Donny was already dressed and in the kitchen when I got there. Dale stumbled in a few minutes later while I was frying bacon.
“Dale, your mom wants to talk to you in her bedroom.”
He nodded and left the kitchen. Dale still wasn’t much of a talker, and since he’d freaked during recess over seeing someone he thought might be from his past, he’d clammed up even more. Talon was the best at getting through to him. Dale was still pretty distant with Jade, and I could tell it bothered her, but she was giving him the space he needed. She wasn’t going to pressure him, I knew. She just wanted to make sure he was okay with going back to school.
A few minutes later he returned to the kitchen, and I set a plate of bacon, eggs, and toast in front of him.
“Still going to school?” I asked.
He nodded and started on his breakfast. Once the boys were off, I went back in to see Jade.
“Dale okay?” I asked.
“He seems to be. Thank God for Talon. I’d be lost handling Dale alone.”
“You’d be fine, but Talon does seem to be able to reach him.”
“I’m feeling kind of obsolete around here.”
“You’re being silly, and you know it. Those boys adore you.”
“Well…Donny does.”
“So does Dale. He’s just quiet. Plus, he’s scared everything is going to collapse around him again. All he needs is time.”
“I know. It’s frustrating, though. I’ve assured him time and again that Talon and I aren’t going anywhere.”
“He’ll come around. What does Melanie say?”
“That he’s healing and you can’t put a time frame on these things.”
I smiled. “Sounds a lot like what I just said.”
“I know. Still, I’m worried, and Talon doesn’t say so, but he is too.”
“About the guy Dale saw at recess?”
She nodded.
“It could have been his imagination.”
“I know that. But even if it’s not someone he thinks he recognized, why is a guy in a hoodie hanging around a playground? It’s creepy.”
“Yeah, I know. The cops are on it. They’ll be watching.”
“Talon’s calling in Mills and Johnson too.”
“I figured he would.”
“He’ll do whatever he has to do to protect those boys,” Jade said, “and so will I. That’s why I think I need to go back to work.”
“They need you here,” I said.
“I know. But I’m pulling my hair out. I feel so useless. Gah! Let’s talk about something else. And not about Colin, either. What were you doing at the guesthouse last night?”
Bam!
A two-ton rock crashed down on my head. Or so it felt, anyway.