Kelley couldn't help but smile at the kid's words. Brandon had always made him feel like he had some sort of purpose. Like he was a lot more than a worn out police chief who was too old to make a difference and too young to retire. That smile on the boy's face made the long trek to find him worth while and he didn't regret a single second of it.
He returned the hug, the smile still in place once Brandon had released him. "Good to see you too, boy," he told him. Good didn't even begin to describe it but he wasn't going to get all soft and squishy and weep like sinner in church.
He followed after Brandon and took the flashlight when prompted to do so. At his questions, he shrugged because he didn't have a whole lot of answers. "There were whispers all over of this place," he told him. "Not sure what was true and what wasn't but I'd been lookin' to find you. Thought it couldn't hurt to bring myself out here to check." As for where he'd been the last years, he sighed. "Too many places to count. Like I said, been lookin' for you." That was about all there was to it. "The world's a big fuckin' place when you're trying to find a needle in the haystack. Guess I found the right haystack to look in finally."