Page 71 of A New Year In The Presidential Suite

They both looked up as a boy ran past them and hid in the bushes next to the building.

Lori thought she recognized Bert and rose to go to him.

As she drew closer, he burrowed deeper into the landscaping of grasses and a variety of green-leafed bushes.

“Bert, is that you?” Lori asked. “Is everything all right? You can tell me. I’m here to help you.”

A brown face peered out at her. “Is he around?”

“Who? There’s no one here but Kayla and me. No one else.” She scouted around the corner. “Nope, just us.”

Bert stayed where he was.

“Did you do something?”

Bert shook his head.

“Did you see or hear something?”

“Si,” Bert said. “He wanted to hurt me.”

“Who?” Lori asked, growing increasingly concerned.

“The man at the barn. He was doing something to a tractor. Something bad.”

Lori held out her arms and spoke in a soft, comforting way she’d learned with the kids at Bright Beginnings. “Come to me. We need to talk. Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe.”

Bert hesitated and then walked out from behind the shrubbery and ran to her.

She swept him up in her arms. “It’s okay, I promise. We’ll get help.”

Kayla came up beside them but remained quiet.

Lori exchanged a worried look with her. “There’s some sort of problem at the barn. Let’s take Bert inside and get him something to drink. Then, he can tell us what he’s afraid of.”

Bert clung to Lori until they got to the kitchen, where he allowed her to set him down.

Kayla got him a glass of water, and the three of them sat at the kitchen table.

Lori spoke softly but firmly. “Bert, you need to tell us what’s bothering you. It’s important. We need the truth. No one is going to be angry with you.”

“I saw a man at the barn. He was hurting the tractor,” said Bert.

“Hurting the tractor? How?” asked Kayla, taking Lori’s hint and speaking softly, slowly.

“He was putting dirt inside. Papa told me that it was bad to do that,” said Bert.

Lori immediately thought of the one worker who’d unsettled her. “Was this man tall, with a mustache?”

Bert glanced at the door.

“Don’t worry. He won’t come here,” said Kayla.

Bert stared at her wide-eyed and nodded.

“Has he been here some other time?” Lori asked.

Bert nodded.