“Billy,” Cameron answered right away.
“But isn’t he mean? Why would you believe him? Didn’t you ever get goodnight kisses?” Marty asked, and Cameron thought for a minute. Grant could almost see him pondering, and then he jumped up and hurried over.
“I want a kiss too,” he said.
Marty lifted him and kissed his cheek. Cameron leaned his other cheek toward Grant, and he kissed it. Then Marty put him down. “Go play with your Legos.”
Cameron raced in the other room, hugged Dexter, and got a kiss from him too. Grant figured they were past the kissing issue, so he took the opportunity to take another one from Marty, who seemed more than happy to oblige.
“I forgot to tell you because you got me all distracted with your hotness.” Marty pulled a plastic bag out of the larger one from the hospital. “This is all the food I found stuffed under Cameron’s covers when I packed him up.” He placed three boxes of cereal, containers of Jello, and even ketchup and mustardpackets on the counter. “I threw away the other things he had stuffed in the tray drawer.”
All Grant could do was shake his head. “He sure ate enough at lunch.”
“Yeah, and he did every meal in the hospital too. But he was always hiding food. In his blankets, I could find it. But what about here? I’m going to have to search everything.”
Grant wished he had an answer for him. “Talk to him and tell him that he can eat if he’s hungry. All he has to do is tell you.” Grant sighed. “And speaking of talking to him, I need to. I’m not getting anywhere finding the person who hurt him and Bobby. I need to know if he can tell us anything. He needs professional help.”
Marty shrugged. “I tried talking to him about it, but all he did was look out the window like he couldn’t hear me. I think he’s blocked it all out somehow.”
“But I have to try.” Grant said.
“No. You can’t do that to him. He’s just beginning to trust me, and the same with you. Don’t destroy that by pushing him. Do you have someone you work with? Like a kid’s center for trauma? Maybe a professional would be better. That way it doesn’t affect his trusting the people he’s grown close to.”
“But I’m not as close to him as you,” Grant said.
Marty rolled his eyes. “You gave him a ton of Legos, you have Dexter, and you pulled him out of that hole. I think that makes you his hero. And he needs that more than he needs to tell you anything that might be locked up in his head. I bet Donald can help you find someone who can help him if you need it. He’s coming over today to see that Cameron is settling in.”
“Sounds good,” Grant said.
“Cameron, do you want some juice? Or water?” Marty asked.
Cameron raced in. “Really?” The kid always seemed so surprised about everything.
“How about apple juice?” He opened the refrigerator and got Cameron a juice box. You’d have thought it was gold-plated the way Cameron acted. He was so careful getting the straw in it, but even so, he spilled a little of the juice on the floor. Cameron looked down in what Grant could only describe as near horror.
“Don’t spank my tushie butt,” Cameron cried before handing back the juice box and running from the room.
Marty hurried from the room. “It’s okay. No one is going to spank you. It was just a little spill.” He handed Cameron his juice back and gently coaxed him from behind Dexter. Grant pulled out his phone and found Donald’s number.
“I think you should get over to Marty’s. There are things you need to know about that group home. I think it’s worse than you thought.”
“I’m on my way,” Donald said and hung up. Grant put his phone away and found Marty with Cameron on his lap, holding him and rocking slowly. Over Cameron’s shoulder, Grant could see the fire in Marty’s eyes.
“Finish your juice and put your Legos away, and then you and Dexter can go outside and play. There’s a fun castle out there and everything,” he said. Cameron stayed where he was, but he finished his juice and then, after a while, got down and began putting his bricks away. “Take them up to your room and we’ll all go outside.”
Cameron hurried up the stairs and came back down. Marty took his hand and led him through the house to the backyard.
“Did you spend a fortune before he got here?”
Marty grinned. “Nope. The neighbor two doors down had it. Their kids are grown, and they wanted to use that part of the yard for a new patio. When they heard what I was doing, theyoffered it to me, and the family even helped me move it over and get it set up yesterday.”
Cameron was already climbing and having a ball as Grant messaged Donald that they were in the backyard. They sat down in the shade as Cameron climbed and slid, then got the swing going.
“Is it okay to come in?” Donald called from the gate and then entered the yard. “Wow.”
“I know.”
“There’s nothing like a child’s laughter,” Donald said, his expression serious and yet kind of soft. “I remember the first time I heard Alex laugh after we got him. He was so serious and so scared all the time. But then one day when he was playing, Carter tickled him, and Alex laughed, full and loud. It was the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard.” He sighed, and Grant knew there was a story there. “Anyway, it seems like he’s settling in.”
