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“Well, maybe we can take a pic of it for your mom. That way she can see that it’s okay.”
Adam reached into his pocket. “I can FaceTime her.”
Before he could say anything, the phone was ringing through. Brian wasn’t sure how he felt about seeing the woman again who had kissed him on the side of that busy Cheyenne road. He still wasn’t exactly sure how they’d come to be here, living directly beside him, without him knowing. Great investigator he was. He’d seen the family moving in, but hadn’t seen the people, just the big moving truck.
After a couple of beeps, the line was picked up. “Adam, what’s wrong?”
“Um, I kind of fell. In a trash can.”
“What?” Sage’s husky voice raised with incredulity. “Why did you fall in a trash can?”
“Because I was standing on the lid to talk to Brian. I obviously overestimated the yield strength of the plastic, because it gave under my weight.”
Silence stretched on the other end, and Brian leaned close enough to see Sage, but stay out of view himself. It was like a punch to the gut. She was as beautiful as he remembered. Her rust-colored hair was drawn back into a tight bun, with some wispy bangs on the front. Her mouth was open a little as she absorbed her son’s words.
“Did you say Brian? Adam Blake Harrison, what did you do?”
Adam winced and turned the phone toward him, catching him staring. Blinking, Brian lifted a hand and waved. “Hey, Sage. Nice to see you again.”
“Hey,” she said faintly, tucking some stray hair behind her ear. “Um, I’m not sure what to say right now. Adam, are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he grumbled. “Brian had to help me out of the can and I kind of scraped the back of my arm. He’s cleaning it up for me.”
“Thought you might want to see it before I covered it up,” Brian said. He took the phone and positioned it so that Sage could see the arm.
“Oh, buddy. I think you’ll live. Do you need me to come home?”
Adam hesitated, his gaze flicking to Brian. “No, I’ll be okay.”
“He can hang here if he wants,” Brian said before he could think better of it. What the hell was he going to do with a kid under foot?
“Are you really right next door?” she asked, voice incredulous.
Brian turned the phone and nodded at her. “Literally, across the fence.”
Sage sighed, rubbing her forehead. “Adam, you know we’re going to have to talk about this.”
Brian turned the phone toward him, and Adam shifted, looking down. “I know, Mom.”
“Then Brian, I would appreciate it if you would watch over my son for a few hours.”
“Got it.”
“I have to go. We just got a call. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”
And she hung up. Brian handed the phone to Adam, who slipped it into his pocket. He finished bandaging the boy’s arm and threw the trash away. Adam hadn’t bled very much, but he didn’t need to see the bandages.
“Shit, my steak!”
Brian hurried out to the deck and the grill. The top had been open when he’d gone for the ball and that was the only thing that saved the steak. It was a little more well-done than he liked, but edible. “Have you had dinner?” he asked the boy as he carried the plate in.
The kid’s gaze latched onto the steak. “Not yet. Mom left me something in the fridge but I’m not sure what.”
Brian headed to the freezer. He had some veggies he could microwave. And he could add an extra potato. Oh, wait, that had been his last one. Well, he could cut it in half and share with the kid.
Adam kept looking down at the bandage on his arm.
“Did I make it too tight?” Brian asked.
