Dammit, why had I stopped?
“Wait, let me make some calls first. See if I can help track her down without you dragging him all over.”
Bryn paused with her hand on the door. She was considering it, and for a moment, I thought she was going to tell me that she didn’t need my help. If she did, then I could let her go, and I could get to work. The little boy looked up at me, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to do that either. She was going to have to let me help her. For the kid’s sake.
“Who can you call?” she asked, finally looking back at me.
The reluctance and uncertainty in her gaze were clear. She didn’t want my help, but for the boy, she was willing to put that aside. I respected that if I respected nothing else about her.
“I know everyone. Give me a few minutes,” I told her, then walked past them, pushing the door open and heading to the parking lot. Taking my cell phone from my pocket, I dialed the first number I could think of—Drake.
He had gone out last night. He might have a lead.
He didn’t answer on the first try, but it was early for him. By the third time, he answered, and luckily, he had seen her and knew who she’d left with. It took three more calls to track her down. In less than ten minutes, I walked back into the shop to see Bryn at a table, drinking a coffee, talking to Henley and Hillya. The boy was coloring on a piece of paper with his half-eaten doughnut beside him and a cup of chocolate milk.
“Rio, I have a casserole for you to take with you and one of the lemon pound cakes Henley makes. Tell Lloyd I am praying for him and give your grandma a hug for me,” Hillya said to me.
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied.
Our relationship wasn’t close. Henley had drawn close to Hillya, working here with her, but we had only found out a year ago she was our grandmother.
I shifted my attention back to Bryn.
“She pass—” I stopped when the boy’s eyes lifted to meet mine.
I had been that kid once. My mom would leave me home alone for days at a time. I had been his age, yet I had felt so much older. There had been no aunt living with us to watch out for me. He had security in Bryn. She shouldn’t be working nights. He needed her.
“She got tired and stayed over at a friend’s house. She’s awake now, and they are bringing her home,” I told Bryn.
That was the cleaned-up version for the kid’s ears. The truth was, Tory had gone home with a guy named Dillion. They had gotten high and then crashed at his place early this morning. I had threatened Dillion with a visit from the local police chief if he didn’t have her home in ten minutes even if he had to drag her body there.
Bryn’s lips were set in a tight line. She knew what I wasn’t saying, and I could see the anger she was trying to hide. Tory hadn’t changed at all, it seemed. Poor kid was growing up with a mother exactly like mine and an aunt who had her own set of issues. I hated to see it, but there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
“Thank you,” she said, standing up and taking the to-go cup with her. “Let’s go home, buddy,” she said to the boy, and he picked up the crayons and gave them back to Henley. He then collected his drawing and handed it to Bryn before taking his doughnut and once again clasping her hand.
“Call me anytime,” Henley told her.
She nodded, and as she turned to leave, she paused to look at me. “I appreciate y-y-your h-help. Thank you,” she repeated, then started toward the door.
Just as she opened it, the boy looked back at me and held up his doughnut in a wave.
I held up my hand and waved back at him, and then they were outside and walking away. He was looking at Bryn, saying something, and she paused and bent down until she was at his eye-level. I couldn’t read her lips, but she was saying something to him as she held on to his hand. Then, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek before pulling him in for a hug.
“She looks like a crazed, messed up bitch to me. I’d better steer clear,” Henley said sarcastically from behind the counter.
I said nothing because I was too busy watching them. The boy hugged her back tightly. They stayed that way for several moments before Bryn stood back up, and they continued on their way. There was a lot I didn’t know about Bryn Wallace. What I had just witnessed was one of them. She did love the boy, but her priorities were fucked the hell up. He needed someone at home at night to protect him. She was too damn worried about money to think about that.