“Nine,” she whispered then, “I have a nephew who’s going to be nine this week. His name is Jarot.” She leaned in and shared conspiratorially, “But when you meet him, you can’t tease him and call him carrot. He doesn’t like that.”

Malachi’s smile got bigger but it fled his face when his eyes darted to the door and he saw Chace.

Faye twisted in her chair and she aimed a smile at him.

He smiled at her then looked at Malachi. “You’re good, buddy. I’m just here to bring your books.”

Malachi’s eyes dropped to the crate Chace was carrying and stayed there as Chace rounded his bed, giving it plenty of room as he went to the windowsill.

“I’ll set them up here and you can tell Faye where you want them after I’m gone,” Chace muttered.

He moved to the deep windowsill, set the crate down and carefully arranged the books as they’d been arranged in the box, keeping them in order and placing them as Malachi had had them in the shed.

When he turned back to the bed, he stayed at the window and saw Malachi’s eyes on the books, going up and down, counting, reading, assessing they were all there. Chace also saw, on the hospital table positioned over his bed, the book Faye had been reading him last night as well as a row of plastic wrapped Snickers bars that had been opened, two empty wrappers showing he’d dug in.

“I’m gonna steal Faye a second, talk with her and then I gotta go back to work,” Chace told Malachi and the kid’s eyes shot to him. “You need me to pick anything up when I come back after work?”

Malachi stared at him then shifted his eyes to Faye.

“Malachi isn’t up to talking yet, honey,” Faye said quietly and Chace looked to her. “You have to give him yes or no questions,” she advised.

When Chace looked back to Malachi he saw a hint of fear in his face and tenseness in his body. This said loud and clear he wasn’t up to communicating with Chace at all.

When Faye spoke again, Chace would know she’d read this as well.

“Chace is staying over there, sweetheart,” she said gently. “He would never hurt you. He was the one who sent his friend to find you so we could get you to the hospital, make you better then take care of you. But we both get things are a little scary now. Still, he’s willing to do a favor for you so maybe you could help him out by letting him know what you want like you do with me. Just nod your head but to Chace. Okay?”

Malachi held her eyes for some time then, what Chace assumed was a yes, he looked at Chace.

So Chace asked, “Do you want a cucumber?”

Malachi’s head jerked slightly, his eyes flashed then, thank fuck, his lips twitched before he shook his head no.

“Broccoli?” Chace went on and he heard Faye’s soft, quiet giggle but he didn’t take his eyes from Malachi who again shook his head no.

“Twix?” Chace continued and Malachi pressed his lips together and nodded. “Strawberries?” Another nod, another eye flash, the kid liked strawberries. Finally, quieter, Chace asked, “Have you read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?”

His lips parted, he liked that a fuckuva lot better than strawberries and he shook his head.

“When I was your age, bud, that was my favorite,” Chace shared. “You want Faye to read that to you?”

He bit his lip but nodded his head.

“I’ll pick it up,” Chace muttered.

Malachi just stared at him.

Chace gave him a smile then looked at Faye and asked gently, “Can I talk to you a minute?”

She nodded, turned to Malachi and got out of her chair but bent slightly over him. “I won’t be gone long and then I’ll be back and we can talk some more.”

He held her gaze and nodded.

She reached out, touched his cheek lightly, going in slowly but the touch was fleeting before Chace watched her profile give him a gentle smile and she whispered, “Be back soon, sweetheart.”

She moved, Chace rounded the bed at a distance feeling Malachi’s eyes on him so he gave him a flick of two fingers and a wink and walked out with Faye. He stopped her outside his room so Malachi could see her through the window by the door.

Her eyes were searching and he knew her mind was still on their phone conversation when she asked, “Is everything all right?”

“My Dad paid me a surprise visit,” he shared, saw her body give a small, surprised jolt as her brows shot together and he moved into her, curling his arms loosely around her. She lifted her hands and rested them lightly on his chest as he muttered, “It’s okay.”

“Why did he visit you?” she asked.

“Why does he do anything?” Chace evaded. “Mostly to be an asshole.”

“Is your Mom okay?”

He nodded. “She’s good. Got a call from her too. We’re invited to dinner, three weeks.”

“All right,” she replied hesitantly, her eyes still searching his face.

“It’ll be okay. Dad won’t be there,” he assured her.

She continued studying him before, for him, she let it go by whispering, “I’m sorry, honey. I don’t know what went down but I do know it’s unpleasant seeing him. So I’m sorry.”

Chace gave her a lift of his chin and changed the subject. “Those books, they’re special to him. My advice, talk to him, put them where he wants them. He’ll probably want them close and tell the staff to leave them be.”

She nodded.

“Should we be concerned about the fact he’s not speaking?” he asked.

“I don’t know yet. They’re having a child psychologist come up and have a chat with him after lunch. They say at this point that it isn’t really surprising considering how he was living and how he was found. He’s not refusing to eat. He’s communicating nonverbally. He’s not agitated. Except for not talking, he seems to be in good spirits. He does have some hesitation around the nurses but they’re going gentle and he settles pretty easily. He doesn’t seem to like men very much so it isn’t just you. They have a male nurse on this ward, he came in, Malachi didn’t like it. He noted it immediately and assured me he isn’t coming back.”

That said a lot but Chace didn’t share what it said.

Faye went on, “We’ll know more when the psychologist speaks to him. But they’ve examined him and it isn’t physically that he can’t talk. Whatever’s holding him back is psychological.”

Chace nodded and asked, “Word from your parents?”

“All good. The house passed inspection. Apparently the spring schedule of foster care classes started last Saturday so they’ve enrolled Mom and Dad. But they’re going to place Malachi there tomorrow. Dad’s at work during the day but Mom works at home and can be around twenty-four, seven which they said is good. So it’s all in place.”

Silas was a geologist who worked for an environmental consulting company based in Chantelle. Sondra was a part-time bookkeeper who did the books for a variety of businesses in town including the Italian Restaurant, Holly’s Flower shop and La-La Land Coffee. She worked at home, available to Malachi. Perfect.

“You’ll wanna be there tomorrow,” Chace guessed and he knew it was accurately because Faye immediately nodded.

“I already called my volunteers. I’ll open up and get them sorted then the two of them are going to handle things. Mrs. Bagley has closed for me before. She has keys. That’s good too.”

“Right,” Chace muttered then he told her, “I’ll pick up some stuff for him, the book and bring it here after work but, darlin’,” he pulled her slightly closer and dipped his face to hers, “your Mom comes, you gotta give him time alone with her. Start teachin’ him to trust her. You don’t have to be gone hours but he’s gotta get used to her without you around. Okay?”

She nodded but she did it scrunching her nose. She had to do it, she knew it but she didn’t have to like it.

“He’s good now, Faye,” Chace said quietly. “Family. Food. Movin’ his fingers and toes. All the books he can want on that thing Silas bought him and to hold in his hands. He’ll be all right.”

“Yeah,” she whispered, leaning into him, her expression clearing.

He dipped his face closer to kiss her nose and when he moved back, he murmured, “I gotta go.”

“Okay.”

“He says he wants somethin’ else, call me and I’ll pick it up when I go out.”

“Okay.”

“See you here later tonight.”

She grinned and whispered, “Okay.”

“Your bed or mine?”

Her face got soft, her body melted into his and she asked back, “Which one do you want?”

His mattress was better. Her sheets were the softest sheets he’d ever felt in his life. Therefore, a tossup.

But her place was closer to La-La Land which meant he had more time with her in her bed and her shower before they headed for coffee.

“Yours,” he answered.

“’Kay,” she breathed and that was so cute, he bent his head and kissed her quick but open-mouthed, sliding his tongue inside to taste her before he broke the kiss and again lifted his lips but this time to kiss her forehead.

Over her head, he saw Malachi watching them from his hospital bed. And, fuck him, Chace would never have guessed, not in a million years, that Malachi would watch Chace holding Faye, talking to her, whispering with her and kissing her and that would buy him what it bought him.

But when his eyes caught the boy’s, it was slight, it was hesitant but it was there.

The kid smiled at him.

Thank fuck.

Chace smiled back.

Then he gave Faye a squeeze and looked down at her. He saw that she was looking over her shoulder into Malachi’s room and she looked back at him, hesitant too but happy, her lips parted, a bit of her cute wonder shining through and then she smiled huge.