Page 34 of Scorched

Elise shook her head. “I can’t keep that child in backpacks.” Though she was talking about Luke, her heart went out to her oldest son. As soon as Luke turned and saw the truck, he let out a whoop. “It’s Paul! It’s Paul!”

Brandon didn’t look back but continued toward the house.

Paul rolled the window down and called out to Luke. “Climb in the backseat.”

“Yay! I get to ride in the monster truck!” Luke climbed up on the running board and jerked the door open. He slung his backpack onto the floorboard and clambered up into the truck. “Can we go to the rodeo? Can we?”

“Luke, honey,” Elise said. “The rodeo has already come and gone. We’ll have to wait until next fall when it comes back.”

“Are you going to start on the fence? Can we get our puppy?”

Paul laughed out loud. “Do you ever breathe?”

“Sure. All the time.” He huffed in and out and patted his chest. “See?”

Brandon reached the house before the truck pulled into the drive. He dug in a side pocket of his backpack, unearthing a key. Without glancing their way, he inserted the key in the door and pushed it open.

Paul shifted into Park, his gaze on the boy.

What would it take for Brandon to warm up to Paul?The boy had lost one parent already. He might think of Paul as someone who might take his mother away from him. How could he convince the child that would never happen?

Luke burst out of the truck and dropped to the ground. He rounded the house and ran into the backyard.

Paul glanced across at Elise. “Want me to talk to him?”

“No. I will.” She sighed. “Give me a minute, will you?”

Elise gathered her purse and the papers and headed into the house.

Once inside, she dropped the papers on the counter and hurried down the hall to Brandon’s room. Only he wasn’t there. He’d stopped in front of Elise’s room and stood just inside the doorway, staring at the wall, his eyes round, his face pale.

“Brandon?” Elise closed the distance between them and dropped to her knees beside her son. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

He didn’t look at her, he just kept staring straight ahead. “I didn’t do it, Mommy.”

Elise’s heart flipped in her chest, and she turned her head so slowly she felt she was in a time warp.

On the clean white wall over the headboard of her bed were words scrawled in bold black letters.

Roses are red

Her eyes were blue

She was a blonde

And looked just like you.

Lying below the note, neatly stretched across the snowy white pillowcase, was a lock of long blond hair.

“Elise?” Paul called out from the living room.

Elise straightened and turned Brandon away from her room. “It’s okay, Brandon. I know you didn’t do it.”

“But who? Who would have done it?” he whispered. Then his gaze locked on Paul and his body stiffened.

Before Elise realized what was happening, Brandon flew at Paul, scratching and kicking, screaming at the top of his voice. “You did it! It’s all your fault! You never should have come!”

Paul gripped the boy by the shoulders but found no relief from his swinging feet.

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