Page 28 of Icebound Hearts

Sawyer turns to me. “You’re apparently the decoration mastermind. What do you think?”

“I love it,” I say, smiling.

“Yes!” Jake pumps one fist in the air, letting go of the poster. It flutters down the side of the stairs to the floor, but Sawyer picks it up and goes to the kitchen.

“We’ll need to find some tape or string or something to hang it with,” he calls.

“I think there’s some in the junk drawer in there,” I call back as I follow him with Jake hot on my heels.

“Oh, you’ve already found that, huh? That’s embarrassing,” he says as he opens the exact drawer by the fridge I was referring to.

I shrug. “Everyone’s got one. Jake and I were looking for glue and stuff like that, so that’s how I found it.”

Sawyer pulls out a small ball of red yarn, not string, and holds it up. “Not exactly what I had in mind, but it’ll do. Think you can handle hanging it, buddy?” he asks Jake, who jumps up and down excitedly.

“Definitely!”

“You might need this too then.” I pick up the small hole punch I also found in the drawer last night and hand it to Jake. “Be careful with it though. We don’t want you losing any fingers.”

Sawyer hands the poster and yarn back to Jake, and the kid tears off back to the stairs to hang it. Sawyer smiles at me. “That was really nice. Thank you.”

I shrug. “It really was Jake’s idea. I just helped bring it to life.”

Sawyer checks to make sure that Jake is out of earshot, then leans closer to me. “Is buying the stuff to make this what caused your account to overdraft?”

I will my face not to flush, but it does anyway. “No, that wasn’t it.”

“That’s good,” he says, thankfully leaving it at that. He glances away and spots the mail I brought in sitting on the kitchen counter and moves for it, filing through the few pieces. “Oh, perfect, it came.” He holds up a nondescript white envelope.

“What did?”

He tears the envelope open and unfolds a piece of paper inside. A freshly printed credit card is stuck to the inside of it, and he peels it off before holding it out to me. “Your new company credit card. No limits.”

I stare at the card for a second before my eyes drift up to his, and I let out a little laugh. “You’re joking, right?”

He looks from me to the card and back again. “It has your name on it. Does it look like I’m joking?”

“Sawyer, no. You don’t have to do this.” I know this has to be because of what I told him the other night, and while I’m flattered that he wants to help, I push his hand away. But he sticks the credit card back out at me again.

“I know I don’t. But I want to.” He flips the card between his fingers, his eyes warming. “Besides, the company offered me a bonus for adding an authorized user, so it’s a win-win.”

“Sawyer…”

“I want you to be able to spend money on Jake without having to worry about it. And on yourself if you need it, no questions asked.”

I stare at him, unsure what to say. He really doesn’t have to do it, but there’s a part of me that’s blown away that he is. My eyes start to burn with tears, but I will them back and take the credit card from him to stick it in my pocket.

“Thank you,” I whisper quietly.

“Of course.”

“Daddy!” Jake calls out as he comes thundering back into the kitchen. “Can we go get ice cream? You know, to celebrate you being home?”

Sawyer shoots me a look. “I’ve created a little ice cream monster by taking him to the new shop at Cherry Street Mall all the time. Probably not one of my best parenting decisions.”

“Maybe not. But Jakedidmake you a nice welcome home poster.”

He smiles at me, a playful twinkle in his eye. “True. I guess that deserves something nice in return.” He looks down at Jake and pauses for a second, and Jake rocks back and forth on his heels, dying to get an answer from his dad. “Alright, let’s go.”

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