Page 32 of Guarding Colton’s Witness

Ryan woke up feeling unsettled and unrested. Usually, once he fell asleep, he slept deep, never waking up before the alarm sounded. Not last night. Dreams kept waking him up. In one, he, Matti, and Sam lived in a firehouse with firefighters, and when a fire alarm went off, he and Sam jumped on the truck. Sam laughed as the fire truck sped down the street, and it made Ryan happy to see the joy on the boy’s face.

In another dream, the three of them were being chased by men with guns. He didn’t know how that one ended because he sat straight up in bed, heart pounding in fear. In yet another, Matti and Sam were missing, and as he searched every place he could think of that they might be, his panic grew at not finding them.

Between his exhaustion from his extra hours at the hospital yesterday and his sleep disturbed by his dreams, when the alarm did go off, he did something he’d never done before. He hit Snooze. And then he did it a second time.

Sleeping in those extra minutes put him behind when he finally did crawl out of bed, and he rushed through his morning routine. He made it to the hospital on time, but barely.

“Good morning, Dr. Palmer,” Sarah, one of the emergency room nurses said.

He grunted.

“Oh, someone’s grumpy today.” She grinned at him.

That he was, and he stayed grumpy for the rest of the day. Part of it was the exhaustion and part of it was the turmoil happening in his mind. The turmoil he blamed on a woman with sexy messy hair and a quick smile. He didn’t want to be attracted to her. A relationship wasn’t in his short-term plans. Until Matti, he had this idea that in five years, he’d get serious about settling down with a wife and family.

Matti was messing with his plans. He didn’t have to let her change his life, though. It was his choice to friend-zone her or try for more. He thought about it as he took ten minutes to eat an apple and drink a cup of coffee. No reason to decide anything today. Just see how things play out.

With that decision made, he got over his grump and returned to the emergency room. A few minutes later, a boy Sam’s age came in with a broken arm. Both parents were with him, and their love for their son was apparent as they fussed over him while Ryan examined him.

The boy’s name was Jesse, and he was scared. “Well, Jesse, we’re going to have to send you up to X-ray. Have you ever had an X-ray before?”

“No,” the boy said, his voice quavering. “Will it hurt?”

“It won’t hurt at all, and I’ll be able to show you a cool picture of the bones inside your arm.”

“Really?” He looked over at his parents. “I’m gonna get to see my bones.” His gaze swung back to Ryan. “Do I want to see my bones?”

“It’s pretty cool if you ask me, but it’s your choice. I don’t have to show you the X-ray.” There were tear tracks on his cheeks from crying when he’d been brought in, but the medication he’d been given had dulled the pain.

“I want to see it.”

“All right.” An orderly came in. “This is Victor. He’s going to take you up to the X-ray department. Victor, you take good care of my man Jessie.”

“Our man Jessie is going to get the VIP experience, Dr. Palmer.” The orderly rolled Jessie out of the room.

“How bad is it, Doctor?” Jessie’s mother asked.

“I don’t think it’s a bad break, but I’ll be able to tell you more after I see the X-ray.” He walked them to the waiting area. “I’ll come get you as soon as they bring him back. There’re coffee and snack machines down the hall.”

When he returned to the emergency room, Jon was there, talking to Anna Sanchez, another ER doctor. He glanced up when Ryan approached them. “Got a minute?”

Ryan nodded. “I’m good until my patient comes back from X-ray.” He followed Jon into one of the empty rooms. “What’s up?”

“Wanted to talk to you about something.” He perched on the edge of the bed.

“Okay.” Ryan leaned against the wall.

“It’s about Matilda and that boy.”

“Sam?”

“Yes. She’s getting too attached to him. I want you to convince her it’s time to find him a foster family.”

This again? He admired Jonathon, respected his opinions, and considered the man a mentor, but on this, he wasn’t willing to involve himself on what Matti should or shouldn’t do where Sam was concerned. She was perfectly capable of making her own decisions.

“Why are you concerned that she’s getting attached to Sam? He’s a bright, delightful boy.”

“For two reasons. The first, Wyatt believes the people who killed Sam’s parents think Sam can identify them. If that’s true, then they’re most likely looking for him, and if they find him with my daughter, she could get hurt…or worse.”