Page 26 of Guarding Colton’s Witness

Ryan kneeled down and put his hands on the boy’s shoulders. “Matti’s right. Just because you were expecting me, it might have been someone else, someone you or Matti didn’t know. You should always make sure you know who’s at your door before you open it.”

“I’m sorry.” He peered up at Matti. “Are you mad at me?”

“No, I’m not mad at you, but you have to promise you won’t do that again.”

He dropped his chin to his chest. “I won’t. I promise.”

“Good boy.” Ryan glanced up at Matti and could see in her eyes that she was thinking the same as him. Sam had been conditioned to believe he was a bad boy and because of that, he had no confidence in himself, was too willing to believe he really was a bad boy. Something they needed to work on. “Let’s have some lunch so we can go shopping.”

“Matti made submarines. Have you had one of those?”

He raised a brow her way. “Submarines?”

“Tuna subs. Hope you’re good with that.”

“Ah, subs. Big difference.” He followed them inside. “Haven’t had one in a while, but yes, I like them. Thought it was leftover pizza for lunch, though.”

Matti snorted. “He had those for breakfast.”

“Can’t say I’m surprised.”

“We’re eating outside, Doc, like a picnic. I never had a picnic before.” Sam took his hand. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

When he stepped out on the back patio, he stopped to admire the landscaping. “Someone has a green thumb,” he said when Matti stopped next to him. Colorful flowers made a border along the privacy fence line, and a beautiful maple tree was the centerpiece. Under its shade was a table with their picnic spread on it. A large pitcher of icy lemonade was in the center, and a platter of tuna subs was next to it. There was also a bowl of chips and a plate of what looked like chocolate chip cookies.

Sam pulled him to the table. “See, Doc. This is our picnic. Isn’t it great?”

“It sure is.”

Matti got Sam settled next to her, and Ryan took a seat across from them. “Dig in, boys,” she said as she poured lemonade into each of their glasses.

Ryan put a sub on his plate, then added some chips. “You’ve outdone yourself, Matti.”

“When Sam said he’d never had a picnic before, I thought this would be fun.”

“It is fun,” Sam said. “Can we do it again tomorrow?”

Matti laughed. “We’ll see.”

It was a perfect summer day with the temperature in the low eighties. As they ate, a gentle breeze rustled the leaves above them, carrying with it the scent of blooming flowers. It was perfect and peaceful, far removed from the chaos of an emergency room.

Ryan thought he’d been satisfied with his life revolving around the hospital. On his days off, he cleaned, did laundry, and grocery shopped. He liked to read thrillers and mysteries, and always had a book going, and his reading was what he considered his pleasure time. Occasionally, he went on a date, but he was usually so tired, all he thought about was getting home to his bed.

Now, a woman he was seriously attracted to and an orphaned boy were showing him there was more to life than what he’d been living. When his time with them ended, he wasn’t sure he’d be happy going back to the way things were before them.

Sam groaned. “I’m full, Matti. Can I save the rest for when I’m hungry again?”

“Okay, but I guess if you’re full, you don’t want a cookie,” she said.

“I do want one.”

She chuckled. “Thought so.” She pushed the plate of cookies to him.

“You about ready to go shop for some new clothes?” Matti said as Sam woofed down a second cookie.

“Daddy said new clothes cost too much money.” He peered up at her. “We can go to the giveaway place for poor people, so you don’t have to buy me none.”

“Buy you any is the right way to say that,” Ryan said. He could see from Matti’s expression that she was as disturbed as he was that Sam didn’t expect anything nice to happen to him. He smiled at the boy. “You need new clothes if you’re going to go to school. Don’t you worry about money right now. Matti and I want to do this for you.”