“Aunt Jilly?” his tentative voice behind the door had me releasing a relieved breath.
“Yeah, honey,” I assured him. “Cal’s here too,” I told him, my gaze sliding to Cal. “Can you open the door?”
There was the sound of locks snicking on the other side of the door and the knob turned.
Max’s large dark eyes and mussed dark head of hair peered around the door.
Cal immediately crouched down in the doorway. “Hey, bud. You guys okay?”
Max studied him, his young intelligent gaze serious. After a moment, he nodded, opening the door wider so we could step inside.
Emmie lay curled up on the bed, asleep. Her dark curls spanned around her small body. She looked like a little angel.
I crouched down and scooped Max up in my arms. He buried his face in my neck and started to cry. I looked up at Cal, feeling helpless.
Cal placed a large hand on Max’s back as his gaze swept the room.
It was a disaster, with candy wrappers and clothes strewn about. It smelled dank and dirty, not having seen daylight or had fresh air in days.
Cal stood next to me and held Max’s eyes. “You hungry, bud?”
Max nodded enthusiastically against my neck.
“If you could eat anything, what would it be?” His gaze was warm on my nephew as he spoke in that same soft tone.
“Cheeseburger,” Max replied without delay.
Cal smiled. “I thought you’d say pizza, but a burger is a good choice. How about this? Let’s get your sister. We’ll stop on the way, all right? We’ll get you the biggest cheeseburger you’ve ever seen. Then we’ll take you to our house.” He nodded toward me. “You can see your cousin. We have a pool.” He winked.
“I can’t swim,” Max replied, sounding dejected.
“Then we’ll teach you,” Cal replied easily. “Let’s go.”
“What about my mom?” he asked worriedly.
“I’ll worry about your mom,” I assured him. “Can you help me get your things?” I knew I needed to distract him.
He nodded as I set him down.
“You okay with me carrying your sister?” Cal asked Max. He recognized that even at his young age, Max was Emmie’s protector.
He was respecting that.
I fell even more in love with him.
Max nodded, watching intently as Cal bent to scoop Emmie up in his strong arms.
I held Max’s hand in my left, their duffle in the other as the four of us left the room and headed for my car.
“I’ll leave the bike,” Cal told me gruffly.
I nodded distractedly. “We don’t have car seats,” I fretted.
“It’s all right for tonight. We’ll get anything we need tomorrow,” he assured me as we put both kids in the backseat. Emmie remained asleep and her lethargy concerned me.
I turned to look at Max as Cal slid into the driver seat and backed us out of the parking lot. “Do you remember when you last ate?” I asked.
He shook his head.
