Page 14 of Make Me Trust Again (Bluebonnet Creek #3)

The little boy is watching me from behind one of the trees with big blue eyes.

His mother’s eyes.

His serious gaze meets mine, and I can see it flare in panic, his cheeks turning red before he hides behind the tree as if I didn’t just catch him and know he’s there.

Shadow’s tail wags excitedly, but I give her a warning glare. I turn my attention to the work at hand, making a few more sweeps over the wood, before deeming it good enough and turning the machine off.

Going to the porch, I grab the towel from the railing and wipe the sweat off my forehead before grabbing a bottle of water that I left on the steps and take a long swig, waiting.

Seconds slowly tick by, and it takes a while before he peeks his head from behind the tree. He eyes me carefully before his gaze moves to Shadow, and then once again he disappears.

I watch that spot for a heartbeat before I grab the brush and the primer, and I get to work.

The smell of the paint hits me the moment I open the can, but I ignore it as I dip the brush into the primer.

I’m almost done with the first one when I see rustling from where the little daredevil is hiding.

He’s holding onto the tree, nibbling at his lip as he tries to come up with a game plan. Every so often, his eyes dart over his shoulder before returning to the dog.

In one of those sweeps, they meet mine, so I take pity on him. “She won’t bite, you know.”

Rose said he was deaf, but he knows how to read lips. Not just that, the other day they were both speaking and using sign language. His brows pull together, his whole focus on my mouth, before it returns to the dog.

“She’s big.”

Another glance in my direction.

Still, he doesn’t make any attempt to come closer, and Shadow stays in her place, patiently waiting for me to give her a command so she can go.

“She is.”

Shadow seems terrifying at first. Probably because of her size, or maybe it’s her breed.

She’s a German Shepard, and at seventy pounds, she’s huge, but there isn’t a kinder or more playful soul out there.

On top of that, she has always had a soft spot for kids, and the closest she’s come to them was Jackson, who’s still too small to play with her, so I’m not surprised by her eagerness.

Kyle tilts his head to the side. “Why does she have that scar on her face?”

The memories of the past flash in my mind in snapshots. The blast. The crash. The pain. Suddenly, the collar of my shirt feels too tight. My eyes fall shut as I force my lungs to expand so I can suck in so much-needed air.

Breathe. There is a freaking kid here. You can’t lose it. Not now. Just… breathe.

I squeeze my fingers into a fist as I suck in a long, shaky breath into my lungs.

Slowly letting it go as I force my grip to loosen.

I repeat the motion until my panic is at bay.

Blinking my eyes open, I find Kyle watching me intently, waiting.

“She…” My voice feels tight, so I clear my throat. “She got hurt.”

Kyle shifts his attention to the dog, and I can see his hand move slightly. As if he wants to reach for her, but he doesn’t dare.

“The same time you got hurt?” he asks softly, those big blue eyes completely innocent as he watches me, his attention fixed on my scarred face.

He doesn’t know of the war, of destruction, of death.

That knot in my throat grows tighter, the material of my shirt sticking to my sweaty skin.

I clear my throat, but still my voice comes out rough. “Yeah.”

His expression softens a little. “Mom says we shouldn’t hurt others.”

“Your mom’s right.”

“Mom’s always right.” Kyle rolls his eyes, but there is humor in them. His tongue peeks from between his lips, his fingers clenching and unclenching. “Can I pet her? I don’t want her to bite me.”

“She won’t bite you.” I glance at Shadow, who’s shifting in her seat, her ears perked up. “Shadow, stay.”

The dog’s eyes light up, and her tail starts wagging excitedly, but she doesn’t make any attempt to get up.

No, she waits for Kyle to come to her. Which he slowly does.

He extends his hand, and just as he’s about to touch her, he pulls his hand back, giggles, and does it again; this time, his fingers sink into her fur, and he scratches her behind her ears.

Shadow tilts her head, nuzzling firmer into his touch, and her tongue darts out, licking his hand.

“You can go.”

The dog doesn’t need to be told twice. She licks Kyle’s cheek, making him laugh, the joyous sound echoing in the air as he tries to push her back.

“It tickles.” He squirms away, still giggling. “Sit.”

Shadow’s butt touches the ground, but her tail is working overtime.

“Ball?”

It’s like he said the magic word because Shadow rushes toward the house and quickly returns with a tennis ball, handing it to him. He takes it and tosses it, the ball flying through the air. For such a small kid, he has a good arm on him.

Shadow dashes after it, catching the ball quickly, and returns to him, eager for more, and he complies. Getting back to work, I keep an eye on the two of them as they play. Shadow is relentless, but Kyle doesn’t seem to mind. Any reservation he had toward Shadow is long gone.

I’m just finishing putting the primer on the last counter when the two of them sit down, both breathing heavily.

“What are you doing?”

Placing the brush on top of the can, I turn toward him. “Putting a primer on.”

His little brows pull together; his gaze fixed on my mouth. “What is primo?”

“Primer,” I repeat, this time slower, as I point at the can. “You have to put it on before painting.”

“Why?”

“So it’s easier to put on paint, and it lasts longer.”

“Hmm…” He looks toward the counters, worrying at his lip. “I guess that makes sense.”

The motion makes his front tooth wobble slightly. He must feel it too because he pokes at it with his tongue.

“It’s been like this for days. I want it to fall out so I can get the money from the tooth fairy.” He tilts his head slightly. “Do you have any loose teeth?”

His innocent question catches me off guard and makes me cough in surprise. “I hope not.”

Kyle gives me a pitying look. “No money for you.”

The corner of my mouth twitches up. “I think I’ll survive.”

He keeps moving the tooth with his tongue, a look of complete concentration on his face.

I move to the steps, grab two water bottles, and hand him one.

He takes it and lifts his right hand to his lips and tips it toward me slightly. The movement is instinctual, but then he shakes his head, as if he remembered I don’t know sign language before saying out loud, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” I open my bottle, taking a sip. “You know, we can always pull it out.”

Kyle’s eyes widen at my words, a mix of surprise and horror on his face. “Pull it out?”

“Yes. When my little brother’s tooth was loose, I wrapped one end of a thread around it, and the other around the doorknob.”

“And then what happened?”

“I closed the door. Hard.”

Kyle’s mouth falls open as he blinks, trying to wrap his head around it. I can’t say I blame him. Mom was horrified when she heard Matthew crying, and by the time she got to us, his mouth was full of blood, the tooth still hanging to that thread. Not one of our finest moments.

“I think I’ll wait,” Kyle says quickly, finally letting go of his tooth.

The corner of my mouth lifts slightly, but before I can say anything, I see movement coming from the side.

“ Kyle Johnathan O’Neil. ”

I shift my gaze just as Rose marches toward us. Worry and panic are reflected on her face, her lips moving as she mutters something I can’t hear. Her whole attention is fixed on Kyle, who jumps to his feet the moment he sees her coming. Rose comes to a stop, only a few inches between us.

Today she is dressed casually. A pale, pink tank top is hugging her heaving breasts, and she wears a matching pair of the smallest shorts I’ve ever seen in my life.

Her hair is gathered in a long braid falling over her shoulder, with a few runaway strands curling around her face.

Casual looks good on her. Too fucking good.

“What do you have to say in your defense, young man?” she asks and signs at the same time, before propping her hands on her hips as she glares at her son, waiting for an explanation.

I wince softly at her words. I’m all too familiar with them. With that mom tone. I’ve heard it too many times to count during my childhood, and it never ended well for me or one of my siblings.

Kyle knows it, too. He glances at me for a quick moment before shifting his attention to his mother. “I told you I’m going out to play.”

“This isn’t out to play. Out means in front of our house or in the backyard.” She waves at the space around us. “This is neither.”

“I saw Shadow, so I came to see her. And then we played.”

“What did we say about bugging Mr. Williams?”

“Mom!” Kyle groans, pursing his lips unhappily. “I wasn’t bugging.”

Rose just lifts her brow.

“I wasn’t. I played with Shadow.”

She shakes her head. “Regardless, you can’t bother Mr. Williams while he works. And you most certainly can’t just leave like that without letting me know.”

Kyle opens his mouth to protest, but the look Rose gives him makes him close it just as fast.

“I’m sorry.”

He ducks his head slightly.

Rose lets out a long sigh, her shoulders relaxing. She crouches down, her hand resting on Kyle’s shoulder to draw his attention. Only when he looks at her does she start signing.

Kyle watches her intently and finally nods. His hands move as he signs something back.

My eyes narrow at them, not that it makes any difference since I don’t know any sign language.

Not for my sister’s lack of trying. She’s been bugging me to take some sign language classes ever since I got back home, and a part of me wishes I had listened to her.

Not that I would ever admit it out loud, she would never let me live it down.

Rose pushes to her feet as Kyle turns to me, an apologetic smile on his face. “I’m sorry for bothering you, Mr. Williams.”

“It’s okay. Shadow loves company.”

As if to confirm it, the dog goes to the boy, demanding his attention. He complies, his smile growing slightly bigger as he gives her some scratches between her ears. Shadow licks Kyle’s chin, which makes him laugh as he pulls back and waves. “Bye, Shadow!”

The dog sits down and watches him as he turns around and runs toward his house. She glances back at me, letting out a soft whine, but I shake my head.

“This kid will send me to an early grave,” Rose sighs. A strand of hair slips out of her braid, so she pushes it behind her ear. “I’m so sorry. I told him that he shouldn’t bother you. I’m not sure what’s gotten into him. He’s never done something like this.”

I shift my attention to Rose. “It’s fine. He played with Shadow for a while. It’s not like he threw eggs at my door.”

Rose lets out a strangled laugh. “Well, I’d hope not. Thank you for entertaining him. I swear I almost had a heart attack. I looked out the window, and he wasn’t there, and— I was so scared that he wandered off and got lost.”

Those blue eyes meet mine, and there is genuine worry there. And a little bit of guilt.

“He’s a little boy. They wander off. Get in trouble.”

“I know.” She runs her hand over her face, her gaze darting to Shadow. “He was laughing.”

The words are said so softly that I would have probably missed them if I wasn’t looking at her face. She shakes her head almost absentmindedly, her gaze shifting to the counters.

“I should let you get back to work. We’ve bothered you enough for one day. Thank you for letting him play.”

I nod silently. The corner of her mouth curls in a small smile as she ducks her head and follows after Kyle, my gaze staying fixed on the gravel path long after she’s gone.