke, "Ta Frank, may 'e rest in peace and 'is spirit remain at o'r sides."    

A round of "here, here" circled the table. 

Cooper surveyed the men in front of him, a mixed bag of ages and personalities but genuinely loyal to his grandfather. Raising his hand, showing he would like to speak again, the room quieted. "Again, thank you, but unfortunately, your work is finished. My mother and I will not continue walking the path Grandfather did. I must be honest and tell you I know you counted on the money received from the family business, but we won't be requiring your services, nor do we have the money to continue writing paychecks." 

The sound of chair legs scraping across the wood floor appeared to signal the men. A hush fell around the table. The older man rose from his chair, his brown eyes looking into the man's eyes sitting beside him, moving to the next and the next until he'd silently addressed each one. His firm chin, thin upper lip, pointed nose, high cheekbones, and graying hair beneath his tweed cap pointed to a true Irishman. 

Removing his cap, he spoke with a firm voice, "My name is Andrew, sir, and I know I speak for all of us. We are feeling your loss and want to express our sincere condolences." 

Cooper nodded toward the table of men. "I can see how loved my grandfather was by all of you and recognize your loss as well." 

Andrew paused for a moment before continuing, "The men and I are not here because of a sense of duty. I know it's difficult for you to understand our bond with your grandfather, but trust me, he was and will always be our family. You and your mother will always be family, too." 

Cooper felt his chest tighten with emotion. Before his grandfather's death, he'd admonished his grandfather for housing a pack of scoundrels, thieves, and possibly murderers in their home. Cooper was positive they would have committed any crime his grandfather might have asked and considered it an honorable accomplishment. But now, he'd found a new respect for them. This morning, he felt a growing kinship with this band of men.