Page 27 of Safe With Me

He held her gaze as he bit. “Hmm. Very tasty.”

She transferred her attention to the others.

“So, you’re an artist?” Pax said to the boy.

“I’m trying to be.”

“Harlan, you should get your sketch book from the car. I’m sure Pax and Steph would like to see it.”

“We would,” they said simultaneously.

He finished before them and by the time he returned Steph was done eating. Steph wiped her hands on a napkin and took the book. He’d marked off a page to begin.

Her jaw literally dropped when she saw the set of portraits. “Harlan. These are publishable.”

Gemma said, “We know.”

“The one of you, Gemma, is so realistic.”

Harlan, blushing, said, “I did it for Caleb.”

“Aw.”

Steph was hit by a sense of longing. She wanted a family like theirs, though she knew they hadn’t had an easy time of it. The feeling was similar to when she saw Katie Donovan pregnant.

She glanced surreptitiously at Pax. Huh! The same expression as hers. Now that was something to think about.

* * *

As they left the clinic, Pax was excited to let the community know about the opening. The sun was still bright and the weather required only a sweater or light jacket. He took Steph’s hand as they crossed the street and pulled open the door of a small grocery store.

The man behind the counter looked up. His eyes were weary. “What can I do for you?”

“I wanted to introduce myself. I’m Dr. Pax Barry and I’m opening the free clinic across the street.”

“Huh! Heard you had a break in.”

“I did, but we have security now.” He held up the flyer. “Can we display this on your storefront window for our opening date?”

The guy took the flyer and scanned it. “I guess. So long as you’re not attractin’ the riff raff.”

The riff raffwouldbe coming to him. “I made sure each flyer emphasizes our security. In other words, the drugs are locked up so tight, nobody without a code can get in.”

“Okay, put it up. By the way, I’m Josh Collins. I own this place.”

“Nice to meet you, Josh. This is Steph Giordano. She’ll be working with me.”

They left smiling, but ten minutes later, they wore frowns. At Smoke Shop, a grumpy lady with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth shook her head. “Don’t want those things in my window. You guys are gonna attract all kinds of bums and gangs to steal your shit. I don’t want you here because you’ll attract them. And I don’t wanna take any grief for your clinic.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Pax said kindly. “Maybe you’ll change your mind once we’re up and running and have discouraged any theft.”

“Doubt it. Now get out.”

Once on the street again, Steph said, “There’s bound to be some people like that in this neighborhood.”

“Yeah, I guess. Think we can put signs on the empty storefronts?”

“We can try. But since they won’t be on the inside of the glass, they’ll probably be torn down by the haters.”

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