Page 99 of Finding His Redemption

Thirty minutes later,they were driving down the winding mountain road toward Solace. Echo sat in the back seat, her In Training vest making her look official. She had her nose pressed to the window, watching the trees blur past.

“She doing okay?” Jonah asked, eyes flicking to the rearview mirror.

“Yeah,” Jax said, surprised to find it was true. “She’s curious.”

“Good sign. Means she’s feeling secure enough to explore.”

The town came into view, its Main Street still looking like something out of another era. Storefronts with weathered facades, American flags hanging from lampposts in preparation for the upcoming Memorial Day parade, the mountains rising up behind it all like silent guardians. Peaceful, picturesque. The kind of place tourists drove through and thought, “Now this is real America.”

But Jax knew better. Every small town had its secrets, its darkness. Solace just hid its better than most.

Jonah pulled up in front of Nessie’s Place. The bakery looked quiet from the outside, only a few customers visible through the windows. But what caught Jax’s attention was the smallfigure sitting on the front porch steps, hunched over something colorful.

Oliver.

The kid was so focused on whatever he was doing that he didn’t notice them at first. As they approached, Jax saw he had watercolor paints spread out beside him, a large sheet of paper balanced across his knees.

“Hey, buddy,” Jax said.

Oliver’s head snapped up, his face breaking into a wide smile that made Jax’s chest ache. “Jax! You came back!” His eyes widened when he spotted Echo. “You brought a dog!”

“This is Echo,” Jax said, crouching down. “Echo, this is Oliver.”

Oliver put his paintbrush down carefully. “Can I pet her?”

“Let’s let her come to you, okay? She’s still learning to trust people.”

Oliver nodded solemnly and held out a hand, keeping very still.

Echo surprised Jax by taking a tentative step toward the boy, her nose working overtime as she sniffed the air around him.

“She smells the paint,” Jonah said with a smile. “Dogs are curious about new scents.”

After a moment, Echo stretched her neck out and gave his hand a cautious sniff. Then, to Jax’s amazement, she gently licked Oliver’s fingers.

“She likes me!” the boy whispered, his eyes huge.

“She sure does,” Jax said, unable to keep the wonder from his voice. “Most people, she’s still pretty scared of. But not you.”

“I’m special,” Oliver said with the absolute certainty of a seven-year-old. “Mom says so.”

“She’s right about that.” Jax glanced at the bakery door. “Is your mom around?”

Oliver nodded, picking up his paintbrush again. “She’s in the kitchen. She’s been kinda grumpy today.”

Well, fuck. Maybe today wasn’t the best time to do this.

“Want to see my painting?” Oliver held up the watercolor, a swirl of blues and greens that might have been a field… or maybe an ocean? “It’s for Mom’s birthday next week. But I’m not supposed to tell anyone it’s her birthday.”

There was a lot to unpack in that statement, but he wasn’t going to ask the kid any of the questions swirling in his mind. Instead, he focused on the painting.

“It’s really great, buddy.” He meant it. There was something about the colors, the way they blended into each other, that captured a feeling he couldn’t quite name. “She’ll love it.”

Oliver beamed, then looked at Echo thoughtfully. “Do you think Echo wants to paint too?”

Jax blinked. “Uh, I don’t think dogs?—”

But Oliver was already dipping a clean brush into the yellow paint. “Here,” he said, holding it out to Echo. “You can try.”