by Laura Scott
Her shoulders slumped in defeat when she realized it was gone. No doubt, the driver had taken advantage of her delay at the stop sign to disappear.
With a heavy sigh, she turned around in the parking lot of Pete’s Pub and made her way back to the townhouse. When she pulled into the driveway, she was shocked to discover Devon was waiting for them.
“Where did you go?” he asked, as she slid out from behind the wheel.
She hesitated, debating whether or not to tell him. She suspected he wouldn’t be happy with her, then again, it wasn’t as if they’d been in any danger.
“I saw a silver sedan parked across the street, so I tried to follow.” She opened the back passenger door, allowing Sebastian to scramble out.
“You, what?” he practically shouted.
“I just wanted to get the license plate number,” she said defensively. “But he blew past the stop sign, and I had to wait for Ms. Edna to cross the street, so I lost him.”
Dev stared at her for several long moments and she shifted restlessly beneath his glare. “Janelle, please don’t do something like that again,” he finally said in a soft tone. “You have no idea who that guy is or what he wants. I promise I’ll keep an eye on things for you, okay?”
She nodded, but tilted her chin stubbornly. “I know you will, but it is broad daylight on a Sunday afternoon so I highly doubt we were in any real danger.”
“Maybe not, but I’d rather you didn’t take any unnecessary chances.”
Okay, he did have a point. After all, Sebastian had already lost his mother; the poor kid didn’t have anyone else in the world but her. “What are you doing here?” she asked, changing the subject.
He rubbed the back of his neck, giving her the impression he was a bit embarrassed. “I just stopped by to practice Sebastian’s exchange one more time. You mentioned that he gets one in the early afternoon.”
“That’s true.” She was touched by the fact that Devon was taking his role in performing Sebastian’s exchanges seriously. “But we have plenty of time before it’s due, so there’s no need to hang out here the entire time if you have something else to do.”
He hesitated and shrugged. “Nothing more important than this. But I do have a question for you, is Sebastian allowed to play outside?”
She glanced down at her surrogate son. “Yes, he can play outside, as long as he’s careful. Running is difficult for him and I wouldn’t want him to fall down and injure himself.”
“I totally understand, but I was thinking we could maybe walk to the park and swing on the play set.” His earnest gaze met hers. “I promise to be careful with him.”
Janelle gave herself a mental shake, knowing that she was being over-protective to always think of the worst case scenario. “I trust you, Devon. If you want to walk down to the park with Sebastian I’m fine with that. And I forgot to mention that Sebastian goes to pre-school in the morning, so you’ll have to drop him off there after his exchange, around eight-thirty, and then pick him up by eleven-thirty. But that would give you time to head over to the park in the afternoon.”
“Great,” he said with a relieved smile. “If the weather is nice, we’ll give it a try.”
Dev’s smile transformed his features, making him even more attractive. She tore her gaze away from him with an effort. “Well, looks as if you have everything planned out for tomorrow, then.”
“Come on, Dev,” Sebastian said, tugging on Devon’s slacks. “You said we could play a game.”
“We have to check with your Aunt Janelle, first,” Devon reminded him.
“Puleeze, Nana,” Sebastian begged, his wide blue eyes imploring her to agree.
“All right,” she relented. “I have a few phone calls to make anyway.” She was determined to think positively about her chances of securing reliable daycare for Sebastian.
Sebastian let out a whoop of joy, waiting as Janelle unlocked the door before dragging Devon inside the townhouse.
She pulled out a crumpled slip of paper from her purse with a list of names and phone numbers of potential babysitters. One teenage girl in particular had just finished a nursing assistant program and was looking for a part time job. Janelle knew Tina Jamison would be in school during the morning hours, but maybe she could take care of watching Sebastian on the weekends.
Every little bit would help.
But after several calls, she began to lose hope. Tina’s mother had promised to pass on the message, but everyone else she spoke to had declined, too afraid of doing the peritoneal dialysis exchanges. One of the older women, Alice, who was a retired nurse hadn’t been home, so Janelle had left a message.
She set aside her phone with a sigh and dropped her head into her hands, fighting a wave of despair.
She’d prayed during church, and did so again now.
Dear Lord, please, please help me find a way to provide for Sebastian!
Dev tried to concentrate on the game, but he couldn’t help overhearing Janelle’s failed attempts to line up a babysitter for Sebastian.
Her dejected tone shot straight to his heart and it was all he could do to prevent himself from tossing the controller aside to go over and gather her into his arms.
He forced himself to stay where he was, since he knew that it wouldn’t be fair to act on his attraction to her. Especially since staying in Crystal Lake wasn’t part of his plan.
But he couldn’t deny the need to give her a shoulder to lean on. For her sake? Or his?
Giving himself a mental shake, he tried to think of anyone he knew who might be willing to help out. Getting someone with medical background would be nice, but it wasn’t a necessity. Parents without medical background had to learn how to do this kind of thing.
To be fair, he understood the hesitation to take on something as important as performing the child’s peritoneal dialysis treatments. He wasn’t exactly oozing confidence at the thought of doing them, either.
“Finish up your game,” Janelle said, interrupting his thoughts. “We have to get ready to do your exchange.”
“No! Don’t wanna!” Sebastian argued, his gaze never wavering from the television screen.
Devon hit the pause button, stopping the game. “That’s not a nice way to talk to your Aunt,” he said mildly.
Sebastian glanced over at Devon, his lower lip trembling. “None of the other kid’s hav’ta get exchanges.”
His heart squeezed painfully in his chest. What on earth could he say to that? “I know, champ, but you were the one who told me that they didn’t hurt, right?”
Sebastian stared down at the controller in his hand. “Right,” he mumbled.
Janelle crossed over and dropped onto the sofa beside the child. “Honey, you and I talked about this, remember? We’re going to keep praying that God will give you a kidney transplant so that you won’t need these exchanges anymore. But until then, this is the best way to keep you healthy so you can play with your friends.”
“I know.” Sebastian turned and burrowed into Janelle, seeking comfort. She pulled him closer and pressed a kiss to the stop of his head.
Devon couldn’t tear his gaze away from the pair, despite how much they reminded him of everything he’d lost. During church services he’d tried to take comfort in the fact that Debra was up in heaven with their unborn child, but it hadn’t been easy to let go of the anger at the senselessness of her death.
Why hadn’t God spared her life? Why had He taken her away? Dev knew that Janelle would say this was all part of God’s master plan, but he wasn’t entirely convinced.
Although it had occurred to him that it was possible God wanted him to follow in Steven’s footsteps, doing something important to make a difference in the world.
“Ready to do your exchange now?” Janelle asked softly.
Sebastian’s head bobbed up and down.
“Great. Stretch out on the sofa and let’s see if Dev can remember all the steps.”
He groaned. “A test? You’re making this a test?”
Sebastian glanced up with a reluctant smile, getting into the spirit of things. “Are you ready?”
“Sure,” he said, infusing confidence in his tone. It didn’t take him long to set the catheter to drain, that was the easy part. He studied the supplies, trying to remember everything he’d need. He glanced over toward Janelle. “He drains for a half-hour, right?”
“Right.”
He played another game with Sebastian while they waited, keeping an eye on the clock. Then he washed his hands again, and began the process of disconnecting the drainage bag. He clamped the open end, then set it aside so he could begin the new infusion. This time wasn’t nearly as stressful, and when he finished, he felt a surge of satisfaction. “All set.”
“Nice job,” Janelle praised him. “You were awesome.”
He grinned like a fool, then carried the old bag into the bathroom to dispose of the contents in the toilet. After disposing of the used equipment, he washed his hands again.
“I don’t think these hands have ever been so clean,” he joked upon returning to the living room.
“Tell me about it, you have no idea how many times I wash my hands at work.”
He could well imagine. When he glanced at the clock, he winced. “Listen, I have to run or I’ll be late for work.”
“I completely understand,” Janelle said, rising to her feet. “I’ll finish up the exchange, no problem.”
He felt guilty for leaving before it was finished, but didn’t have much choice. “All right, then. I’ll call you later.”
“Sounds good.” Janelle walked with him to the front door and he noticed she gave a quick glance outside to make sure there were no cars lingering in the street.
“Try not to worry, okay? I’ll drive by every hour to check on you.”
“Okay, thanks again, for everything.”
He didn’t want to leave, but forced himself to turn and walk away, her citrusy scent staying with him even after he changed into his uniform.
During roll call, he expected to hear about more robberies, but there was no mention of anything suspicious. In fact, it appeared that other than breaking up a drunk and disorderly and handing out a couple of speeding tickets, nothing much had happened on the previous shift.
Dev knew he should be glad there wasn’t a lot of crime in Hope County, especially in the downtown area of Crystal Lake, but all this proved to him was that he was right to have put in his application at all the big city police departments. He absolutely needed to do something more important with his life than driving around small town, Wisconsin.
Although for some reason the thought of leaving Janelle and Sebastian behind bothered him.
Far more than it should.
Janelle didn’t sleep well that night. Not because she was afraid of the silver car, but because she was anxious about leaving Sebastian alone with Devon to return to work.
She loved her job in the ER, and knew Dev was more than capable of doing Sebastian’s exchanges. However, she still tossed and turned, waking up to every little noise and glaring at the clock as she ticked off one hour at a time.
At five o’clock in the morning, she gave up trying to sleep. She jumped in the shower and quickly dressed in her forest green scrubs. She pulled her hair back into a pony tail, mostly to keep it out of the way. A patient had once grabbed her by the hair, yanking hard enough to bring tears to her eyes. Not an experience she cared to repeat.
She brewed a pot of coffee and then decided to make breakfast, figuring it was the least she could do for Devon. She owed him far more than she could ever repay, considering he was giving up his two days off to babysit her son.
Her son.
She loved Sebastian more than she thought possible. She smiled as she mixed pancake batter. Hard to believe how much her life had changed in the last month.
For the better.
Granted she still had obstacles to overcome, the largest one being finding a babysitter, but despite the trials she and Sebastian had been through, she wouldn’t give him up for anything.
She poured round circles on the electric griddle and then sipped her coffee as she kept an eye on the pancakes. Glancing at her watch, she wondered if Sebastian would wake up before she had to leave.
The pancakes didn’t take long to cook and she stacked them on a plate and covered them with a clean dishtowel to help keep them warm. At six fifteen, there was a soft knock at the door and her heart leapt with anticipation.
Ridiculous, she admonished herself, smoothing her hands over her scrubs before heading over to answer the door. Devon was only here out of kindness, nothing more.
“Good morning,” he said, his low husky voice sending a fission of awareness tingling down her spine. He looked amazing, and smelled even better. His dark hair damp from a recent shower and the woodsy scent of his aftershave made her long for something she dared not name.
“Good morning,” she responded, striving for a light-hearted tone. “I just finished making breakfast.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” he protested as he crossed the threshold. He sniffed the air and grinned. “Pancakes. Let me guess, another of Sebastian’s favorites.”
She chuckled. “Of course. I should mention that I have been keeping him on a low salt diet because of his kidneys so that’s the only reason I haven’t made ham, bacon or sausages for you.”
“Am I complaining?” he asked with an arched brow.
“No, you haven’t.” But Lane had, bitterly. Just another reason she should have gotten rid of him sooner. “Coffee?” she offered, as they walked into the kitchen.
“Sure.” He glanced around in surprise. “Sebastian isn’t up yet?”
“No, but if he’s not awake by six forty-five, you’ll need to go in and start draining his catheter. The entire process takes a good ninety minutes.”
“Okay, no problem.”
She finished her coffee and then set her mug in the sink, feeling self-conscious under his intense gaze. “I’m going to head into work early, if that’s okay. You have my cell number, right?” He nodded. “Call me if you have any questions.”
“I will,” he assured her. “Don’t worry, I can handle this.”
“I know. Thank you for doing this, I’m not sure how I’ll ever repay you.”
“No need to repay me,” he quickly interjected. “This is what friends are for.”
Friends. The word shouldn’t have made her depressed. She slipped her purse over her shoulder and headed outside, shoving aside a wave of guilt.
Sebastian and Devon would be fine. She had patients to take care of.
Devon managed to do Sebastian’s exchange, feed him breakfast, get him dressed, and dropped off at pre-school with one minute to spare.
He nearly collapsed in his truck, wondering how on earth Janelle had coped with this all by herself.
Three hours of free time didn’t seem like much, but he knew he couldn’t afford to waste a minute. He dashed home, threw in a load of laundry and then paid a few bills and balanced his checkbook. Small tasks, but necessary if he was going to spend the afternoon playing babysitter. Two loads of laundry later, he estimated he’d have just enough time to stop at the grocery store for a few basic essentials before he was scheduled to pick Sebastian up again.
He was feeling pretty confident when he arrived at the pre-school with five minutes to spare. So far, so good.
Sebastian came outside with several other boys, and he was glad the kids seemed to accept him as one of their own. Sebastian’s face puckered in a frown, but then he noticed Dev and broke into a relieved smile.
“Hey, champ, how was school today?” he asked as he helped Sebastian climb up into his booster seat.
“Good,” the boy answered. “Joey’s mom is going to take him to the park after lunch, can we go too?”
“Yes, as long as you take your medicine and do your exchange without argument.”
Sebastian wrinkled his nose at the medicine, but once they were back at
Janelle’s townhouse, he swallowed the antibiotic without complaint.
He made Sebastian a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch and then focused on doing the exchange. Dev thought it would be easier without Janelle watching over his shoulder, but he was so afraid of missing a step, or contaminating something, that he kept double checking his work.
“There, all finished,” he said in relief. “Once the fluid is in, we’ll head over to the park.”
“Goody,” Sebastian said on a wide yawn.
“Rest for a bit before we go,” he suggested. “I have to clean up the kitchen.”
The fact that Sebastian didn’t put up a fight proved the boy was truly tuckered out. Janelle hadn’t said anything about the boy needing a nap, but maybe she assumed he’d know that?
Sebastian dozed in front of the television, but when Dev crossed over to disconnect the bag, his eyes popped open. “Is it time to go to the park?”
He had to suppress a laugh. “Yes, we can go now.”
The park wasn’t far away, and Dev was glad to see there were other kids playing there, too. Sebastian ran over to meet with his friend Joey.
Dev swept a glance over the area, searching for the silver sedan but didn’t see anything. Last night, he hadn’t seen the vehicle, either.
The boys played on the swing set and then ran over to the small merry-go-round. “Give us a push, Dev,” Sebastian shouted.
He did as they asked, putting a little muscle into it. The merry-go-round spun in a circle and the boys squealed in glee.
“Again! Do it again!”
He spun them around again, but suddenly Sebastian went flying backward, landing on the grass with a thud, and letting out a high-pitched scream.
Dev rushed over, his heart thundering with fear. What if he’d hurt Sebastian?
Janelle would never forgive him.
He’d never forgive himself.