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“Thanks,” I whispered.
His expression was unreadable as he lifted his chin before he and Haze left again.
A heretofore silent and unmoving Scythe stood to go, too, but Madison reached out and cried, “Don’t leave!”
“Not going anywhere, kid,” he said, smiling down at her. “Just gonna go sit near your mama, okay?”
She didn’t balk at his scarred smile and seemed reluctant to have him that far away. At her eventual nod, he went and sat on the floor near the door, leaning against the wall with his head tipped back and his face aimed at the ceiling.
Starting with Lightning, I stretched his limbs, wiggling them out. I pretended to spray his fur with antiseptic before putting a few Band-Aids and a small gauze wrap on him.
I held him out to Madison. “Do you think I got them all?”
She didn’t even look before shaking her head. Lowering her voice, she whispered so quietly, I had to strain to hear, “He has some scrapes near his butt.”
I pointed to his hip. “Here?” At her nod, I did the spray and Band-Aid again. “How about now?”
“He probably feels better.”
Repeating the pattern I’d done on Lightning, I checked Madison’s range of motion—relieved to confirm her earlier hesitancy to move her arm had been nervousness about it hurting as opposed to genuine pain. I cleaned her arm and bandaged it.
“Do you want your mom to do your side?” I asked.
She shook her head and climbed down to stand, lowering the side of her baggy pajama pants a little.
I pulled two splinters and a thorn free before cleaning the scraped to hell area. The spray burned like a mother, but she hardly winced.
Hiding my anger and heartbreak, I made quick work of it.
“Your mama doesn’t let you draw on your skin, either?”
I looked up from her injuries. “What?”
She gingerly ran her soft fingers down my arms before pointing to Scythe. “Their mama’s let them draw on themselves. My mama said I can’t and took away my markers for a whole day.”
I choked back laughter because I didn’t want to startle the skittish Madison—not to mention, I didn’t want to squash her misconception that the men’s tattoos were doodled on daily. “Yup, my mama said markers and scissors are only for paper.”
“That’s boring,” she sighed.
“Them’s the rules.”
Once I was done, her eyes shot to Scythe but he was already standing. He returned to his spot next to her bed.
“You and Lightning are good to go. If it hurts, have your mama or Scythe come get me, okay?”
“It won’t…” she started before rubbing the bandage. There was a calculating look in her eyes that was the most kid-like thing I’d seen from her. “I mean, it hurts a little. Maybe a piece of candy will help.”
Without a word, Scythe was up and out the door.
If he comes back with less than half the vending machine, I’ll be surprised.
“I like the way you think,” I told her as I stood.
She grinned wide and hugged her sloth closer.
Heading for the door, I stopped in front of her mom. “Keep an eye out for redness or irritation. I cleaned it as best as I could, but there’s always the risk of infection.”
Her eyes went from her daughter to me. “It’s not broken?”
