Chapter 9
BUTCH
Raelynn was gripping onto Butch’s shirt tightly. He didn’t like how tightly she was holding, but he knew it was going to take some time for her to get used to being around people who cared for her. Her head was tucked into his neck, so she didn’t have to look at anybody.
Butch walked into the kitchen, running his hands up and down her back to try and calm her just a little bit. Everyone looked at them as he stood in the middle of the kitchen.
“How’s she doing?” Reaper asked.
Butch noticed how Reaper had taken a special interest in her, a protective one.
“She’s mine,” Butch said before he could stop himself.
Reaper held his hands up. “I know. I wasn’t trying to take her away from you. I just wanted to know if she was holding up okay. I see her as a little sister. You know I used to have one.”
Butch closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Shit. I’m sorry, man. I wasn’t thinking straight.”
Reaper chuckled. “You’ve been on edge since finding her and not knowing who took her. We all understand, and we aren’t going to get mad at you for claiming her as yours.”
Butch walked over to the fridge and opened it, looking at what he could make Rae while she was still in his arms. He knew she wouldn’t be sitting down when there were other people in the room, and he was okay with that. Butch didn’t exactly want to let go of her, either.
He had just found her after eight long years, and he wasn’t about to let her out of his sight for a second.
“Sit down, I’ll make something for you guys,” Levi said as he shooed Butch away. “Sit down over there.”
The corner where he normally sat. Butch hadn’t meant to claim it, but when he first joined, he kept sitting in that corner, nursing a beer as he thought about Rae and what she was up to. It had unofficially become his little corner, and he was thankful for that.
“So, how is she doing?” Reaper asked again. “Did the surgery go well?”
“Doc didn’t tell you guys?” His eyebrows raised.
“He wouldn’t tell us anything. Said it wasn’t our business to know.
But we also couldn’t interrogate him because he was helping Deccan and Echo while she was sick.
Apparently, she was throwing up, couldn’t eat or drink, and was exhausted.
Deccan was really worried about her,” Levi explained as he started to cook on the stove.
Butch sat down in the chair, moving Rae so she was in a more comfortable position.
“The surgery went well. We are waiting two to six weeks for the incision to heal before anything can happen. Rae was pretty out of it for the first couple of days, but seems to be in a better mood now,” Butch explained. “She didn’t want to come out here, but I made her so they could clean my room.”
Not that it needed cleaning. When Raelynn was having surgery, they cleaned the room and put new sheets on there, but he wanted her to feel comfortable while also pushing her to meet new people…
people who were going to be around for the rest of her life.
He wanted her to grow comfortable around them so they could be someone she could come to if anything happened to him or he wasn’t available.
“And in two to six weeks, she will hear again?” Reaper asked.
Butch nodded. “From what I understand. I know it’s going to take her some time to get used to hearing again.
She’ll probably be sensitive and exhausted for a while.
But the doctor explained that it is over the course of a year, we are going to keep coming back to them so they can almost fine-tune how loud it is and other things. ”
Levi and Reaper both nodded.
“What are you making?” Butch asked as Levi started to plate something.
“Mac and cheese. I figured every Little had to love this stuff, and it’s not heavy food.
If she wants something else, I can also heat up some chicken nuggies that Deccan bought Echo the other day.
I bet he wouldn’t mind if she ate some of them,” Levi said as he placed a big bowl of mac and cheese in front of them.
“I figured one bowl, since you were most likely going to feed her. Then you can eat whatever is left, and I’ll make you something else. ”
Butch chuckled and gently tapped Rae on the shoulder. She pulled back slightly and looked up at him. He made the motion for eating in sign language and pointed to the bowl, her eyes following and nodding.
“Feed me?” she whispered.
A smile blossomed across his face, and he nodded. Pulling out his phone, he started to type.
You’ll need to face the other direction, though. I don’t want to accidentally miss your mouth and get food everywhere.
She flinched. “Other people?”
Levi and Reaper are in here, but they won’t bother you. Trust Daddy.
Before she could say anything, he helped her turn around, and her whole body stiffened even more. He didn’t like it, but he was hoping that after a little while of being around them, she wouldn’t be so stiff. Her head turned toward Reaper and Levi, and both of them gave her a small smile.
Butch scooped up some mac and cheese, testing it against his lips before bringing it to her lips. She happily ate each bite, making his pride swell more and more.
“His head is going to get so big,” Reaper muttered. “I didn’t think he was going to change much when he found her, but it’s almost night and day.”
Butch glared in their direction as he fed her another bite of food.
“Oh, I knew he had a soft spot. The few times he got drunk, he would go on and on about her and how much he wanted to be her Daddy again. How he wanted to find her and give her anything and everything she could ever want or need. He might look tough, but he’s a big softy on the inside.
” Levi chuckled. “Just look at the way he interacts with Echo.”
Raelynn looked up at Butch, and he stopped glaring and smiled.
“Okay?” she asked, and he nodded.
Rae opened her mouth and looked at him expectantly. A smile split his face as he fed her another bite.
“Can I ask Raelynn a question?” Reaper asked.
“Is it a question that is going to make her lose her appetite?” Butch questioned. “I don’t want her not to eat because you asked her a question that could have waited.”
“I’ll wait until she finishes, just in case,” he replied.
It didn’t take long for Raelynn to finish eating and look up at Butch expectingly.
Reaper has some questions to ask you. Do you think you can answer them? Butch wrote on his phone and showed her.
Rae’s breathing picked up as she looked over at Reaper. Butch could tell that she didn’t want to answer any of them.
“What kind of questions are they?” Butch asked.
“I’ve narrowed the men down to people who had a last name starting with Ed or their first names,” Reaper asked.
“Well, Ace did the work, and then I looked into them the rest while he did your parents. We decided to split the work to be more efficient. Next, we’re going to try to find the doctor, but if we find out who had her, then it would be easier to find him. ”
“Don’t expect an answer out of her. She has been pretty firm on not answering anything about who had her all these years,” Butch said. “Though she did say I wouldn’t believe her when she said the name.”
“Do you want to take a look at the pictures and list?” Reaper asked.
Butch shook his head. “I know everyone in that town, so I won’t be any help.”
He wants to ask you some questions. Do you think you can take a look at the pictures and tell him who it is? Even narrowing it down a little will help. That way, you don’t actually have to say who it is. Butch wrote on his phone and showed her.
“You don’t suspect anyone?” Levi asked. “There was no one sketchy?”
Butch shook his head. “I scared everyone off who was sketchy, saying I would come for them in their sleep and show them who was boss. I made sure they felt some pain, so they knew I was serious.”
It had been his mission to do that before he left. He didn’t want anyone messing with her while he wasn’t there.
“I don’t want to say who it was,” Rae said.
You don’t have to say anything, but Reaper would appreciate it if you could look at them.
Raelynn locked eyes with Butch after reading.
“What’s the point of it then?” she asked.
I just want you to look at them. They are people from your hometown. I don’t expect you to give me an answer, but I would really appreciate it if you could look at it for me. You’re like a little sister to me, and I want to protect you. Reaper slid his phone over.
“Little sister?” She looked at Reaper with apprehension.
Butch knew she didn’t trust people easily. It had taken him months to get her to warm up to him when they first met, but he didn’t regret all the time he spent because now they were close and nothing could separate them again.
Reaper nodded.
I had a little sister, but she sadly died several years ago. You remind me of her. She was deaf, born that way, and my parents didn’t want her. Thankfully, I was over eighteen and got custody of her before my parents could harm her.
Butch could see her eyes glistening as she read what Reaper had written. He had heard how his sister had died. No one should go through something like that.
“O-okay,” she whispered. “I’ll take a look.”