Page 50 of Finding His Redemption

The boy planted himself directly in front of Jax, craning his neck to look up at him. “You’re really tall. Are you as tall as a giraffe?”

“Not quite,” Jax said, fighting the urge to smile. “Giraffes are about eighteen feet tall.”

“Whoa.” Oliver’s eyes went even wider. “How do you know that?”

Howdidhe know that? He had no idea. “I read it somewhere.”

“Are they your favorite animal?”

“No.”

“What is your favorite?”

“Dogs,” he said without even thinking about it.

Oliver sighed in exasperation. “I mean wild animal.”

“Oh. Well, then, wolves.”

He contemplated that a moment, then nodded. “That makes sense. I like dinosaurs,” he announced, bouncing on his toes. “I know all about them. The Tyrannosaurus rex had a bite force of 8,000 pounds. That’s stronger than a crocodile. And it could run twenty miles per hour, which is faster than me, but I’m getting faster. Mom says I’m like a tornado with legs. Do you know about dinosaurs?”

Jax didn’t know what to do with the rapid-fire subject changes or with the way this kid looked at him as if he hung the moon.

“Uh, I know a little,” he admitted finally. “Mostly just that they probably had feathers instead of scales.”

“Like Velociraptor!” Oliver’s face lit up even brighter. “I did a project on them. They were actually the size of turkeys, not like in the movies. Did you know that?”

“I did.”

Oliver beamed at him like he’d just announced he could fly. “Mom, Jax knows about dinosaurs!”

Nessie watched them, her expression soft and uncertain. “That’s great, honey. Why don’t you go wash your hands? You can tell Jax all about your project after.”

“Okay!” The boy darted toward the back, pausing only to add, “Don’t leave, okay? I want to show you my drawing!”

Before Jax could respond, Oliver disappeared through a swinging door.

The silence that he left in his wake felt heavier somehow.

Jax shifted his weight, unsure what to do with his hands or where to look. He settled for taking another sip of coffee.

“He doesn’t usually take to strangers,” Nessie said quietly. “Actually, he’s usually shy around men.”

Jax didn’t know what to say to that. Her words created a picture he didn’t want to examine too closely.

So, instead, he asked, “He’s what, five?”

“Just turned seven last month.” Pride colored her voice. “Going on forty, sometimes.”

“Smart kid.”

“Smarter than me most of the time.” She shook her head and gave a soft, self-deprecating laugh. “Notices everything. Remembers everything. I really don’t know where he gets it from.”

The bakery door opened again, and Ghost materialized in the entrance, a hardware store bag in one hand. His gaze swept the room, taking in everything before landing on Jax. “Ready?”

He nodded, but before he could move, Oliver burst back into the room, a crumpled paper clutched in his small hand.

“Look! This is my T-Rex!” He thrust the paper toward Jax, who had no choice but to take it. “See his teeth? They’re really sharp for tearing meat. And I made his arms small because T-Rex had tiny arms but really strong legs.”

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