Angry for David and Harper, Colson leaned down to return the whisper. “Nothing. He’s really okay. We’re on surveillance with the FBI.”
Her mouth opened, and she hurried off, clearing the way for him to bring David by the gate. He felt Harper behind him, his breath hot on his neck.
“You know, impersonating a federal agent is a felony,” Harper whispered too, and Colson shivered at the touch of Harper’s lips to the shell of his ear.
“Oh, yeah? Maybe you should call the police.”
Harper’s smile pressed against his cheek. “I’ll take you prisoner later.”
David began to make louder noises, and Colson jumped. Harper circled the chair and kneeled at David’s side. “What is it, buddy? Everything okay?”
David’s mouth opened and closed, and Colson’s heart broke as he watched him struggle. He and Harper looked alike, and it was eerie to see them together. So similar, yet so different.
“Let’s go sit and have something to eat. How does that sound, David?”
At the twitch of his lips upward, Colson’s nerves settled. For a second he’d worried David was upset at seeing him and Harper touching, but as they found a table, he happily ate the squares of peanut butter and jelly Harper had for him. There was also cut-up fruit in containers, which they shared.
Harper took out a squeeze yogurt and handed it to Colson.
“Do you want to feed it to him?” Harper asked.
David tracked it and licked his lips.
“Really? Are you sure?”
Harper’s face was tender. “Luis told me you helped him with his ice cream and did great.”
“Yeah. I don’t know why I’m so nervous now.” He tore the end off and held it up to David’s lips. David made humming noises of obvious pleasure, and soon they’d finished the entire stick. “Can we give him another one?”
Harper hesitated. “I don’t know. He usually doesn’t eat two.”
“Yeah, but it’s a special day and he deserves a treat. Don’t you think so, David?” At the sight of his bright eyes, Colson appealed to Harper. “Come on. Don’t be a party pooper.”
“All right. All right. Nothing like two against one.” Pretend-grumbling, Harper cut off the edge of another yogurt stick, and David finished that as well. “You okay to watch him for a minute? I’m just going to run to the restroom.”
“Don’t run. Us guys are just going to hang out and people-watch, right, David?” He hitched his chair closer to David, who looked at the crowds passing by.
Harper took off, and Colson decided he should talk to David. “Did your brother tell you I write books? They’re kind of gory, but it’s fun to name the characters. Maybe my next book will have a detective named David. What do you think?”
David’s smile remained constant, so Colson couldn’t be sure if he understood, but he kept talking.
“I really like your brother. He’s a very good detective. When my house was broken into and people stole my things, he was able to get them back for me. That’s how we became friends.”
Harper returned. “How’s it going? Should we take a walk through the rest of the park?”
David hummed, and Colson jumped to his feet. “I’ll dump the garbage.” Harper caught his arm and pulled him close.
“Thank you.”
Colson kissed him. “You can thank me later.”
***
The day passed swiftly, and not once did Colson feel as if David was a burden. They traversed the entire area of the zoo, and Colson took tons of pictures on his phone of David at the petting zoo, and with the stuffed seal he bought him at the gift shop.
“You’re going to spoil him,” Harper teased. “What’s going to happen when he goes to the aquarium? Am I going to find a giant whale in his room?”
“I wanted something special so he’d always remember today,” Colson explained.
