Page 29 of Shattered Dreams

Richard

“Alrighty, boys, are you hungry?” I looked down into three hopeful faces that nodded eagerly. “Let’s find some food for your mama, and you.”

The three of them stayed near us as we walked up the midway, checking out all the food stands.

“Looks like we’ve got the standard hot dogs, corn dogs, and hamburgers.” Jeremy turned towards me. “Oh! Pizza on a stick!”

“I likes pizza!” Grady’s eyes lit up.

“Mm, I like hot dogs.” Harrison added.

Jeremy held his hand out for Grady. “C’mon, let’s go get us one.”

“Tyler?” Andrew held his hand out. “What would you like?”

“Corn dog.”

We split up each with a boy and got in line. Once we had our food, we met back in the middle as we ate.

Tyler dropped his corn dog and all three boys let out a gasp of horror. I turned to see what had happened and saw tears in his eyes. Harrison handed his hot dog to his brother, then patted his back.

“It’s okay, Ty. You need to eat.”

Reaching out, I tapped Harrison’s shoulder and handed him the spare dog I had. “I’m a big brother, too. I know what it’s like to take care of your brothers.”

Grady’s face twisted up, and he shuddered out a breath before loudly whispering. “Are you gonna hit him?”

“No.” I shook my head and crouched down on their level. “Accidents happen.”

All three boys looked around at each other and I saw their shoulders relax.

Andrew’s nostrils flared out. “Do you boys get in trouble a lot?”

Harrison shook his head, and the ketchup and mustard made a trail down his cheek. “Not at grandpa’s.”

“But dad used to get mad all da time.” Tyler nodded and took another bite of his hot dog.

Jeremy crouched down. “You boys are safe at grandpa’s and if you ever need us, we’ll be there.”

“Where’s you live?” Tyler smiled, showing off a missing tooth.

“Behind you, silly.” Jere ruffled his hair before standing. “What should we bring back to your mom and sisters to eat?”

“Jo likes the deep-fried cheese and veggies.” I stood up.

“How’d you know?” Harrison looked at me in awe.

“She’s one of my best friends.” I smiled down at him. “Hey guys? Did your daddy ever get mad at her?”

All three nodded, and Grady crinkled his nose. “Harrison bited him once to save me.”

“And I bited him once to save mommy.” Tyler puffed up his chest.

My heart stopped beating. I’d heard snippets of conversations between Ma and Mrs. Whitman about her husband being as bad as our dad.

Guilt flooded through me.

I should’ve pushed harder, found a way to protect her.

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