“Should I call an ambulance?” he asked softly, but there was no hiding the concern in his tone.
I forced my eyes open and blinked up at him, trying to clear my bleary vision. “No, please don’t. Really, kid. I’ll be fine.” It was unsettling the way he watched me so intently, and I couldsee the gears working behind his eyes. He was smart, I could tell. Certainly smart enough not to buy my bullshit.
Finally, he said, “Want me to bring you a first-aid kit?”
Tired as I was, my lips twitched with a smile. I wasn’t sure a couple band-aids could fix what was broken, but it was nice of him to offer. I shook my head.
The kids chewed on the inside of his cheek. “You’re the baby’s daddy, aren’t you,” he said, but it wasn’t a question. He knew.
I sighed, resigned. “Yes, but you can’t tell anyone. You can keep a secret, can’t you?”
His expression turned earnest as he nodded. “I didn’t tell anybody that Jacob has a crush on Summer, or that Anna was the one that farted in gym class, or that Isla cheated on the math test…” His face scrunched up as he realized he’d just spilled all his secrets to me, but I wasn’t about to hold that against him.
“What’s your name?” I asked him, shifting to try to get more comfortable on the hard concrete and struggling to stifle a gasp as the cramps intensified.
He crouched down in front of me. “Samson, but everybody just calls me Sam.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Sam. My name is August, and my baby’s name is Mia. We had to run away from a very bad man, and you can’t tell anybody that I’m here or he’ll find me again.”
Sam’s face scrunched up. “Did the bad man hurt you?” I nodded, and Sam huffed, indignant. “Real men don’t hurt people,” he growled.
“Did your daddy teach you that?” I asked, pleased to know that he was being raised right.
He shook his head. “Jerry isn’t my dad, not really. Not yet. My mommy and daddy died, and Jerry takes care of me now. He’s really big and strong, but he would never, ever hurt anybody. He says I should always use my words, not my fists.”
“Jerry is right, but I’m afraid words won’t keep me safe from the bad man. Nothing is more important to me than my daughter, so I wanted to make sure that Mia was somewhere safe where he could never find her. Will Jerry take good care of her?”
Sam nodded solemnly. “He’s the best ever.”
My memories, foggy as they were, snagged on trying to chest feed her and not being able to. “Is she… is she okay?” I asked, trying to hold back my fears. “She wasn’t eating.”
“Jerry says he has a cl— um, cleff palate?” He struggled with the new word. “I don’t really know what that means, but he said she needs a special bottle to drink her milk.”
“Thank gods,” I said on a sigh. The relief was so sudden that my eyes fell closed unbidden, tears leaking down my cheeks, and I sagged against the wall, barely holding myself up with one hand.
“Hey, August? Are you sure I can’t bring you anything to make you feel better? You don’t look so good.” The poor kid looked so worried about me, and I had a feeling if I didn’t give him a task, he was going to march straight back into the house and tell Jerry about me.
As perfect timing, my stomach grumbled, and we both laughed a little. I wished I’d taken some food from the shelter before I ran. “How about something to eat,” I suggested. “Or a bottle of water?” I hadn’t had anything since this morning when I got a little water from the hose.
He nodded quickly. “I can do that!” He spun on his heel and booked it out the door, setting the chickens off in a startled frenzy of clucking, loose feathers sent floating as they flapped their wings.
I’d fallen asleep by the time Sam came back—or maybe it was unconscious, but I didn’t want to think about that right now. I pushed myself upright and saw he had a stack of sandwichesin one hand and a bag slung over one shoulder. “Here! They’re peanut butter and grape jam, my favorite.”
“Mine too,” I told him, though anything would be my favorite right about now. I took a big bite and groaned. “Soooo good. You must be a gourmet chef.”
He grinned, proud that he’d done something right. Then he pulled out a water bottle from the bag and passed it over, and I cracked the lid off, guzzling the cool liquid as quickly as I could, spilling some down my chin and chest. “You’re a lifesaver,” I told him, panting, as I wiped at my chin.
Next out of the bag came a stack of clothes. “I thought you’d want to change into something clean too, so I took some stuff from Jerry’s room. He’s bigger than you, but they’ll smell better.” He wrinkled his nose, and I looked down at myself. He wasn’t wrong.
“Thanks, Sam.” I set the sandwich aside and took the pile of clothes, bringing them to my nose and breathing deep. They didn’t just smell better… they smelledgood. Delicious, even. Damn. I didn’t know alphas could smell so good. I told myself it was just his detergent, but I swore there were wrinkles on the shirt, as if it’d come straight off his body and not folded in a drawer or hanging in a closet.
Sam was still rummaging through the bag. “And a towel. I can’t sneak you into the house for a shower, but you could use the hose. Just stand over the drain.”
My chin trembled as I fought back tears. My emotions were taking me on a rollercoaster ride today, up through fear and adrenaline, then down into exhaustion, and now just the sheer gratitude that this young boy could be so thoughtful. I dragged my forearm over my face to soak up the tears. “Thank you, Sam. Seriously. Nobody’s been this nice to me in a long time.”
He leaned back, frowning. “That’s not fair. You don’t have any friends or family?”
It was like a punch to the gut, and I shook my head. “Not for a long time.”
