“No, you’re right.” Henry had already said that he never talked about how he lost his hearing. He would never tell me any of this. “Thank you.” I dropped my head into my hands.
“Are you okay?”
“No. No, I’m not okay.” How could someone be okay after hearing any of this? “I’m ok with you, Sam. I’m not mad at you.” I looked up and saw Sam still cuddled up on his Daddy’s lap. “I need to see Henry.”
“Of course. We’ll leave.” Jakob nudged Sam to get up. “If you need anything, let us know.”
“Thank you.” The shock prevented me from saying more than that. After what Jakob and Sam just told me it was…well, it was…there weren’t words for it. I got out of my chair to at least say a proper goodbye. Sam caught me off guard when he threw himself at me and hugged me tightly. Man, I’d heard about Sam’s killer hugs.
“I’m so sorry, Caden.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Sam, and it was right to come and tell me. Thank you for coming here and telling me,” I assured him and forced a smile when he let go. Then I turned to Jakob and nodded. “Thank you for coming personally and letting me know.”
“Of course. And remember, Henry’s alive and safe.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. But you know as well as I do, I need to see it for myself.” After I led Jakob and Sam out of my office, I went back to my desk.
Caden: Hey, my sweet Boy. Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?
Henry: Hi, Daddy! Just tidying up and grooming Charlie, so he looks pretty for tomorrow.
Caden: How would you like to start our weekend a little earlier?
Henry: For real? Like now?
Caden: Yes, like now.
Henry: YES! Hurry! But don’t drive too fast. I need you to get here in one piece!
Caden: I promise. I’ll drive safely. I’ll see you in about an hour, Little Boy.
As a response, I got a dancing Lama gif that made me smile. That was what I needed right now. Not only to make sure that he was alive and well but because my Daddy mode kicked into high gear. Just caring for Henry would drive out the images I had conjured of Henry growing up on a white supremacy compound. Not to mention the pictures my mind created hearing that Henry had gotten beaten almost to death. My first instinct was to wrap him in bubble wrap and hide him away, but that was not feasible. Wrapping him up in a huge hug would have to do.
Chapter 7
Henry
At first, I was surprised that Caden wanted to come over today instead of tomorrow morning. But the more I thought about it, the more excited I got. It meant we got to spend even more time together. Time couldn’t move fast enough. For the next hour, I sat with my nose pressed against my nursery window, waiting for my Daddy to arrive. After what seemed like forever, his black SUV pulled into the small parking lot.
Daddy is here. Scampering off my bench, I was internally squealing. Happily, I skipped through my apartment. The alarm system got shut off, and I rushed out the door. When I got out of the building, Daddy was pulling two big travel bags out of his trunk.
“Daddy.” Caden whirled around. “You’re here.”
“I told you I’d be here within an hour.”
Nodding, I threw myself at him and hugged him tightly. Caden must have dropped his bags because I felt his arms around me, hugging me back. After a moment, he pulled back so I could see his lips.
“Why are you down here? You shouldn’t unlock the alarm without knowing that I was here?”
“I watched the street from the window in my playroom. I saw your car,” I responded with a frown.
“Right, yes.” Caden closed his eyes and hugged me again before he stepped back. “I’m sorry.” I watched as he took a deep breath, and then a smile appeared on his worried face. “I just want you to be safe.”
“I am safe.”I switched to signing again after he released me. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, my sweet Boy.”
Frowning, I looked up at him. Something seemed to be off with Caden. “You said that you had to work late today, but now you’re here and worrying about me.”
“You know, sometimes Daddies are needy, too.”
“And you needed me?”
“Yes.” Caden swallowed hard, then reached out and gently stroked my cheek. “Yes, I needed you, so I took some time off to spend it with you.”
Oh. Daddy missed me. It probably made me the most selfish person on the planet, but I was happy that he wanted to spend time with me instead of working late. I smiled at him, then looked at the bags.
“Do you want me to help you with these? What is all this anyway?” With my question, Caden visibly relaxed and grinned at me.
“Food, clothes, and a couple of surprises for my Boy.”
“Surprises? What kind of surprises? Fun ones? Will I like them?” I asked out loud because my hands were busy, reaching for the bags. But that only earned me a slap to my hand, and I couldn’t help the grin spreading over my face.
“If you think slaps are funny, I should start spanking your cute bottom instead.”
Oh, yes, please.But I said, “Owen was here yesterday and slapped my hand, too. And I told him that only my Daddy could do that.”
“Is that so. Who’s Owen?”
“My agent. We met in college and became great friends. He was the editor for my first book and then became my agent.”
“Ok. No, let Daddy take those, sweetie. You can take the shopping bag and open the door for us,” Caden said when I reached out for one of the bags.
I shrugged and took the paper bag out
