Disclaimer: The characters of, "Sons of Thunder" and "Walker Texas Ranger", are owned by Chuck Norris, Aaron Norris, CBS and whoever else was involved with the creation and production of these two shows. Any new characters and story lines that come into play are of my own creation. No copyright infringement is intended. This is a fanfiction intended for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made off of it.

Chapter 1: Fresh Flowers

Trent Malloy sat in his blue Stingray Convertible as his azure eyes studied the peeling paint on the ranch house with the sagging porch. He frowned as he thought about how the house had gotten into such a state of disrepair.

He opened the door and got out of his car, lingering a few moments before he shut the door. He put his hands in the pockets of his black leather jacket and walked down the path of broken stepping-stones. He stopped a few feet from the steps that led onto the porch and to the front door.

It had been fifteen years since he had been in that house and had been several years since he had thought about the house. It had been a weekend home while the family had lived comfortably in a townhouse in the city during the week. He could still see the neatly trimmed grass, and the tall oak that had once graced the back yard.

The overgrown grass easily was as tall as his waist and the oak tree had fallen, its limbs lying dead. The carefully planted flowers and vibrant gardens had now vanished among the indifferent weeds.

The woods around the home had been an endless playground filled with exciting adventures and explorations. Now, it was an empty place surrounded by fallen limbs and rattlesnakes hiding in the tall grass and weeds.

He could picture the interior of the house that had family photos hanging in the hallways, and the living room, as well as the numerous tabletop frames that sat on the dressers in every bedroom. He remembered the flowers that had brought color and sweet fragrances into the house.

He tried to refrain from picturing the horror of the murdered couple who had raised their only son in that country home. He ran a hand through his blonde hair, trying to clear his mind of the realistic pictures that his imagination was providing for him.

Trent's cell phone rang and he sighed with relief, glad with the distraction from where his mind had taken him. He pulled the phone out of his pocket and when he looked at the caller id, he saw that it was his office manager Kim Sutter.

"Yeah, Kim?" Trent asked is voice sounding gruff.

"Hey, are you ok, Trent? You sound a little odd," Kim said her voice crackling a little over the cell phone.

Trent held back a sigh, knowing that if Kim had heard it she would know that something was wrong. "Everything's fine, Kim. What's going on?"

"All right, then," Kim replied with obvious skepticism in her voice, "Carlos used one of his contacts to track down Gus Sullivan. Carlos wants you to meet him at the club called the Hollow."

Gus Sullivan had jumped bail and the cops had failed to find him. Thunder Investigations had been hired by Steven Miles to capture Sullivan since he had stolen Mr. Miles' identity as well has hundreds of thousands of dollars from him. There was also a nice reward from the police if anyone brought him in.

"Thanks, Kim. I'll be there," Trent replied as he tried to have his voice into a more cheerful tone. He could tell within a second that he had failed to do so and knew that Kim was going to be concerned and try to find out why he had been distracted for the past couple of weeks.

"Ok," Kim replied tartly and hung up.

Trent closed his cell phone, let out a sigh and looked at the house once more. He couldn't help but think about if he had done one little thing differently that the tragedy could have been prevented.

He couldn't displace the guilt that he had carried for so many years. It didn't matter how much he tried to make up for it because he could never forget what had happened fifteen years ago.

He turned away from the house and got into his car. He stared at the house for a moment and then ran his hand through his sunshine colored hair. As he turned the key and started the ignition, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of fresh flowers would have been filling the air with their sweet scent today if things had been different.