Page 22 of Guarding Colton’s Witness

He pulled into a space at the restaurant. “Let’s start him off with one of those and a pepperoni and extra cheese.”

“That works. He’ll probably like the pepperoni best.”

He exited the car and after Matti got Sam out of the car seat, they walked inside with him in the middle, holding each of their hands. The restaurant was half full, and the hostess led them to a booth in front of the window. Ryan sat across from Matti and Sam.

A waiter walked by with a large pizza, and Sam’s eyes about popped out of his head. “Are we getting a big one like that?”

Ryan shook his head. “No, we’re going to get two smaller ones that are different, so you can try one of each. See which you like best.”

“I think I’m going to like everything.”

Matti laughed. “You and me both, kid.”

A waitress took their order, and as much as Ryan would have loved a beer with his pizza, not comfortable drinking in front of Sam considering his background, he settled for a glass of water. Matti also asked for water. Sam wanted a pop, and when he seemed overwhelmed by the choices, Matti told the waitress to bring him a root beer.

“I’m getting a beer?” he said after the waitress left.

“No,” Matti said. “A root beer is a soda.”

The things Sam didn’t know that every other child did still surprised Ryan, although it shouldn’t considering the boy didn’t know much about the world outside of a motel room. Matti had said she was going to take Sam shopping for new clothes this afternoon, but he still wore the clothes he’d arrived in. Ryan guessed the visit from her father had delayed that plan.

Turned out Sam liked the sausage and mushroom but loved “more than anything in the world” the pepperoni with extra cheese. He also wanted to know when he could have another root beer.

“I think we created a pizza and root beer monster,” he teased as he waited for the check.

A man walked in that Ryan recognized as the mayor. He’d never met the man, but he’d seen plenty of election-day posters when Ted Barrett had run for office. The mayor’s gaze swept the room and stopped at their table. A wide smile lit his face as he headed their way.

“Do you know the mayor?” he quietly asked Matti, since the man seemed to be coming straight to them.

She glanced up and smiled. “Teddy Bear,” she said when he reached their table.

Because he was looking at the man, Ryan saw a flash of annoyance before the mayor hid it. Someone didn’t like their nickname, and that amused him. Barrett struck Ryan as the poster boy for a politician; suave, tall, good-looking with his green eyes, perfect haircut, and perfect smile. From what Ryan heard about the man, he seemed to be a good mayor.

“Matti, how are you?”

“It’s been an interesting few days.”

“So I’ve heard.” He looked at Sam. “And who is this young man?”

“This is Sam. He’s staying with me for a few days.” She gestured to Ryan. “And this is my friend Dr. Ryan Palmer. Ryan, my brother and the mayor, Teddy Barrett.”

“It’s Ted. Good to meet you, Dr. Palmer.”

“You, too, Mayor, and just Ryan will do.” He was confused. This was one of her brothers?

“Want to join us?” Matti said.

Ted glanced over at the hostess stand. “Thanks, but I can’t. Got a budget meeting tonight. I promised to bring a pizza with me, and I see it’s ready to go.”

“He doesn’t like to be called Teddy,” Ryan said after Barrett got his pizza box and left the restaurant.

Matti giggled. “That’s why I do it. He was Teddy to us growing up, then all of a sudden one day he wants to be Ted. Sorry, but he’ll always be Teddy to me.”

“Why does your brother have a different last name?”

“He’s my foster brother. His grandmother, Annie Barrett, was…not exactly a nanny, but I guess you’d call her a mother’s helper. With six kids, it was a bit overwhelming for Mom, so Dad hired Annie to help her out. Annie would bring Teddy with her and he’d play with us. When he was twelve, Annie had a stroke and couldn’t care for herself. My parents got her into a nursing home. To keep Teddy from going into foster care, they took him in. He pretty much grew up with us.”

“I think he was lucky to be able to call the Coltons family.”