Page 53 of Loving Kai

Abe checked the time on his watch. Three hours. It had only been three hours since David Montgomery had knocked on his door. In three short hours, his whole life had changed.

Allie took his arm. “Do you want to come with me?”

Abe sighed. “I’ll follow you on my bike.”

Allie wasn’t the fastest driver in the world, and on any other day, Abe would get frustrated following her. But today, he wished she’d drive even slower. He tried to ignore the pain in his leg while he prepared himself for what his father might say.

When Allie’s brake lights came on, she swerved toward the middle of the road as a deer ran in front of her. Abe slowed down and flashed his lights, and she pulled over to the side of the road. He pulled in behind her and jumped off the bike, then jogged to her window.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, honey. It was just a deer.”

Abe glanced back at Kai, then opened the back door. “Hey, buddy.” The baby smiled at him, and Abe sighed. “Okay. You’re okay.” He picked up the toy Kai had dropped and handed it to him. “Here you go.”

Kai said, “Dog,” then put the small stuffed cat in his mouth.

Abe smiled. “Close enough.”

He closed the door and looked at Allie again. “Sorry, I just…”

“It’s fine, honey. Everybody is fine.”

“I’ll go back to my bike now.”

When they arrived at the farm, Allie told Abe to go talk to his father while she fed Kai and started dinner. John was in the three-sided garage attached to the Quonset hut, working on one of the tractors.

Abe approached his father, walking over years of oil soaked into the ground. The garage smelled like gasoline and the distinctive scent of the homemade cleaner John used on his hands to remove the grime from whatever vehicle he was working on.

John gave him a nod. “Hand me the three-quarter-inch socket, son.”

Abe picked up the tool and held it out. John took it and cranked down on the bolt he was tightening.

“What’s wrong with the tractor, Dad?”

John backed up. “Nothing now. Hop up there and turn her over for me.”

Abe climbed into the seat and turned the key. It was something he’d done a hundred times over the years. The tractor started and idled quietly.

John closed the engine compartment. “Good as new.”

The tractor had been around as long as Abe could remember, but John was a skilled, self-taught mechanic who could keep anything running. As a teen, Abe had spent hours in the garage, helping and learning from his father. By the time he left home, he could keep most things running, too. He wasn’t as good as his father, but he’d rebuilt several motorcycles and three trucks.

John wiped his hands on a towel, then went to the sink in the corner of the garage. He washed his hands, using a generous amount of the magical hand cleaner, then ripped off a paper towel to dry them. He tossed the paper towel into the trash, then turned to Abe.

“So, knowing your mother, she assured you that you could do this.”

“Yes, sir, she did.”

“Are you convinced?”

“Not in the least.”

John nodded. “Okay. I’m going to give you my take on the situation. You have two choices, son, and no matter which you make, this family will stand by you. But whatever choice you make has to be final. That child recently lost his mother and today lost his grandfather. He doesn’t need to lose anyone else.”

“I agree.”

“So, you either embrace this and accept that you are suddenly a father and everything that comes with it, or you choose not to, and the boy gets placed with the state. Being young, he’s bound to find a good family. But there will be no changing your mind down the road.”