Laughing a soft sound, I peeked over at Cash whose head was still bowed as he calculated the measurements, though it was barely shaking in rattled bemusement.
“They’re very pretty,” I told her.
“Sorry, Mom, but I got a whole other job that I gotta do,” Colin rambled. “I gotta keep my commitments like my Cub Scouts told me, remember? I already told my Mr. Cash that I was gonna help. Do you think I can even get a patch?”
Cash let out a heaving sigh.
He was in for so much more than he bargained for.
Cash seemed to contemplate something for a moment before he passed the tape measure to Colin. “Can you measure that board right there for me?”
When my son hopped to his feet like he’d been given a mission to save the world, I knew I made the right choice.
Coming here.
Maybe the real problem was that I didn’t want to be anywhere else.
TWENTY-ONE
CASH
“Cub Scouts, huh?”I asked Colin. He knelt right beside me, the kid so close I could barely read the measurements I was taking.
“Yep. I even got a pack, and I got like fifteen whole patches.”
“Fifteen?” I drew it out like I couldn’t believe it, giving him a low whistle. “No way.”
“Yes, way.” Pride rolled off him as he gave me a sharp bob of his head.
My chest tightened.
Wasn’t even sure what I was feeling right then.
Fear.
Regret.
Grief.
And something else that I couldn’t.
But it was there, pressing beneath the surface of my flesh like a seed trying to sprout. Did my best to tamp it down, but he turned that adorable smile in my direction.
Morning sun rained around him and tossed his warm brown hair into a glittering radiance. The cinnamon hues glinting in the rays and illuminating him like he was one of those angels you’d never know you entertained.
“You think I can get another one?” he asked.
“Yeah, buddy, pretty sure you can get another. What would you think about us finding you a pack around here?”
“I already got one.” He hiked a shoulder.
So damned innocent.
Not completely understanding the situation they were in. I knew Daisy had tried to explain it to them the best that she could, but I doubted they could fully grasp that they were never going home.
They had to establish a new one.
Somewhere.
