Aiden turned to me and rolled his eyes as if to say,can you believe her?A laugh spilled from my lips. I knew more than anyone how dirty little boys could be. I hated showering and washing up after coming inside or in the mornings. My mother always had to drag me into the shower or bathtub.
Joel would threaten me with whooping my ass with his belt to get me to listen. He never used it, though. His threats were incentive enough.
“Are you having breakfast with us, Mr. Ace?” Aiden asked.
“Yeah, guess so.”
“Sweet,” Aiden cheered.
“Aiden, don’t pummel Ace with a million and one questions about being a pilot this morning,” Savannah chided as she placed his plate in front of him.
His face dropped.
I chuckled. “It’s not a problem, kid. Few things I like talking about more than being a pilot. Ask away.”
“See, Mama.” His face lit up as he peered at Savannah like he’d won a battle.
Savannah’s phone rang before she could respond. I waved her away from the stove and took over fixing both of our plates.
She thanked me with a smile before answering.
I filled our plates with pancakes, bacon, and eggs before carrying them to the table.
“I would, but I don’t have anyone to watch Aiden,” Savannah said to whomever was on the other end of the line. “Are you sure?” Regret filled her voice. “Okay, bye.”
I glanced over when she hung up. “What’s up?”
“That was work.” She twisted her lips in a disappointed frown. “Dr. Pierce had an emergency with another patient and won’t be able to open the clinic this morning. That was Reese calling to see if I could come in an hour earlier than usual, but…” She trailed off and gestured toward Aiden.
I glanced down at Aiden as he cheerfully ate, staring at his tablet that sat on the table, playing some cartoon on the screen.
“What time does he have to be at school?” I asked.
Savannah’s eyes went over to the clock on the wall. “Nine thirty. He has a delayed opening this morning.”
It was a little before seven-thirty. Aiden’s school was only a seven-minute drive from my house.
I shrugged. “I can take him.”
Savannah perked up, but then shook her head. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t ask.” I reminded. “I’m volunteering.”
“You don’t have to go to the base today?”
With a shake of my head, I told her, “Took the day off since I have to head out for a two-week training next week. Didn’t have much planned until later. I might head over to Joel’s later.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Joel…” There was something strange in the way she said his name. She glanced between Aiden and me. “Are you sure it wouldn’t be an inconvenience?”
The urge to take care of her needs filled my chest again. I pushed those feelings down and reminded myself this was no big deal. The boy’s school was only a few minutes away, and I wasn’t doing much of anything for the day.
“Okay.” She let out a sigh. “Thank you so much.” She went over to Aiden and rubbed the back of his head.
He looked up from his tablet.
“Sweetie, I have to go to work early.” She glanced up at me. “Mr. Ace is going to take you to school this morning, all right?”
Aiden nodded. “Mm-hm.”
