On my way out, Caleb saw me.
“Grant!” He rushed over to me.
Piper and Ms. Sutter were behind me, obviously looking to talk to Caleb.
“Hey, little man. How’s it going?” I asked.
He grinned up at me, holding up a picture he’d painted. I couldn’t make heads or tails of it, it looked like a brown blob to me.
“Look! It’s a dog!” Caleb said proudly.
“It is!” I exclaimed. I glanced behind me, and Piper was nibbling on her fingernail. I didn’t want to take up too much of their time. “Hey, listen, I have to get going, but I think this nice lady wants to talk to you.”
Caleb’s face fell as he looked past mine at Piper and Ms. Sutter. The woman knelt to his level and reached out a hand. Her face and entire demeanor was warmer before. “Hello, Caleb. I’m Ashley. Can I ask you a few questions?”
Caleb looked at Ashley, then at me, then at Piper, as if trying to understand what was going on. He didn’t answer Ashley but stepped closer to me. Ashley turned to me, rising from her kneeling position. She was tall for a woman - probably five foot eight or so, but I still managed to tower over her.
“Excuse me,” she said in a serious tone, reaching out her hand. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Ashley Sutter with Child Protective Services.”
It all clicked now. I looked at Piper. This couldn't be good. A CPS visit meant Andy still hadn’t shown up or had somehow failed his son in other ways. My chest tightened as I imagined him going into the foster care system.
“Grant Barnes,” I said, shaking her hand.
“Do you work here, Mr. Barnes?”
I kept my eyes on Piper. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing. Running my hand over the stubble on my face, I answered. “My sister and I own the building, and I do some work around here.”
“And how do you know Caleb, Mr. Barnes? He seems awfully close to you.”
I wasn’t sure what she was insinuating, but I didn’t like it one little bit. I know people side-eye grown men who get along well with kids, but that was bullshit.
“I’m also a family friend. I’ve known Piper since she was just a little older than Caleb. We grew up together, you could say.”
“And are the two of you close?”
I clenched my jaw tight. I had no idea what any of this had to do with anything, but I sucked it up and answered the damn question. “Yes, you could say that. She’s my sister’s best friend. We’re like family.”
“I see,” Ashley said. She studied my face for a little bit longer before turning her attention back to Caleb.
Caleb was standing behind me now, hiding and peering out from the other side of my leg. I should be on my way, it was none of my business, but how could I leave the little guy who was clinging to me for dear life? Pry his little hands from my leg? Hell no. I wasn’t about to do that. He was scared, and for some reason, I made him feel safe. I wasn’t sure what else I could do.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to do anything. Piper stepped up, and Caleb hurried over to her. She lifted him, and the two of them sat down in a nearby chair together. Ashley walked over to them, giving me a once over before resuming her questions for Piper and Caleb.
I turned to leave, but Caleb called my name.
“Grant! Stay, please?”
“I can’t, Caleb. I’ve got work to do.”
“I help again?”
Ashley looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I wasn’t sure what was allowed when it came to daycare services if helping me with handyman work could get Piper in trouble or not. Besides, they had a business to attend to.
“Sorry, little man. Not today.”
It killed me to walk away from him. What if the state took him away, what if I never saw him again? I stopped in the doorway and looked back at the three of them. Caleb had his thumb in his mouth, something I hadn’t seen from him do before. He looked so scared, and Piper looked like a nervous wreck too. I wanted to be there for them, but I wasn’t sure how - and it wasn’t really my place.
Ashley said something that made Caleb smile, then he laughed. Hearing that sound calmed my nerves a bit. Her job was to protect that little boy, and if she was good at her job, she’d see there was no better place for him than with Piper.
Ooo000ooo
“So I guess Andy hasn’t come home yet,” my sister said, shaking her head.
We were at the front desk, and she was leaning on it. Business was slow this time of day, everyone had either checked in or checked out, and I’d just finished fixing the heaters in one of the rooms for her.
“It’s Andy, what do you expect?” I shrugged.
“Yeah, but usually he calls or something. His voicemail box is still full, which, considering his addiction to working, doesn’t seem like a good business practice. If Piper can’t reach him, neither can his clients.”
She had a point. I didn’t know Andy all that well. Sure, we all went to school together, but he always thought he was too good for the rest of us. While Piper’s family had fallen on hard times after the car accident that took her mother and disabled her father, Andy’s family continued thriving. They were all lawyers, but none of them even bothered to reach out to Piper’s dad to offer their support. His own brother, Andy’s dad, lived in the same town as him and never stopped by for a visit.
I didn’t wish ill on anyone, but damn if I cared about whatever trouble he found himself in. My chest ached when I thought about the little boy he was screwing up by his selfishness, however.
“Does Teddy have any leads?”
“Nope. None of the people in his office has seen him all week, and they said he didn’t mention going on vacation. They can’t reach him either.”
I thought about Ashley Sutter, the woman who’d met with Piper. “So did Piper mention Social Services stopping by?”
Leah frowned, but nodded. “Yeah, she’s stressed. She’s freaking out a bit, worried they’ll take Caleb. I don’t think she has anything to worry about, though. I mean, who better to care for him than her, right?”
“You’d think so,” I muttered. “Have you talked to her since the meeting with them?”
“Not yet, figured I’d check in once she closes down for the evening. Didn’t want to distract her or get in the way, you know?”
“Yeah.” I’d felt the same way. I looked over at the clock and realized it was late enough, most of the kids had probably gone home already. “I’m going to check on something, then head out.”
I don’t know why I didn’t tell Leah where I was going or why. It felt weird to admit I cared about the outcome with Piper and Caleb. As far as I knew, Leah didn’t know about the time Piper and I almost hooked up, and I’d done my best not to give her any reason to suspect there was more going on between us than there was. We were essentially one big family, and I didn’t want to fuck that up because I thought Piper was hot as well.
But it was more than just my physical attraction to her that made me head over to the daycare. I was worried. Not just about her, but also for Caleb. I hated that I was becoming so attached to the little guy, especially since he could be ripped away from all of us at the whim of Social Services. The last thing I needed was to fail another little boy.
I walked over to the daycare, and as expected, it was mostly empty. Piper was on the floor with some toy trucks playing with Caleb, who was giggling as if nothing strange had happened. Piper seemed to be feeling better too. I was about to turn and leave, relieved to see that Caleb was still there and they were both smiling, but Caleb turned as I opened the door to leave.
“Grant!”
I couldn’t contain my smile at hearing his little voice call out my name. “Hey, Caleb,” I said, turning around just in time for him to run into my arms and hug me tightly. It was the first time he’d hugged me, and from the look on Piper’s face, she was pleasantly surprised.
“He doesn’t usually get this close to people this fast,” she said, standing up from the floor. “He really likes you.”
I had no idea why. Not like I’d done much for the kid. I’d let him hold a tape measure, that was about it.
He pulled away and tugged on my arm. “Come play.”
“I can’t, buddy. I’m heading home,” I said. Truthfully, I could have stayed and played but wasn’t sure it was good for either of us. I looked to Piper. “I just wanted to stop in and make sure everything went okay with Social Services?”
Her smile wavered a bit, but she lifted her head. “It went okay, I think. They’re going to come by my place this evening to inspect everything, then they’ll make their decision.”
Tears welled up in her eyes, and even though I wasn’t much of a hugger, I felt the urge to comfort her. I stepped closer, reaching out a hand, and squeezed her shoulder. She stared at me with wide eyes, seemingly shocked by even such a small gesture of affection.
“Everything will be fine.”
“I hope so,” she said with a long sigh. She stared up at the ceiling a second, wiping at her eyes until she could smile again. “We need to get going, Caleb. We have visitors coming by, remember?”
I looked down at him and found him pouting. His lower lip was trembling, and all smiles and giggles were gone. He wasn’t crying yet, but it reminded me of a ticking time bomb.
Piper dropped to her knees to be closer to him. “Oh no, sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
“Is Grant mad at me?” His voice trembled.
“Oh no, buddy,” I said, dropping down beside Piper. “I’m not mad at you. Why would you think I was mad at you?”
He didn’t answer, but I had a good idea. He’d asked to work with me earlier in the day, I’d said no. And just now, I’d said no to playing. He’d already lost so much, and for whatever reason, he was attached to me now. I couldn’t push him away.
Truthfully, I didn’t even know how to play or interact with kids. I had very little experience with children, and they made me uncomfortable. Not just because of the Afghan boy that I’d gotten close to and lost, but because I had no fucking idea what I was doing half the time. I was afraid I might cause them some harm or something.
But obviously pulling away from Caleb caused more harm than anything else I could have done. With a sigh, I looked at Piper. “Do you have a few minutes for us to play?”
She nodded, a faint grin on her lips. “Sure, I’ll finish closing up while you two play a bit.”
She stood up and went about her business, leaving me alone with the little guy. I had no idea what to say or to do when we were alone. How do you talk to a three-year-old? I had no idea.
Caleb led the way, however, taking my hand and guiding me back to the trucks. He picked up a fire truck and said, “This is Steve.”
“Steve? The fire truck has a name?”
The little boy nodded as if it was common sense that somehow I was too stupid to understand. “You take Steve.”
I took the fire truck and rolled it around on the floor. He had a dump truck he placed on the nearby table and pushed it across until it fell off on the other side. He burst into laughter that warmed my ice-cold heart right up.
“Your turn.”
Getting up off the floor with a prosthetic leg wasn’t as easy as when you had both your legs, and I struggled for a split second. It was enough that Caleb seemed to notice. He watched me but didn’t say a word, as I got down on my knees.
My jeans had slipped up on the leg, showcasing the metal prosthetic, and Caleb was now fascinated. He fell to the ground and lifted the pant leg up a bit more.
“What’s this?”
I didn’t like to talk about it. In fact, I tried to forget about my missing leg and how I’d lost it. But Caleb had his own struggles and might feel better if he knew more about my leg.
I left the fire truck on the table and sat back down on the floor. I raised my pant leg up further, almost to the knee, so Caleb could see it more clearly. His little eyes grew to the size of saucers. I wasn’t sure how to explain it in kid-friendly terms, but I did my best.
“I have a fake leg. It’s made of metal, like a robot.”
Caleb’s interest doubled. He sat down on the floor beside my leg and reached out, as if he wanted to touch it, but then retracted his hand as if he wasn’t sure if he should or wanted to.
“Go on, it’s okay.”
Caleb ran his tiny hand across the metal of the prosthetic, then looked at me. He looked back at the leg, as if he couldn’t make sense of what was happening.
I continued. “See? I also have trouble walking and running sometime.”
“You so big,” he said. “I am little.”
“You’ll be big one day too, little guy,” I explained.
Caleb seemed to think that over for a second, then frowned. “I don’t think so.”
“Yes, yes you will,” I laughed. “You’ll grow big and strong one day.”
There was so much doubt in his eyes as if he didn’t believe me. I was sure with his struggles, it was hard to imagine being big and strong and to be able to run around like the other kids. I decided that him not getting in to see a specialist was out of the question. I’d do whatever it took to make sure he got the help he needed so he could believe in his ability to grow big and strong too.
“Ready to go, kiddo?” Piper had come back into the room.
I pushed my pants leg down, trying to cover my prosthetic as much as possible. Piper was one of the few people who knew about my leg, but she’d never seen it. I didn’t let anyone see it. I didn’t want to remind them that I’d come back broken and damaged, even though the greatest damage wasn’t anything done to my body.
I didn’t want questions or people saying they were sorry. I hated the Goddamned pity I got from most folks when they’d heard about my leg. They seemed to care more about my lost leg than the families who were killed at the same time.
Piper had pretended not to see anything, or maybe she really hadn’t. She was one of the few people who didn’t press the issue. She treated me the same as she’d always treated me, and I respected the hell out of her for that.
Piper gathered Caleb, picking the toddler up in her arms to carry him out. As she bent down, I couldn’t help but notice the top two buttons from her blouse had come undone. My gaze fell on her small, round breasts that barely peeked out from her shirt. When she stood up, she looked me in the eye with a flush in her cheeks as if she’d caught me staring.
I cleared my throat and got back to my feet, unable to look her in the eye.
“Drive safely,” I grumbled as I hurried out of the daycare and into my truck.
Chapter 6
Piper
“Do you live alone, Ms. Davis?” Ashley asked as she looked around my tiny living room.
My home was on the small side. It was the same house I’d grown up in, after Dad had to downsize our larger family home. It was adequate for two people, but when we used to have the three of us there, it was a bit cramped. Since Dad had passed away and Tabby was mostly in Salt Lake City for college, it wasn’t too bad. Caleb didn’t take up much space.
“Well, my sister stays here a few days a week, when she’s not in class. She works part-time at the daycare,” I said. “But she’s already told me that the couch will be fine so Caleb can have her room, or she can find another place to stay. My best friend owns the hotel in town. It shouldn’t be a problem.”
I was babbling. I was overcompensating and giving her more information than she needed, but I wanted to be up front and honest, while also explaining that there’d be no issues.
She smiled and took a seat on my ragged old sofa. We’d had that thing since Dad was alive, and I knew we needed to replace it. It just wasn’t a priority for me.
I sat down in the rocking chair my grandma had left us, and Caleb climbed into my lap as opposed to sitting beside the strange woman. He hadn’t said much since she’d arrived, sucking on his thumb and watching her carefully.
“Caleb has a separate room here then? His own bed?”
“Yes,
and yes,” I said, pointing down the hallway. “Would you like to see it?”
“In just a few minutes, yes,” she said, writing something down.
She glanced around the room, and I wasn’t sure what she was looking for until her eyes landed on the smoke detector. She checked something off on her checklist.
“Does that have batteries?”
“Yes, I replace them at least once a year. My father was always diligent about those things, and after he was injured, I had to take over.”
She seemed pleased by this. Point for me. I hugged Caleb closer to me.
“And you have a car seat for him, correct?”
“Yes, his father gave me one the last time I watched him for a few days. It should still be good for a couple more months. Caleb is on the small side. I know all about the codes and weight limits and safety issues, keep track of recalls since I buy a lot of baby and children’s items for the daycare.”
“Good,” she said.
She asked me a grew more general questions, and it felt a little like one of my college tests. As usual, I strived to pass with flying colors.
When it came time for the tour, Caleb walked beside me, his hand in mine. I opened the door to Tabby/Caleb’s room and turned on the light. The room was small, hard to believe that two twin beds used to fit in there when we were younger. Now the room contained just one bed and a desk with a chair, plus a dresser and some bookcases.
Ashley stepped inside, and if the color scheme - all pink and purple, Tabby’s favorite colors - bothered her, she didn’t say much. It was decorated for a college student, not a toddler.
“I plan to put up some bed rails, I hadn’t expected him to stay for this long,” I commented. “And we’ll obviously make it more kid-friendly if he’s staying for more than a few days.”
“Of course,” Ashley said, offering her first friendly smile. “Hopefully Mr. Davis returns soon, so this will only be temporary.”
Junior For The Mountain Man Page 4