“Nice to meet you. But you still didn’t answer my question.”
Letting go of the boy’s hand, Grant shook his head. “No. I’m not her boyfriend.”
Confused, Kenny tilted his head. “So why do you keep staring at her like that?”
Damn, this kid’s observant.“I’m her bodyguard.”
“Bodyguard.” Kenny’s round eyes grew wide. “She in danger?”
“No. It’s just a precaution.”
A tiny pair of shoulders sagged as relief flooded the young boy. “Good.” Milk chocolate eyes slid down to Grant’s waist. “You carrying?”
Jesus, this kid damn near made him want to smile. “Maybe.”
His eyes rose to Grant’s again. “Good,” he used a serious tone. “Someone tries to hurt Miss Brynnon, you gonna shoot them?”
“If I have to,” Grant answered honestly.I’ll take out anyone who dares to bring her harm.
“Good,” the kid said again. “That’s really good.”
When Brynnon had first mentioned coming here, Grant had wanted nothing to do with it. The kid part was hard enough. Throw cancer in the mix, and it was like dropping him in the middle of his own personal hell. Even so, he was actually starting to enjoy talking with Kenny.
“Yeah? Why’s that?”
Looking up at him as if he’d lost his damn mind, Kenny asked, “Don’t you two ever talk? She’s the nicest lady I know, besides my mom.”
“You think so?”
“Heck, yeah. Miss Brynnon’s a really busy lady, but she still takes the time to come by and see me.” Looking around to make sure no one was listening, Kenny whispered, “Well, technically, she comes to see all the kids. But I know I’m her favorite.”
Grant felt the corner of his mouth turn upward. “That so?”
The kid gave him a no shit look. “Duh. It’s probably because we have so much in common since she works on houses and all that.” Standing a little taller—which wasn’t saying much since he was all of four feet—Kenny told him proudly, “I want to be an architect when I grow up.”
Before Grant could respond, the boy looked over at the group of kids and gasped. “Oh, they’re lining up for cookies and stuff! I gotta go!”
Grant watched as Kenny started to run off, but the boy stopped and turned back around.
“You promise you won’t let anyone hurt Miss Brynnon?”
A warm feeling spread throughout his chest. “Not while I’m around.”
Kenny smiled. “Then I hope you stay around her forever. She’s special.”
With that, the boy turned back around and joined the other kids in line.
“Yeah,” Grant whispered to himself. “She is.”
Speaking of which...
He checked his watch. Nearly ten minutes had passed since Brynnon left to go to the bathroom. He scanned the room to make sure he hadn’t missed her return. Angie was over at the nurse’s station, helping serve the kids cookies and drinks, but the object of his search was nowhere to be seen.
Damn it.
Walking swiftly across the room, Grant headed for the restrooms. The sound of a man’s angry voice hit his ears just as he rounded the corner. The sight before him sending an immediate surge of anger through his system.
“Your father is a murder, and I’m going to make sure the world knows it.”
