“Yes, I do. And I already sent the bad man and cruel lady who hurt you away,” he replied.
I felt not only my son relax, but myself too. Having them still close by might have scared Griffin, but it also would have been hard to refrain from paying them a little visit.
“When I grow up, I want to be just like my daddy,” he told Hayes, melting the shit out of my heart. “But the police are cool too. My Uncle Bronson is a policeman.”
Hayes smiled. “Another uncle, huh?”
Griffin shrugged. “I told you I have a lot,” he said matter-of-factly, causing everyone to laugh.
“That you did,” he said after he stopped laughing. “What do you say we have someone look you over before you guys head down the mountain?”
I knew it was a good idea, but my son didn’t say a word or seem receptive to it right away.
Hayes turned to look at a lady approaching, one who had a kind smile on her face as she made her way up to us.
“This is a friend of mine, Griffin. And she just happens to be a doctor. Would it be okay if she checked you out so we can get you back to your mom?”
My son studied the woman. I guessed there was a war waging in his head. A woman had just kidnapped him, and yet he wanted to get home to his momma, so he was struggling. Then the young doctor—she seemed young anyway for already being a doctor—spoke, and my son let out another giggle that had my heart thrumming.
“Hey there, buddy.” The woman gave my boy a soft smile. “My name is Rainey.”
When his giggles stopped, he said, “My Auntie River and Auntie Lake would like your name.”
The Rainey woman flashed him a bright smile. “Well, I like their names too.”
Everyone watched their exchange with smiles on their faces, including me. My son was strong, smart, happy, and caring. After everything that had happened to him, I prayedit hadn’t dimmed an ounce of his remarkable personality. Seeing him interact with the good doctor gave me hope he would get through the emotional trauma that may be lurking in his head after the ordeal, even if it took time.
“My mom’s name is Patience,” he told the woman. “When I get hurt, she is super patient and really gentle. Are you that way too?”
Some emotion I couldn’t quite decipher—maybe sadness—flashed across Rainey’s face before she took a small step forward, careful not to crowd my son. “I promise I will be all of those things and take good care of you so you can get out of here really fast, okay?”
Griffin turned his head to look at me, and we stared at one another. “Will you stay with me, Daddy?”
“Not leaving you for a second, Champ. I will be right by you the whole time.”
He let out a soft sigh, then turned back to the doctor. Griffin squirmed a bit to get down, and I let him slide to the ground. Keeping one hand in mine, he put his other out for Rainey, and she took it, a medical bag in her other one.
“You can check me out,” he told her. “I really want to see my mom and check on my baby brother or sister.”
Her gaze came to mine in question.
“My wife is pregnant, but we don’t know the gender yet,” I told her.
“Aww, that’s exciting,” she commented, but her attention was back on my son.
She began asking him questions as we walked to the back of her vehicle, where she pulled up the hatch, and my son began to come into himself—a chatterbox. By the time he’d been checked out and cleared for travel with only the bruises on his arm, I was sure my son had made a new friend.
Making friends wherever he went, whether you were ababy or aging like Gramps, was one of his most amazing qualities. He got his friendly ways from his momma for sure.
“We can come back, right, Dad? I told Rainey we would.”
God, he was something else. Hayes and the guys had kept close, and they wandered the rest of the way toward us, seeing we had finished up. My son carried on as everyone listened, but I saw Gyth on the phone, and my eyes met his in question.
“Everyone is good,” he said, giving me a nod.
I’d wondered if he’d been on the phone with Braxton or someone at the hospital. He’d know exactly what I was seeking, and his information was also exactly what I needed to hear. But I also knew that until I saw her with my own eyes and those same words came from her sweet mouth, I wouldn’t fully relax.
It was a start, though.
