Page 59 of Icebound Hearts

“Any requests for this story?”

Jake reaches for Chewy and holds the tattered rabbit up to me. “Tell me Chewy’s origin story! Where did he come from?”

“You mean you don’t already know? Chewy comes from the beautiful, faraway land of Hoppington, of course.”

“Hoppington? That’s silly,” Jake says but giggles.

“Haven’t you heard of it? It’s where all the best bunnies come from.”

“Then Chewy probably fits right in! But how did he get here? And does he miss his mommy and daddy?”

“Chewy came to Colorado like everyone else: on an airplane. It was a direct flight from Hoppington.” Jake giggles again, and I feel silly making all of this up on the spot, but he seems to be enjoying it, so I decide to keep going. “He definitely misses his family, and they miss him too, but Chewy’s a grown rabbit, so it was time for him to leave Hoppington and make his own way.”

Jake glances up at me tentatively. “Ms. Violet?”

“Yes, sweetie?”

“Are you going to leave us someday too?”

It’s an innocent, earnest question, but coming from him—and knowing his history with his mom—it pierces my heart like a jagged shard of glass. I smile at him and give him a squeeze. “Yeah, I am. But that’s not going to be for a while, so we don’t need to worry about it now.”

“But when?”

“In a few more months.”

“Why?”

“Well, I’m starting a new job in California, buddy. So I have to move there. But that doesn’t mean you won’t see me anymore.”

Jake twists in my arms and his eyes dart to mine. “Really?”

“Yeah! My brother will still be here, so I’ll be back all the time to visit him. And I promise, every time I come back, I’ll be sure to visit you too.”

Jake’s face lights up. “Really? Youpinky promise?” He sticks out one of his little pinkies at me, so I hook mine around his and smile at him.

“Pinky promise. I mean, how could I visit and not want to see you?”

Jake beams for a second, but it falls off his face just as quickly when something else strikes him. “Mommy said that too.”

It takes everything I have not to wince at those four words. Jake is such a sweetheart and a well-behaved kid, so I can’t imagine why Miriam wouldn’t want to see him more often or have anything to do with him the way she does. But it’s not my place to get in the middle of all that, and I don’t want to accidentally make Jake feel even worse by saying the wrong thing, so I just give him another hug.

“Do you think I’m a bad kid, Ms. Violet?” he asks, his voice muffled against my chest while we hug.

“What? No, not at all.” I hold him out to look him in the eyes because I want to make sure he takes in what I’m about to say. “You’re thebestkid. And that’s exactly why your dad loves you to pieces.”

“I love him too.”

Jake rubs his watery eyes with his fists and snuggles back up against me, holding Chewy tight. I stroke his hair softly, almost as much to comfort myself as him, while I search for something else to say. But what can I even say? The poor kid feels abandoned by his own mother, and no offense to Sawyer, but I can’t help worrying that no amount of love from him will ever fill that hole for Jake.

I kiss the top of his head. “You’re an amazing kid, Jake. You really are. And I’m so lucky I’ve gotten this chance to get to know you.”

We sit there quietly together, me still stroking Jake’s hair, until I feel him start to nod off. I try to get out from under him without waking him up, but he jolts awake and clings to me.

“One more story,” he begs sleepily, and I can’t imagine telling him no. He’s always a bit needier when Sawyer is away for a game like he is tonight, and the thoughts about his mother probably aren’t helping.

“Alright, but let’s get you tucked in first, okay?”

He nods, so I scoop him up and stand to pull back the covers, then lower him back to the bed so he can crawl under them. He pulls them up to his chin and smiles at me, his eyes heavy. Chewy’s cartoonishly big eyes stare back at me from next to him when I lower myself to the floor at Jake’s bedside.

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