Chapter 20
Chapter twenty
Rowen
As soon as we got rid of one problem, another cropped up. Instead of drunk, posturing bear shifters, it was a small child in trouble. While my pack ran to get the boy off the street, I held Cam back from running out to help.
King, who cradled the boy in his arms while Ricky and Rel ran interference with oncoming traffic, was more than capable of carrying the weight without our assistance.
Riley and Channing were there when King got back to us to wrap the boy in one of their jackets. Gramps and Val were making their way over as well. I knew what it was like to be a little kid surrounded by strangers when I was scared, and he hadn’t stopped crying.
Once I no longer had to worry about my m–Cam–going off and getting run over, I kneeled down and took in the boy’s state.
His clothes were clean, so he was well-cared for, but his sweater wasn’t thick enough for the temperatures, barely above freezing.
His dirty-blond hair was half-hidden under a winter hat, and his brown eyes were half-closed from crying so hard.
“Hi there, buddy. What’s your name?”
The boy hiccupped and stuttered, still scared. “C-C-Connor.”
“Do you know where your parents are, Connor?”
Connor immediately started wailing again, which was harsh on my ears. The others stepped back except for Cam, who didn’t have super hearing. Cam crouched beside me and put a hand on my back as if in support.
People were standing around filming, as if a scared child was some kind of spectacle to be gawked at. I gave King a look and gestured towards the crowd with my head. He got my meaning and started backing everyone up. The others helped and Val announced it was time for presents.
“If everyone will make their way to the tree, it’s time to hand out gifts!”
The onlookers followed, the sounds of excited children picking back up again. Gramps and Dad started to move away as well, both giving us looks of concern.
“Hey, Superman,” I got my dad’s attention. “Maybe ask around for anyone missing a kid?”
Dad nodded and helped Gramps navigate the uneven ground.
Cam and I didn’t try to touch the boy, with Channing and Riley staying nearby to create a bubble around him.
They were the least threatening looking members of the pack, even though both could shift into wolves.
The others likely wanted to help, but we wanted the kid to be calm.
“Are you cold, Connor?” Cam asked, unwrapping the knit scarf from around their neck. Connor didn’t respond, but he shivered under Channing’s leather jacket. “Can I put this on you?”
Connor nodded and Cam wrapped the scarf loosely around his neck and lower face. His ears and neck were covered but his face was not. The boy shivered again.
“Sitting on the ground looks cold, too. Do you want to stand up and look for your parents?”
“‘Kay,” he muttered and took my hand. Mine engulfed his smaller digits, and I felt how cold they were. When I found his parents, I would give them a piece of my mind about not giving him gloves when it was barely above freezing out.
It occurred to me then that Connor might not have parents. We were at a charity event for foster kids. “Or maybe Val—Miss Ironjaw—knows where you’re supposed to be?”
Connor shook his head and I remembered that Val had come over and not said anything about knowing him. He looked around four or five, only a little younger than I was when I got adopted by my dad and moved to Blue Lake.
“Are you from Blue Lake?” Cam asked, possibly thinking about how many people came from all over for the parade and tree lighting.
“No,” Connor hiccupped and blinked past his tears. “Yes?”
His answers made no sense, but with him standing I was able to see he didn’t have any obvious harm. Visions of a motorcycle skid mark up his back had me wanting to chase the McTaryns down, even though it hadn’t happened.
“Connor?” A panicked female voice rang out across the park.
Turning towards the voice, Cam hadn’t seemed to notice.
Amid the music, crowd noises, and cheers of children opening presents, most wouldn’t have heard her.
Looking over the heads of everyone in the park, I saw the woman who’d been offended by the confrontation earlier.
I hadn’t seen the child with her, but it could have been Connor.
“Hey, kiddo, I think I see a woman looking for you. Can I put you on my shoulders so you can see if you know her?”
Connor hiccupped again, but had stopped crying. He bit his lip and nodded, lifting his arms in the universal symbol of being picked up. Even without my tentacles, I was strong, so I was able to lift him onto one shoulder so he was taller than everyone else.
The woman called out again, closer this time, and Connor gripped my hair with one hand.
“Is that who you came here with?” I asked, no longer asking about parents or a mom. I knew how everyone assumed.
Connor nodded his head so I yelled, “Over here! Connor’s here!”
The women let out a yelp of surprise and bee-lined for us. I was moving Connor off my shoulders when she collided with him, hugging him tightly. I could see she had a children's coat and gloves in her hands, so at least she wasn’t neglectful in that way.
“Connor! You scared me. Are you all right?”
Channing and Riley smiled at the reunion before waving to us and walking off to rejoin the others where they were handing out presents by the tree.
Cam sidled up to me, wrapping an arm around my waist and whispering, “Should we leave them to it?”
“Not yet,” I whispered, wanting to make sure this woman had the right to take Connor with her. “Ma’am, are you Connor’s guardian?”
“What? Oh, yes?” The woman replied. Before I could question her, she clarified, “I’m his foster parent. He’s only been with me for a few weeks. I’m Sarai.”
Connor didn’t look afraid of her, clinging to her like a lifeline. “I wanted to see the motor-bikes,” Connor mumbled into Sarai’s stomach. “But bad guys tried to run me over.”
“Oh no!” Sarai’s eyes went wide with shock. “Are you hurt?”
“He wasn’t hurt, but he was in the middle of the road,” I explained. “We got him to safety before anything happened, he was only scared.”
“They saved me, like superheroes. One of them was Superman,” Connor stage-whispered to Sarai and I held back a chuckle. My Dad would get a kick out of this.
“Connor was cold, so he has our friend’s jacket and my scarf,” Cam told her.
“That was so kind of you. I’m new to Blue Lake, hoping to make it a home for me and Connor,” She explained, taking the borrowed clothes off and replacing them with the boy’s own clothes. “I love that people jumped in to help.”
“They’re good like that here,” Cam grinned at her and squeezed me, likely thinking of how the pack stood up to the twins. “I’m new too. You should bring Connor by Perk Café sometime. I’ll give you a pastry, on the house.”
“Really?” Connor’s eyes lit up, all traces of the fear he’d suffered minutes before vanishing at the promise of a sweet treat.
“Really,” Cam assured him. “And I bet there’s still presents at the tree, too.”
“Come on!”
Tugging on Sarai’s hand, Connor started trying to walk in that direction. She thanked us and waved before letting the tiny boy lead her to the tree where the crowd was thinning.
If they were out of presents, I’d make sure he got something.
Cam watched them go but I was watching their face. Cam was great with the boy, and I couldn’t help imagining adopting a child with them. Did they like children as much as I did? Did Cam even want to raise children or were they happy being child-free for life?
If they didn’t want children, I would have to adjust my expectations. I didn’t have the answers yet, but I knew that I could see us together long term. When it came to Cameron Bass, I was planning to make them happy in whatever way they needed.