AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Anger I can deal with, and I could care less about gore.” He glanced between her and Brodie. “Maybe you both have some emotions bottled up that you need to pour out.”
“Five months of therapy only made my son erect more barriers, and no amount of prodding could entice him outside. Observing his father’s death not only put Brodie off of baseball but all outdoor sports.”
“Baseball never truly leaves a boy’s blood. The game will ebb and flow around school and girls and career and family,” Zeke’s attention shifted to Brodie, “until one day he hands over his worn, smelly glove to his own son.” He looked at her. “Be patient. The game will whisper in his blood again.”
“I hope so”—she swallowed back a lump of tears that kept edging into her throat—“Regardless, it’s good to see him outside, enjoying himself again.”
“He’s in a new space with new people. A certain amount of curiosity is natural.”
“Whatever it was that coaxed him out of his room, I’m grateful. Thank you for your kindness. I’m sure it’s tough to find alone time with so many people about.”
“He’s a good kid.”
Brodie and Sadie ran back to the shoot line.
“Mama, did you see me hit the bull’s eye? Well, almost. I clipped the corner.”
“I did, sweetheart.” She strode over and gave him a quick hug. “Let’s return your equipment. Zeke and I need to go to work.”
“One more round, Mama. Please. Sadie needs to shoot.”
She checked the clock on her phone, then looked at Zeke.
“We have time,” he said.
“One more round, then it’s time to clean up.”
Both kids’ faces lit up with grins. “Thank you!”
Sadie encouraged Brodie to shoot three more arrows before they traded places.
As the girl pulled back her first arrow, Brodie exclaimed, “Wait!” He moved the safety glasses from his face to hers and transferred the arm guard from his arm to hers. “Safety first.” Sadie smiled her thanks, waited for him to move back, and took aim.
Liv stared at Zeke. “You’ve made quite an impression on my son in a short amount of time.”
“Safety is one of the first lessons my dad taught us. Feeling safe boosts a person’s confidence. Safety plus confidence leads to fewer accidents.”
Zeke’s attraction for Brodie likely had more to do with his easy manner than his lesson on safety, but she’d let it go for now.
A shadow of unease danced around the edge of her conscience. She liked that Brodie felt comfortable around Zeke, but what would happen when the case ended, and they went home?
Was she setting up her son for another devastating heartbreak? She didn’t know, but every instinct in her body screamed for her to protect her son from further pain.
Liv’s phone chimed with a new text message. She dug it out of her back pocket and checked her screen.
Kayla: What are you wearing tonight?
Liv frowned. Did they have something going on? No, everything went into her calendar. If she had something scheduled tonight, she would’ve received a “one day before” notification yesterday.
Liv: Uh, why?
Kayla: Your mother’s dinner?!
An “Oh, shit” flush washed over her.
Liv: That’s tonight?
Kayla: Don’t even try to ditch. I’m not facing Nicola alone.
