“Cindy growled at him,” Kenny said as he wiped his eyes. “She knew he was bad.”
“Cindy is a good dog, and she can tell things.” He lifted her up, and Kenny lightly petted her. “You’re a very good girl,” he said, softly praising her. “You help keep us all safe.” She licked his cheek, and he gently set her down.
“The thing is that Charlie knows where we’re staying now,” Todd said softly. Jamie got that, but there was nothing he could do. The backyard was fenced. He went out and made sure the back gate was closed. He thought of locking it, but that wasn’t likely to keep Charlie out if he were determined. When he came inside, he locked the back door and did the same with the front.
“Do you want to watch cartoons?” he asked Kenny, trying to think of something to occupy him.
Kenny nodded, and Jamie found something for him to watch. Then he sat on the sofa and pulled his computer onto his lap, trying to get back to work. He needed to finish his article and get it submitted. He had other work that he needed to get done too. Among other things, he needed to get Kenny and Todd to the store, because they were basically recycling the same clothes. The list of things to do seemed to be growing by the minute. When he decided to help them, he hadn’t thought of how much was going to settle on his shoulders. Not that he minded, not really…. It was just that he had a lot to do in a very short period of time.
Kenny kept the volume down as he sat on the floor, completely engrossed in the television. Todd finished the dishes, which was good. Then he sat in a chair with a book or something, leaving Jamie alone, though he found himself looking over to him just to take in the view.
The doorbell made him start as he saved the final file. Cindy jumped down, hurrying to the door, doing her excited dance. Jamie could feel Todd and Kenny tense, with Kenny hurrying to his dad. Jamie opened the door to a smiling Andrea, who had a bag in one hand and a casserole dish in the other.
“I figured you could use some more clothes and things, and I made an extra pan of lasagna.”
“Thank you. Do you want to come in? I can make tea.”
“No. Thanks, though. I have to get the kids to baseball in less than an hour.” She smiled again, and after patting him on the shoulder as sort of her seal of approval, she left, and Jamie closed the door and handed the bag to Todd.
“Look at all this,” he said, pulling out an assortment of things for Kenny, including a few cars and even a Lego set. “Is she for real?” Todd asked.
“Andrea is one of those people who follows her own path. She manages the community garden and has a beautiful yard and lawn without any chemicals. She’s organic in more ways than one, and she also believes that you get back what you give out. So she puts as much positivity into the world as possible.”
He plopped back onto the sofa, with Cindy settling at his feet, made sure the document was the way he wanted it, and sent it to the editor. At least that was done. “Hey, Cindy,” he said, and she jumped up next to him. He petted her and rubbed her belly when she stretched out. “It’s all done.” She went into doggie heaven, swiping at him with her paw when he stopped rubbing. “Okay. We need to get to TJ Maxx today so we can get you both a few things you need.” Todd was clearly reticent, but he agreed, so they got ready. Jamie made sure the house was locked tight, and they got in the car, with Kenny in the back booster seat Donald had left and headed to the shopping center.
“What are we getting?” Todd asked.
“Look for a couple pairs of pants for yourself, as well as some shirts, underwear, and socks. Get some underwear and socks for Kenny too.”
They went through the store and managed to get what they needed. Kenny longingly looked at the toy section of the store.He never asked for anything or even touched any of the toys. He had clearly been told that he couldn’t have anything.
“You can get one thing,” Jamie told him.
Kenny looked at him, his eyes as big as saucers. “Really?”
“Yes. Pick out a toy that you want.” There was no way in hell that he could look at those eyes and not let him have something. Kenny went up and down each aisle before pointing at a stuffed penguin. “Is that what you want?” It was a ten-dollar toy. He took it and handed it to Kenny, who looked like he’d won the lottery.
Once they had everything, they checked out. Jamie paid, and Todd carried the bags out to the car. Then they left the parking lot, passing the man he had seen earlier in the alley standing at the corner with the usual sign about being a homeless veteran. Jamie kept the windows up as they passed, continuing through the intersection as quickly as he could.
Instead of going right home, Jamie took them to one of the small play areas in town, parking in the lot. They got out, he and Todd sitting at a picnic table under a tree while Kenny raced to the play area, climbing to the top before taking the giant slide to the ground.
“He should have a life like this all the time,” Todd said softly. Jamie knew that guilt and fear weren’t going to just go away, especially not while he was in the middle of it, so he let Todd talk. “No kid should have to go live in a tent in the back of the park. I should have done better and figured out a way to keep him safer.” He kept looking around like he expected people to come out of the bushes or something. “I should have done more to keep him safe. As a parent, I failed him.” He lowered his head.
“Todd,” Jamie said, and he raised his head. “Look over at that.” Kenny went down the slide, smiling as he reached the bottom. Then he raced around and climbed to the top so he could do it again. “Your son is smiling, and he’s happy. So go onover there and be with him. Play with him, laugh along with him. I’ll be right here. You don’t need to stand guard, just spend some play time.” He waited as Todd went over, and Kenny jumped into his arms, and soon both of them were smiling. Meanwhile, Jamie put together mental lists of everything that needed to be done.
ChapterFour
It wasstrange being in Jamie’s house without him there. Jamie was teaching classes. Kenny and Cindy were on the floor watching television, while Todd sat at the computer. A number of companies were indeed hiring, and they had online application processes. Pretty quickly, he found that he needed things he didn’t have and had to get.
Jamie had said that he would take him to get his papers, but Todd needed them, so he got Kenny ready to go out, took the extra key Jamie had showed him, and locked the house.
Thankfully, the entrance to the LeTort trail was near the house. He and Kenny headed down to the creek and then made the turn along the former railbed. There were a number of people walking and biking on this warm day, so he felt pretty safe.
“Where are we going?” Kenny asked as they approached where the trail went under the freeway.
“Right there,” he said at the first bench along the trail. “Sit there, and I’ll be right back.” He stepped off the trail, pushing the underbrush aside. From there, he kicked at the topsoil until he found the metal box. Opening it, he pulled out the papers from inside and closed the box, putting it back in case he needed it again, and covering it up. He shoved the papers into his pocket and joined Kenny maybe two minutes later.
“Did you find it?” Kenny asked in a whisper.
