Page 55 of New Nebraska Home

I ran down the street to meet him, calling his name. He looked up, and the way his gigantic eyes glistened with tears, his little ears were sad and tilted down, and his mouth twisted as another devastated sob broke me.

I dropped to my knees in front of the child and looked him over for any cuts or bruises.

“What happened? Are you okay? Did someone hurt you?”

He shook his head and tried to speak, but it turned into another sob, and he laid his head on my shoulder.

“Hey, it’s okay, buddy. I’m here. I got you.” I hugged him close. “Tell me what happened.”

“My friend’s mom came home, and she said that this sup-super-natural group let them join. They’d be safer that way. But it meant I couldn’t come over anymore. She said that Matt wasn’t allowed to play with me or ever see me again.”It took him a good two minutes for him to get that all out between sobs.

My dragon pushed against my ribs. He saw the child as his to protect.

“Look, kid, I don’t know what adults are supposed to say in situations like this. I don’t have any pretty words to make it all better. So, I am going to tell you the truth, okay?”

He nodded and puffed out his chest, a slight hint of fear in his eyes, as if he was bracing for me to say something awful.

“There are people in the world who are not worth your time. They are selfish, mean, evil, or narcissistic. Do you know what that means?”

He shook his head.

“It’s not important right now. The important part is those people don’t matter. There are also those who are real friends, people who will care about you, help you, support you, and love you for who you are and what you are unconditionally. Those are the people you want in your life, and you know how you can tell them?”

He shook his head again.

“The ones that are worth your time will never make you feel small, unwanted, or undeserving. That is something only small-minded people do to make themselves feel bigger.”

“Why?” his little voice cracked, but his tears had slowed, so maybe I was doing something right.

“Because some people are missing something inside of them. Something important.”

“How?” His eyes got big and scared.

I placed a protective hand on his shoulder and we strolled in the direction of home.

“Because somewhere along the road, someone else came and took it from them. They said something mean or did something that ripped that little piece of their soul out, and they never healed it. So I need you to do me a favor.”

“What?” The tears had stopped, and he looked up at me with wonder back in those big green eyes.

“I need you to protect that little piece inside of you. When someone does something or says something that’s mean for no reason. I need you to be brave, be strong, and not let them take it from you.”

“But how?”

“Do you remember what I told you when we were training?”

“Always have your thumb on the outside of your fist,” he answered confidently.

“Well, yes. But what else?”

“Sometimes defending is more important thanattacking?”

“Yes, that!” Pride bloomed in my chest. “When people say mean things to you, you need to block it, defend yourself. When people are mean, I want you to think of your sister and how much she loves you. And how awesome I think you are too.”

Leif’s eyes lit up, and he smiled, his ears perking right back up.

“This is probably better, anyway. You left and Brock was so bored. I almost had to drown him.”

“He can breathe underwater,” Leif laughed.

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