Healing Hearts (New Hope Falls #6) - Kimberly Rae Jordan Page 0,42
Ryker’s hand.
Ryker straightened and gazed down at Sophia. “Why don’t you let me take him into the kitchen so you can deal with this.”
She hesitated a moment before nodding, then she looked down at Bryson. “You go with Ryker, okay? I’ll be right here.”
Bryson stared up at Sophia with a tear-stained face that tugged hard at Ryker’s heartstrings. Hard in a way that should have had him running in the opposite direction. But his desire to help a child in distress overrode his need to steer clear of anything that might trigger bad memories.
After a long moment, during which Bryson took several hiccupping breaths, he nodded and turned to Ryker. He stooped and lifted the small boy into his arms. Looking at Sophia again, he said, “I’ll take care of him.”
“I know.”
Considering how protective she was of Bryson, those two words stirred something within him. Something he wasn’t going to consider at that moment. There would be plenty of time for that later.
“Who on earth is that?” the other woman asked as he walked away.
“He is none of your business,” Sophia said. “That is not what we’re talking about right now.”
“Good grief, Sophia. You and Bryson are such drama queens. Always have been. Always will be, apparently.”
Ryker had to force himself to keep walking and not turn around to give the woman a piece of his mind. He had a feeling that this was a battle that Sophia had to fight for herself and Bryson, and he knew that she could do it.
Once in the kitchen, he set Bryson on the counter. When he spotted the bananas in a basket on the counter, he pulled one free then opened cupboards until he found the plates. Bryson pointed to where the peanut butter was without Ryker even having to ask.
“Want to tell me what happened, buddy?” Ryker said as he located a knife and began to slice the banana onto the plate.
“Charlie came in from outside with a bug. He said it was going to bite me, and I was going to swell up like a balloon until I popped.”
As tears rolled down Bryson’s cheeks, Ryker set the knife down and moved to pull the little guy into his arms again. “You’re safe, buddy. It was super mean of Charlie to say that, but you’re safe now. Your mom and I won’t let anything like that happen to you.”
He made a note to ask Sophia if Bryson had ever had an allergic reaction to a bug bite. It might help explain a little about Bryson’s fear of bugs.
“I don’t like him,” Bryson said with a sniffle.
“I understand that.” Ryker wasn’t about to tell the little boy that he had to like people who were mean to him. Of course he would discourage any sort of retaliation, but Bryson seemed so gentle and tender that forcing him to be around someone like that would just make everything so much worse.
“He’s a meanie, and I don’t want him here.”
Ryker wanted to reassure him that he wouldn’t have to have him there, but Sophia had to stand firm in kicking the woman and her kids out. From what he’d seen of Sophia, Ryker knew that was going to be a hard thing for her to do. Only the fact that she’d warned the woman might give her the ability to stand her ground.
“Let me finish these bananas for you, then you can eat some while we talk. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Bryson seemed to be reluctant to break their physical connection, so Ryker did his best to smear some peanut butter on each piece of banana while keeping his arms around him. Finally, they were all covered—although not nicely like when Sophia did them—but hopefully Bryson would eat them regardless.
Carrying Bryson in one arm and the plate in his other hand, Ryker went to the table. He set the plate down then sat down on one of the chairs, settling Bryson on his knee rather than putting him on a chair of his own.
Bryson stared at the bananas for a moment, and Ryker held his breath, waiting for the boy’s rejection of his attempt at his favorite snack. Instead, Bryson glanced up at him then reached out to pick up one of the banana pieces and put it in his mouth.
As he continued to eat them, his body sagged against Ryker. He didn’t force Bryson to talk. Instead, he listened to what was happening in the other room.