Page 123 of Defenders of Jawhara

Keira chimed in. “As well as can be expected, but we’re looking at options in case we need to move them. We’ll keep you apprised if that happens.”

He nodded. “Do that.”

Before he could disconnect the call, Brock jumped in, “And you’ll keep me apprised of what’s going on with the kid, right?”

Slade wanted to tell him it wasn’t his business and that Jason wasn’t Brock’s son, but he was still a living link to Tayra. Even though Brock was with Keira now, he’d loved Tayra. Without answering him, he gave a brief nod before he disconnected the call and tried to concentrate on other things.

Travis emailed him a list of local theme parks and activities where a kid Jason’s age would have fun. Slade shook his head over that and texted back,Don’t jump the gun.But he held onto the list.

The jet touched down in San Diego on time, the limo met them on the tarmac, and Slade was amused to see both Jason’s and Bethany’s eyes widen over the full Slade Security treatment. Jason climbed into the limo and had to press every button and work every control. Bethany kept trying to corral him, and finally Slade put his hand on her jean-clad thigh.

“Let him be. First time in a limo should be special.”

“What’s so special about this for me?” she asked.

He leaned forward. Her eyes darkened. He could see the pulse quicken in her throat. Reaching across her, he popped open the bar. “I had that Oregon microbrew you like stocked.”

She punched his side with a fist. Grinning, he caught her hand and hung onto it. How long had it been since he’d held hands with any woman? Had he ever?

The driver took them directly to the appointment with the specialist—Slade saw no reason to put that off. Dr. Baxter met them in his office, not far from UCSD Medical Center. In his forties and balding, he fit the classic profile of a doctor, but he also looked damn fit and photos of him in marathons hung on his office walls. He took half an hour to meet with Bethany and Jason, then took Jason in for a full physical.

Slade sat in the plush waiting room, trying to focus on work emails and texts and not to think about Jason. What if Baxter couldn’t help the boy? Would that be so terrible? He thought about Jason’s love of baseball—the kid had sucked at basketball—and started an online search for tickets to at least get Jason to a game.

Baxter came out with Bethany—she looked worried, but Baxter didn’t. Slade stood.

“I’d like to admit Jason for an overnight at UCSD. There’s a series of tests I’d like to run, including blood workups, and we need him to fast for them. We’re also going to run a study that charts the release of certain hormones during sleep cycles.”

Slade nodded. “Sounds good.”

Bethany hugged herself. “We can’t do this later?”

Slade put a hand on her back and rubbed. “We’ll get this over with, then we’ll take Jason to a ball game. Don’t worry. I’ll book us in near to the hospital.”

Jason came out, a candy sucker in his mouth. Slade ruffled his hair. “You okay staying overnight with Dr. Baxter?”

Jason shrugged, but Slade thought he saw a shadow in the boy’s eyes. He squatted down to put himself at eye level with Jason. “You ace these tests and I’ll get tickets lined up for the World Series—seats right off of home plate.”

Eyes going wide, Jason glanced at Bethany and back to Slade. He looked at Dr. Baxter and back to Slade. “If I have to stay two nights, can we go to two games?”

Slade stuck out his hand. “It’s a deal.”

Grinning, Jason followed them out of the clinic. The check-in at the hospital went smoothly, except for Bethany’s pale face and her clipped tone. She put on a smile for Jason, but Slade could tell it was faked. She was making Jason nervous.

Slade leaned closer to Jason. “Hey, buddy, make it look good for her, will you? She’s totally freaked about this.”

Jason sat up, nodded, and turned to his aunt. He grabbed her arm and dragged her to the doorway of his room. “You’d better go out to dinner with Slade tonight. Go to a movie or do something fun. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He just about shoved her out.

Giving Jason a nod and a salute, Slade walked out and met Bethany in the hallway. “We’re going to have to work on his subtlety.”

Bethany glanced at him. “Yeah, but maybe he had a good idea. If we’re going out, I want to check in to a room and get a bath first.”

Slade had booked the Hillcrest House B&B—all of it. The house was a California Craftsman, the rooms elegant, and their hosts left dinner ready for them in the kitchen, along with a local wine from Temecula. Slade approved all of it. He glanced at Bethany. She was walking around, arms folded, as if afraid to touch anything.

“Pick any room you want. There are three bedrooms. I thought we could use this as a base for a few days, since we’re only five minutes from the hospital. Ten if there’s traffic.” She nodded. He came over to her. “What is it?”

She looked at him, eyes huge in her heart-shaped face. “What if—?”

He put a finger on her lips. “We’re not going to think about that. Jason’s getting tests run—that’s it. Once we have tests, then we can figure out what comes next.”

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