“So, how is he?” Brodie asked, climbing the porch steps to stand next to his wife. He wrapped an arm around her and she smiled up at him.
Haley swallowed. They reminded her of her parents back when things were still good, and of the kind of relationship she’d always thought she’d have.
“Buddy?” Savvy asked him. “I didn’t realize we knew his name. Was he wearing a collar?”
“No,” Haley said, “but apparently Gavin named him when they found him.”
“Did he, now?” Savvy asked with a grin.
“From what he told me earlier, it wasn’t intentional,” Brodie said with a chuckle. “But, anyway, how’s he doing?”
“He’s doing...” Haley paused. She didn’t want to say something that wasn’t true, and the little dog was a far cry from being out of the woods. “He’s doing okay.”
Brodie’s mouth slid down and he gave her a single nod. “Well, we’ll just have to pray for him to be doing better than okay soon,” he said as Haley saw Eli hop off the bus, with Gavin right behind him. They wore bright blue T-shirts that matched those of the other boys currently climbing out of the bus.
Eli said something to Gavin and then took off running toward Haley. She smiled at the boy but kept an eye on the big man also making his way toward Brodie and Savvy’s front porch.
In addition to the bright blue T-shirt, Gavin Thomason wore well-worn jeans and tennis shoes. Nothing overly fancy, for sure, and similar to what Brodie and the other cabin counselors wore. But on Gavin, with the T-shirt accenting the firm, broad planes of his chest and shoulders, coupled with the jeans outlining lean hips and long legs, he looked more like a walking advertisement for an outdoor apparel store.
She caught herself staring, which really couldn’t be prevented. He was just so easy on the eyes. But she glanced away in time to see that Savvy hadn’t missed her reaction. One corner of her mouth had curved upward and Haley did her best to act like she hadn’t noticed.
“Miss Haley! Did you bring Buddy? Is he better already?” Eli’s feet slid to a stop near the bottom of the porch steps, where he dropped his jacket, mittens and bright yellow shin guards that matched his soccer cleats. “Did you? Is he here?”
She was grateful the sweet boy interrupted the uncomfortable moment and, hearing the hope in his tone, almost hated showing him the backpack. “Buddy is still at my office so I can take care of him, but I did bring you this.” She held up the bag. “I thought you could use it for school tomorrow.”
His expression fell in one big swoop. “Oh. Okay.”
Gavin neared the porch, his jaw set firm and those intense blue eyes focusing on the little boy, barely acknowledging Haley or the other adults. “Eli, we talked about how it would take some time for Buddy to get better, right?”
“Yes, sir,” Eli said solemnly, climbing the steps toward Haley. “Thank you for bringing my backpack.”
“You’re welcome.” She couldn’t stand the sadness in his face, or his tone, so she added, “And I look forward to you coming tomorrow afternoon to visit Buddy. I know he’ll be happy to see you.”
As she’d hoped, his mouth eased into a slight smile, full cheeks lifting with the action. “I will be happy to see him, too.” Then his eyebrows inched up and he asked, “Hey, can you take him something for me, Miss Haley?”
“Take Buddy something?” She saw Brodie and Gavin exchange a look. “Um, sure. I’d be happy to. What do you have for him?”
Eli unzipped the backpack and rummaged through binders and papers until he found what he was looking for. A small library book. “I get to check out two books, ’cause I’m in the second grade. I can keep one for me to read, and you can take this one to read to him, if he wants to hear a story before he goes to bed.”
Haley squatted to be eye to eye with the little boy. “Eli, that’s so sweet. But I don’t want to mess up your library book.”
“You’ll be careful.” He put the book in her hand.
She glanced up to catch Savvy holding a hand to her chest. “You’re right... I will be careful. And I’ll read it to him tonight, when I go back to check on him.”
“You promise?”
No way could she let him down. “I promise.”
“It’s a chapter book. You might not be able to read it all to him tonight, but you can do your best.”
Haley was instantly reminded of her words to Gavin earlier, that she would do her best to heal the puppy. She glanced up to see his stern expression and assumed he recalled the same statement. “Yes, I will.”
“I’ll show you my favorite part.” He opened the book.
That’s when she noticed his hands, not moving as easily as she’d have expected for a boy his age. Then she saw the wrinkled skin across the top. When he turned the pages, she also noticed the fingers that weren’t quite complete, the skin and bone melded together to join digits that should have been separate.
Her breath caught in her throat and she looked up to see Gavin, those blue eyes staring directly at her, telling her without words that she should maintain her composure...for Eli’s sake.
Eli, swiftly moving through the pages despite his gnarled hands, smiled broadly when he got to the one he wanted. “This part. It’s about when the boy finds his dog, like when I found Buddy.”
Haley didn’t know how much more her heart could take. She forced a smile. “I’ll be sure to read that part to him.”
Eli handed over the book, wrapped both arms around her and gave her a hug. “Thank you, Miss Haley. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She inhaled the outdoorsy scent of a boy who’d been running on the soccer field, a combination of a little sweat, a lot of dirt and an abundance of...adorable. She squeezed a hug in return. “I can’t wait to see you again, Eli.”
And she meant every word.
“Okay, then—” Gavin ran a palm across the top of Eli’s head “—you should go get your shower and get ready for bed now.”
“You’ll come read some more to us before we go to bed, Mr. Gavin?”
“I always do.” Gavin reached out and ruffled Eli’s hair as he walked away. The boy grinned back at the man who undeniably held a special spot in his world.
Regardless of his gruffness, he had such a soft spot for that child.
“I should start getting the guys moving toward bed,” he said, nodding his goodbye and then turning to follow Eli toward the cabin.
But Haley couldn’t end her day without knowing what happened to that poor child. “Wait!”
* * *
Gavin didn’t need this, not today. But he’d seen the moment Haley Calhoun had noticed Eli’s hands and he’d prayed she wouldn’t want to discuss it.
But his heart had told him that she would.
Why hadn’t she asked Savvy or Brodie? And why hadn’t he made it to his cabin before she’d called out to stop his retreat from the attractive—and unnerving—woman?
Bracing himself as her footsteps approached, he stopped and turned to face her. “Yes?”
She glanced behind her toward Brodie and Savvy, now standing in front of their cabin speaking to several of the teen boys. “Can we talk in private for a moment?”
No. That was what he wanted to say. Not only because there weren’t a whole lot of private places to talk at Willow’s Haven—it was always saturated with