Page 19 of Island Protector

Bryce turned to her. “Are we going to Parker’s?”

Sharon brushed his hair. “As soon as your mom feels better.”

“You mean it? And ice cream tonight.”

“I’ll do my best,” Sharon said.

Bryce looked to Miles. “Will you come too? Will you drive?” His small hands curled around the edge of the blanket.

“We’ll see. Your mom’s a great driver,” he reminded the boy. “Can you hang here for a second? I need to talk to your aunt. Is that okay?”

“Can’t you talk in here?” An edge of a whine crept into his voice. “Please. I don’t want to be alone.”

Miles glanced at Sharon and then smiled at Bryce. The thread of fear in the boy’s voice pissed him off. “Sure, we can wait,” Miles said. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”

Bryce shook his head. “No. I don’t want to think about the bad guy.”

“Bad guy?” Sharon arched an eyebrow. “What do you mean, honey?”

“It had to be a bad guy, right?” Bryce fidgeted under the blanket. “My teacher says people here help each other. But that guy didn’t stay and help us,” Bryce said.

“The person in the other car definitely made a mistake,” Sharon said. “The police will find him and handle it.”

Miles appreciated her effort to reframe the situation for the kid. “That’s right,” Miles agreed. “The police will do their job. Your job is to feel better.”

“I already feel better. Dr. Nyland says I’m a real trooper.” Bryce turned to Sharon. “What’s a trooper?”

“It can mean a lot of things,” Sharon began. “In this case, I think the doctor means that you’re doing the right thing really well in a tough situation.”

Bryce seemed to contemplate that for a bit. “When can I eat?”

Miles laughed. “Why don’t you tell me what sounds good and I’ll go check with the doctor about when you can eat.”

Bryce bounced around over that idea. He listed off a few of his favorite things and, with a nod to Sharon, Miles went in search of the doctor’s permission to get food.

He found Dr. Nyland in the hallway. “Any food restrictions for Bryce? The kid’s got a hollow leg.”

“That’s a good sign,” the doctor replied with a chuckle. “I’m about to discharge him.”

“Great,” Miles said. “How is Molly? I’m not family, but can you tell me anything?”

“She can have visitors,” Dr. Nyland said. “She can share what she wants to. Just keep it quick and don’t stress her out.”

“Got it.” He let the doctor give Bryce the good news and headed for Molly’s room.

Would she be happy to see him? Probably not. She was so private. He sent Jess a text message about the accident. He wished he could give her something more helpful about the other vehicle.

Tucking his phone away, he took a second to gather his thoughts. He didn’t want any of his concerns to freak out Molly. He definitely didn’t want to trouble her with his anger at the other driver.

Once Molly, Bryce, and Sharon were safely home, he intended to take a look at the scene himself. The Brookwell PD was solid under the guidance of Chief Ray Caldwell, but another set of eyes, a fresh perspective couldn’t hurt.

As he told Jess in the office earlier, he wasn’t going to let Molly deal with the custody nonsense on her own. Schoolinghis features, applying the polite smile he’d mastered during his last years of foster care, he walked into her room.

The lights were dialed down low and he assumed that meant she had a concussion. It was obvious she’d taken the brunt of the accident. Steri-strips marched in a line from her left eyebrow toward her hairline. Bruising was already showing around the wound and her eye, down to her cheekbone. The brace on her left wrist wrapped around her palm and stretched up to her elbow. That would worry her more than anything else. Molly was responsible to a fault. If she couldn’t work, she’d be miserable and worry about becoming a burden.

He knew better. Her friends loved her dearly and would gladly support her through this crisis.

Personally, Miles had to breathe around the knot in his chest. He’d never wanted to care for anyone the way he wanted to tend to Molly. He vowed to stay close and protect her for as long as she’d allow it.

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