Page 23 of Property of Mongrel

Shrugging, I smile when I see JB is coming in after lunch. Darby reached out and let me know that a widowed father with a son the same age as JB is getting his foster care paperwork transferred to our neck of the woods so he can take over guardianship of JB as a prelude to adopting him. They apparently became fast friends when JB was allowed to go back to school.

My phone chimes and I look down to see it’s a text from Betty.

Betty: Not sure how we missed this, but there was an attempted kidnapping at the farmer’s market on Saturday!

Me: What? No way! Do you know who it was or why?

Betty: No, it’s the scuttlebutt around the office today. But I think one of your patients was instrumental in helping the woman who was being abducted.

My mind is reeling as I wonder if Mongrel was somehow involved. It sounds like the kind of thing he’d do, protect the innocent. Still, I don’t give Betty any patient names and I can’t confirm if it’s him or not. But I can find out as much information as possible.

Me: Can’t think of who it could be. We were there until around lunch time, how did we miss this?

Betty: One of the women involved with the Kings of Anarchy club was almost abducted, but another brother chased the guy down then tackled him or something like that.

Fuck, that sounds exactly like something Mongrel would do, which would explain why he cancelled his appointment. Still, until he comes in again, I won’t know for sure, simply because if the Kings were involved, they likely put as much of a lid on things as they were able to.

Me: I hope everyone’s okay. By the way, I got the jam canned yesterday.

Betty: Bet your kitchen doesn’t even look like you did anything either… lol.

Me: It’s as if you know me or something, auntie.

Betty: Shush your mouth. If I hear anything else, I’ll let you know.

Me: Appreciate it, gotta hit it, my first patient is here.

“Miss Addy, guess what?” JB asks as I come out to the reception area to get him for his appointment.

Darby rolls her eyes at me, but her indulgent smile says it’s because JB is acting like he’s full of jumping beans or something.

“How about we go back to my office so I can get measurements, and you can tell me then, okay?” I ask.

“But you’re going to try and guess, right?” he presses.

“Maybe,” I tease. Once we’re in my office, he hops up onto the table and looks at me expectantly. “Okay, let me see. Did you meet the real Iron Man?” I ask as I open up his chart on my laptop.

“No, even better,” he states, practically hopping up and down.

“Buddy, you gotta stay still for just a few minutes, okay?” I prompt. “Um, better than meeting the real Iron Man. Did you find the lady who makes the cake pops?”

“I did meet her at the farmer’s market on Saturday,” he confesses.

“Okay, turn on your left side, please,” I instruct. “Did you tell her about your cake pops?”

“I told her that I shared them with my friend, Liam,” he replies. “And guess what? His dad wants to adopt me, Miss Addy!”

“Really?” I ask.

Darby speaks up and says, “He and his wife were foster parents until his wife passed away. He and his son, Liam, moved here and after Liam and JB met and became thick as thieves, he reached out to JB’s caseworker. They’re fast-tracking all of his paperwork, but yes, it looks like JB is going to live with them.”

“JB, that’s wonderful,” I say, smiling down at the little boy who has stolen my heart. “I know you’re going to have a great life, buddy. Guess what? I show that you’ve reached full range of motion! Do you know what that means?”

“Does it mean that I’m done here now? Miss Addy, I’m kind of scared, because what if he’s like my stepfather was? But Mama Rossi said that if he was, he couldn’t have been a foster parent. Plus, the lady that I talk to says that it will be good for me to have a brother who is already a friend,” JB replies. “What do you think?”

“I think that Liam’s daddy must be someone very special if he’s willing to take on another little boy. I mean, that’s more frogs, and probably Legos and skinned knees,” I tease. “But it’s okay to be a little bit scared. Just remember, what your stepfather did doesn’t mean that everyone out there is like he was, okay? And you can always talk to your therapist if you’re worried about something.”

“I’ll have a new last name,” he murmurs as he sits up on the table. “It’ll be the same as Liam’s, too!”