Page 42 of Cowboy's Last Stand
“Maybe that kid deserved it.”
“No.He can’t hit first.He can’t hit at all.”
Jason shook his head in disagreement.
“He could have poked Kyle’s eye out,” she said.
“Are you going to punish him for what might have happened?”
She drummed her fingertips against her arm.“My parenting decisions are not your concern.”
A muscle in his jaw flexed with irritation, but he didn’t argue further.He sat down on the glider and shut up.She went inside without him.She couldn’t believe he’d challenged her in the first place.What did he expect her to do about Marcus brawling at the VFW?Her son had hit a child and an adult.He’d used a metal toy as a weapon.She couldn’t overlook this behavior.Some situations required tough love.
When she approached Marcus’s bedroom door, she could hear him crying.He didn’t cry often.He brushed off injuries and disappointments easily.She pushed the door open and looked inside.He was on the bed with his head buried in his arms.She offered him the glass of water by his bedside.He drank in choked gulps.
“How about some hot cocoa?”she said.She could be tough later.
He followed her to the kitchen.She gave him a damp washcloth for his swollen eyes and made two cups of cocoa.She put cinnamon in hers.Mike had liked it that way, Mexican-style.For Marcus, she added marshmallows.
Natalie didn’t agree with Jason about fighting—it wasn’t acceptable, period—but she wanted to give Marcus the opportunity to explain himself.“Are you ready to tell me what happened?”
He sipped his cocoa, which left a froth on his upper lip.Although she was biased, she knew he was a beautiful child.Strangers told her that often.He had Mike’s charming smile and dimples, along with her light brown eyes and stubborn jaw.Her chest swelled with love for him.
“Kyle asked if Jason was my new dad,” Marcus said.“I told him no, but he kept talking about it.He said that new dads don’t want any old kids, so you’d probably move away and leave me in a frosty home.”
“Foster home,” she corrected.
“Is it like jail?”
“No.It’s a temporary home for kids who need a place to stay for a little while because their parents can’t take care of them.”
“Are you going to send me there?”
She leaned forward and cupped his chin.“Not in a million years, OK?I would never give you up, and I would never send you away.If someone tried to take you from me, I would claw them to shreds.Do you hear me?”
Tears filled his eyes again.“But you told me…”
“I told you what?”
“That your mom gave you up.She left you and made a new family.”
“Baby,” she said, putting her arms around him.No wonder he’d been so affected by Kyle’s taunting remarks.“I’m sorry.I didn’t know you were worried about that.”
He rested his head against her shoulder while she stroked his hair.
“Kyle was just trying to stir up trouble.He was saying mean things that aren’t true.I’m not going to leave you.Most moms don’t do that.Mine had something wrong with her, a weakness inside.I’m not like her.”
He drew in a ragged, calming breath.
“The same goes for dads.The good ones stay.Your daddy didn’t mean to leave us.He loved you the way I love you.If I get married again someday, it won’t be to anyone who doesn’t want you.We’re a package deal.”
“We are?”
“One hundred percent.”
“OK,” he said.“I get it.”
“Good.”
