Page 34 of Her Saviors

Gavin disappears back to the bathroom off of our room. My eyes fill with tears and I don’t bother holding them back as they slide silently down my face. Kyler notices and places his little hand on my arm without saying a word. He’s giving me comfort in the only way he can as I smile sadly down at him. Kyler is such a loving little boy and is always there for his sister. The second Mia starts crying, Kyler stops what he’s doing and jumps up to race to her side. Jayce and I have both watched him do it. That’s the only time we see him display any emotion as he whispers to her. It honestly makes me wonder how often Kyler had to comfort his baby sister since she was born.

Being back in Odin’s Gap is surreal. I left with just Jayce and Gavin and we’re returning with a little boy and baby girl. Jayce drove us home while Gavin sat up front for the first time since I’ve come into their lives. I told him to sit up there so I could be in the backseat with the kids. Mia would need bottles made for her and Kyler would need help with the snacks Jayce bought for our trip. Plus, I knew we’d be stopping through drive-thrus at the very least to get food on the trip home. It’s just easier for me to be back here with them instead of up front and leaving Gavin to try to figure out what to do when he can’t stay out of his head long enough to do much good for anyone around him.

Jayce pulls up to our house and the other SUVs pull up behind us. Apparently everyone is coming to our house for some reason. I know the guys are really worried about Gavin and want to be there for him. The ol’ ladies know enough to realize that this is a time for the men to step in and help their friend and brother while they remain in the background as silent support. These men served in the military together and know how each other deals with certain things.

The other ol’ ladies and I get all the kids into the house with Fetch’s help, leaving the men outside. While Nanny heads to the kitchen, which has me grinning, Fetch sets uptwoplaypens so the sleeping babies can be laid down. Fetch looks down at Kyler, who is dogging his steps and grins. “Hey, little man, I’ve got a dog named Jethro. Do you wanna meet him?”

Kyler’s eyes go wide as he nods. “I like doggies,” he whispers, causing all of us to gasp. He really hasn’t said much of anything and right now, I could kiss Fetch for managing to break through the walls that Kyler seems to have built around himself since being taken to the social services building and learning his parents weren’t coming home again.

“Why don’t you play with my phone, I have this cool game on it, and I’ll go get him, okay?” Fetch asks, pulling his phone out of his pocket. It didn’t take him long to replace the burner phone with the newest version of what he already had because he likes playing games during any downtime he has and the burner phone didn’t allow for that, so he finally parted with some of his money.

“Okay,” Kyler says, taking the phone from Fetch, who quickly opens up a game and shows him how to play it.

“I’ll be back in a few, ladies,” Fetch announces.

We nod as we settle around the table while Nanny bustles around. She looks over at me and says, “Think you may want to start a list of things you’re gonna need for the kids.”

My eyes widen because with all of us gone, there was no one to take care of the basics at least. We’re going to need a crib, a bed, dressers, more clothes. . . feeling faint, I drop my head only to feel a hand squeeze my shoulder. “We’re gonna help you make that list,” Robynn announces, pulling a pad of paper and a pen out of the giant bag she carries.

“Thank God,” I murmur, completely overwhelmed. However, knowing that my sisters have my back shores me up and I take the items Robynn hands me and write down the obvious furniture items first.

Each of the ol’ ladies add items based on what was packed up at the kids’ old house, and soon, we have a rather extensive list.

“Can we order anything so we’re not taking every vehicle the club has to get it all?” Cricket questions, giggling.

“Maybe some of the clothes because they’ve got plenty for the time being, but they’re gonna need some warmer things as we move into winter,” Robynn replies. “We can also go online and order the furniture for pickup, too, to save some time.”

“I’ll go get the laptop so we can do that,” I say, standing.

“Fetch! What the fuck?” I hear Jayce yell then Jethro bark as the front door is opened.

Fetch’s voice comes through as he says, “Kyler wants to meet him. Hespokey’all.”

“Carry on then, but if he shits in my house, you’re cleaningallthe floors,” Jayce retorts.

By now, we’re all giggling and even Nanny joins in as Fetch and Jethro make their way into the kitchen, where Nanny coaxed Kyler so she could give him a snack. He’s still playing the game, but alternating between sipping his juice and eating some crackers and cheese.

“Sit, Jethro,” Fetch commands once he’s next to Kyler, whose eyes are so big he looks like one of those anime characters. “Now, shake,” he says, pointing to Kyler.

When Jethro’s paw lightly touches Kyler’s hand, the little boy starts giggling and I feel the tears welling up and falling down my face. He sounds like a normal kid, not one who has gone through such a tragedy. Fetch shows him how to shake Jethro’s paw while the dog’s tail thumps against the floor and his tongue lolls out.

“Once you’re done with your snack, we’ll take him out back and I’ll show you what he likes to do, okay?” Fetch asks.

“Okay,” Kyler says, looking at his plate, which only has a few more crackers.

“Take your time, little man, he’s not goin’ anywhere, I promise.”

Jayce enters the house to watch Kyler eat his snack while keeping an eye on Jethro. When Kyler notices Jayce, he points at Fetch’s dog. “Doggie sit.”

Jayce’s eyes widen in shock as a large smile fills his face. “The doggie is sittin’. Are you gonna go out and play with him when you’re done?”

“Yes,” Kyler whispers as if he’s not sure if he’s allowed to go out and play with Jethro and Fetch.

“That sounds fun, Kyler. You stay with Fetch and we’ll be around if you need us,” Jayce tells him as he remains in the house with us.

As Kyler finishes his snack and cleans up his place at the table, Fetch leads Jethro to the back door to wait for the little boy. The women have everything ordered already and we don’t have more than an hour to wait to pick up the furniture. While we wait for it to get ready, we plan on going shopping for the things we didn’t order. Food for the kids, formula for Mia, some toys and games, bedding, and more clothes we can actually hold in our hands instead of just ordering online.

“Jayce, we’re gonna head out. Who do you want us to take with us?” I ask my husband walking up to him as the girls grab what they need to head out.

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