Page 60 of Guarding Colton’s Witness

“I like it. How does ham and cheese sandwiches sound?” After the night they’d had and the lack of sleep, she didn’t have the energy to do much more than slap some meat and cheese between two slices of bread.

“Perfect. You get the fixings from the fridge and I’ll get the bread.” He kissed the top of her head, then stepped to the pantry.

She had her head stuck in the refrigerator when she said, “Mustard or mayo or both?”

“Both. Where’s the bread?”

“On the shelf in front of you.” She leaned back to peer around him and frowned when she didn’t see any bread. “There should be a whole loaf.” She closed the refrigerator door and moved next to him.

“You can stare at the shelves all night long, but there is no bread,” Ryan said.

“I see that.” The peanut butter jar was gone, too. “Our little gremlin’s been busy again. Come with me.” It only took a minute to find his stash under the bed. “Go get Sam.”

While she waited, she set everything out on the bed, along with a package of string cheese, which she hadn’t noticed was missing. There was even a butter knife, which she assumed was for spreading the peanut butter on the bread. Left unchecked, he’d end up relocating the entire pantry.

Because she didn’t want to come across as intimidating by standing over Sam, she sat on the mattress next to his pilfered food. As her gaze traveled over his stash, she smiled, amused at her little thief. If she’d spent the first six years of her life hungry, never sure where her next meal was coming from, she’d be stashing food, too.

Sam walked in ahead of Ryan, and when he saw the food spread out on the bed, his eyes widened. He jerked to a stop, then hid behind Ryan’s leg.

“Sam, come here.”

“Go on,” Ryan softly said, putting his hand on Sam’s shoulder.

“I don’t want to. Matti’s going to hit me.”

Ryan dropped to his knees. “Remember I told you that Matti and I would never hit you?” Sam nodded. “We’ll never hit any child. Now, go talk to Matti.”

He came to her with the speed of a turtle. “I’m sorry, Matti. Please don’t give me away.”

“I’m not mad at you, sweetie. I just want to talk to you. And no one’s giving you away.” Finding him a wonderful foster family wouldn’t be giving him away. Although, he’d probably see it that way, but he’d adjust to his new family. And wanting to cry at the thought of turning him over to another family was a warning. She was letting herself care about him too much.

“You promise?”

She couldn’t because she wouldn’t lie to him. A glance at Ryan, and she could see that, like her, he was growing to care for this child, too. She’d need to tell him later that it wasn’t good to open his heart to a little boy they couldn’t keep.

Instead of answering Sam’s question, she said, “Why are you keeping food in your room?” She knew why, but she wanted him to say it so she could make him understand that he didn’t need to hoard food.

He stared down at his feet. “I’m sorry. I know I was bad, but I got worried. What if you don’t have enough money for food one day?”

“You aren’t bad, Sam. I know that. Doc knows that. We want you to know that. As for worrying that I won’t have money to buy food, that will never happen. There will always be food, but it needs to stay in the kitchen, not under your bed. Okay?”

“I just worry.”

“You’re six years old, and that’s too young to worry about anything. We know it wasn’t easy for you when you lived in motels, but those days are over. You’ll never go hungry again.” That she could promise because she’d make sure of it.

Ryan sat on the other side of Sam’s stash. “What Matti said is true. You don’t have to worry about not having enough to eat. And here’s a truth. Food belongs in the kitchen, so how about you return everything where you found it, and then we’ll have some dinner. After that, we’ll watch your TV shows with you.”

Sam walked out with the peanut butter and Oreos. As Ryan and Matti gathered up the rest, he said, “He killed me when he asked you to promise not to give him away.”

“Yeah, me, too.” When the time came for him to go to his foster family, how was she going to be able to look him in the eyes and tell him she actually was giving him away?

Chapter 26

Three of Matti’s brothers showed up the following morning to install a security system. From what Matti said about Aiden’s twin, Dylan, working undercover for the FBI, he might never meet that brother. They’d arrived early and Matti was still asleep, which was fine. Her family was important to her, and he wanted to get to know her brothers.

“I’ve got coffee going.” Ryan headed for the kitchen with three big men on his heels.

“Whose day is it to keep an eye on the doc?” Aiden said, looking at Ryan over the top of his coffee cup.