AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He likes you.” I grinned.
Groot squirmed, demanding more pats.
“His name is Groot.”
“Hello Groot,” the little boy said. His voice was soft and husky, like he hadn’t spoken for a long while.
“Would you like to hold him?”
Once again, the sun beamed in his face. “Can I?”
“Is that a little kid’s voice?” Lucas asked.
“Yes,” I answered both of them.
Keeping my actions modulated and slow, I scooped up Groot—now a wriggling, tail-wagging bundle of excitement—and gently deposited him on the boy’s lap.
Giggles all round, growing happier and louder as Groot licked his face.
“Why are you talking to a boy?” Lucas asked. Phew, he no longer sounded frustrated or worried. Now he sounded puzzled. Puzzled was okay. I was puzzled by my new little companion. “Who is he?”
“His tongue tickles.”
I laughed at the boy’s giggled observation. “It does, doesn’t it.”
An enthusiastic nod, followed by more giggles.
“What’s your name?”
He became still, his tiny, dirty arms wrapping around Groot. Groot tried to lick his face again. “Bobby.”
I smiled. “Hi Bobby. I’m Ronnie. Are you here with someone? Your parents?”
His bottom lip wobbled and he closed his eyes and pressed his face into Groot. “Daddy told me Mommy doesn’t want me anymore.”
My skin turned cold. Clammy. A hot lump filled my throat. “Where’s your daddy?”
He shook his head against Groot.
“Ronnie?” Lucas said in my ear. “Did he say his name was Bobby?”
“Yes,” I whispered, stare fixed on Bobby’s head. He was hugging Groot like he was the most important thing in his life.
“What does he look like?”
I frowned. “Thin. Brown hair. Maybe six or seven. Wearing a Spiderman T-shirt. I think he has freckles but it’s hard to tell. He’s very dirty.”
“Ronnie.” My pulse thumped into overdrive at the serious tone in Lucas’s voice. “I think your new little friend may be Robert Walker. He’s been on the news for the last few days. His father snatched him last week when a divorce judge denied him visitation rights.”
My stomach dropped. My head began to roar.
“Bobby?” Gently—so gently—I smoothed my hand over Bobby’s back. My God, I could feel the bones of his spine. And the trembles quaking through him. “Is your last name Walker?”
“Mommy’s last name is Walker,” he mumbled into Groot. “Daddy says my last name has to be Singer now.”
I closed my eyes. Shit.
“Bobby?”
