“Close your eyes. And Cerise, make sure he does.”
“Okay, but hang on a second, Brodie.”
“Right.” He didn’t know what was going on but his best guess was that Cerise was probably reassuring Finn that he had nothing to be afraid of and that she wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him.
“You can come out now.”
There was nothing in her tone to suggest he should be worried about the reception he was going to receive. Brodie poked his head out and saw that Cerise had one of Finn’s hands clutched in hers and the boy’s eyes were squeezed shut, to the point it almost looked painful, his face squished hard.
When Cerise saw what Brodie was holding, her face broke out into a big smile, the glitter on her cheeks glinting in the sunshine. Her fingers flexed around Finn’s.
He stopped in front of the boy and met Cerise’s gaze. They sparkled with unshed tears. “Thank you,” she mouthed and nodded toward the items in his hands.
His heart swelled, what seemed a small gesture to him, brought a lot of meaning to her. “Open your eyes, buddy?” he said softly.
Immediately Finn’s eyes popped open. Brodie held his breath, waiting to see what the boy’s reaction was going to be. Finn’s gaze took in the hat and boots Brodie held in his hands. He looked over to Cerise, who smiled encouragingly and nodded, and then he transferred his gaze back to Brodie, hope shining brightly in his brown eyes. “Are they for me?”
“They sure are, buddy. And”—Brodie popped the cowboy hat on the child’s head— “they’re yours to keep.”
“Really? I can keep them. I don’t have to give them back. Or they won’t be taken back to the store for a refund because we need food?”
What the fuck?
Seriously, what had the boy been through?
Brodie glanced at Cerise. Her lips had firmed into a thin line, and he could see a hint of anger flaring in her eyes. He assumed it was from what Finn had said and not anything the boy had done in the past to her.
He squatted down so he was on Finn’s eye level, placing the boots on the ground in front of him. “No, Finn, I will never ask for them back and neither will Mrs. Alexander. When I told her you were coming for a visit and a horse ride, she found these for me and told me to give them to you.”
“I promise I won’t lose them or let anything bad happen to them, Mr. Brodie. I won’t.” He finished fiercely and Brodie suspected the boy had lost a few favorite possessions in his short lifetime.
“I believe you, Finn.” He stood and straightened his own hat. “How about we see if these boots fit and then we can get on those horses over there.” Brodie pointed to the two mares munching happily on the small amount of hay he’d left for them. “And go for a ride.”
“Yes.” Finn yelled the word and the sadness that had surround Cerise seemed to burst like a balloon when pricked with a needle. He plopped on the ground and pulled off his sneakers.
Cerise came up to Brodie, he was hit with the fragrance of flowers, like he had been the night they’d met at the accident scene. “Thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me. Or to Finn.”
“It’s not a big deal.” He’d given away a lot of money to various charities over the years and had received a lot of thanksfrom many people, but not once had he ever felt the amount of accomplishment like he did right this second.
“No, I think it really is. You heard him ask about having to give it back. I don’t know what Poppy did to that kid, but I’m going to make sure she doesn’t take the hat and boots from him if I have to give him back to her.”
The determination in her voice was plain to hear. He believed Cerise would do everything to make sure that happened. But a million questions were forming in his mind. He wanted to know more about Finn and his life.
And he wanted to know more about Cerise too.
Cerise kept glancingin Finn’s direction to see if he was doing okay. Each time she did, he had a huge smile on his face and looked as if he’d been born on the back of a horse.
“He’s a natural, isn’t he?” Brodie commented quietly, voicing her inner thoughts.
She gripped the reins a little tighter. His voice was as smooth as ice cream. “Yeah, he is. He hasn’t had much joy in his life in the last two years.”
“It’s tough when you lose a parent, let alone two.”
“I know,” she said quietly.
If anyone could relate to what Finn was going through, it was her. She was well versed in the foster system. The fact Finn had a relative he could live with should’ve been a bonus for the little boy. How wrong it was that his aunt only wanted him when it suited her and when she was between boyfriends and needed someone to love?
Very wrong.
