Page 31 of Bidding on a Second Chance
Maybe this moment, as scary as it’d been, would mark a turning point. Bryce would have no choice but to thank him. Gratitude had transformed Piper. Maybe it’d do the same for her nephew.
* * *
“He had no right to do that! I was going to stop.” Tears streaked Bryce’s face as he slumped against the pillows of Grandma and Grandpa’s guest bed. “And that other man had no right to yell at me. He should look where he’s going.”
Piper sat next to him, but since he seemed to think affection was for babies, she kept her hands to herself. “You didn’t look, Bryce, and you weren’t going to stop. You need to be more careful. You scared us all. We care about you so much. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.”
“Nobody cares about me. Nobody but my dad.”
Piper laid her hand on Bryce’s shoe, desperate to make her point. “Your dad does care about you. He loves you very much. But other people do too. Grandma and Grandpa and I love you. And Graham cares, or he wouldn’t have taken such a big risk, stepping in to keep you safe.”
“It wasn’t a risk. Iwassafe.”
He hadn’t been though. When Bryce slammed into Graham, Piper had thought Graham might tip backward under the weight, right into the path of the car. It’d all been so close that she hadn’t even been sure Graham had escaped contact with the vehicle until he’d come around the truck, carrying Bryce in a sloppy but firm hold, his steps sure and even.
“Thank God for Graham,” Grandma had said from beside her at the living room window.
“Amen.” She’d thought she’d had a lot to be thankful for at the dinner table, but in that moment, she could’ve broken out into song over how relieved she was that Bryce was safe.
And Graham too.
Bryce had run into the house and allowed a hug before he’d started crying in earnest and retreated to the bedroom. His claims that he would’ve stopped on his own and hadn’t been in any danger were probably his pride covering up his embarrassment.
Graham stuck his head in the room. “Everyone okay in here?”
Bryce harrumphed with gusto an old grinch would envy.
“You know better than to run out without looking.” Graham spoke gently, but this was the police officer in him, unable to let the offense go unaddressed.
Piper couldn’t blame him. The longer Bryce tried to blame others, the more she wanted to scold him into accepting responsibility. Enough bad things happened without carelessness on the level Bryce had exhibited.
Graham continued. “If the ball goes in the street, it’s just a ball. Always stop to look.”
“It’s your fault I didn’t.”
Graham drew his arms up and crossed them over his chest. “How so?”
“I was practicing my lay-ups. You distracted me.”
“I see.” Graham watched the pouting boy for a few beats. “You know, Bryce, in life, some things are so important that we can’t let anything distract us.” He looked at Piper and a pang ran through her core.
Was he saying she was important? Or only trying to make sure she was on board with his message to Bryce?
“Your safety is important,” Graham continued. “You have a responsibility to take basic precautions. Nothing can prevent all bad things from happening, and we have to trust God when things go wrong, but basics like wearing seatbelts and looking both ways for traffic can prevent a lot of unnecessary pain.”
Bryce didn’t make eye contact with either of them, and so much the better, because when she checked, Graham’s eyes were fixed back on her. Her plan to install Graham as a mentor to Bryce had overlooked an important flaw: He’d never been more attractive to her. Strong and kind, understanding and wise.
Graham fixed his line of sight back on Bryce. “Promise me you won’t let anything distract you from something so important again.”
“Fine. I’ll ignore you next time.”
Graham looked less than thrilled, but he didn’t push further. Instead, he stepped into the hall. Piper patted the boy’s leg, then silently followed Graham to the living room.
From the sounds of it, Grandma and Grandpa puttered around in the kitchen, probably taking care of the few dishes they hadn’t all done together immediately following the meal.
“He’s embarrassed, but I think he heard you.”
“I hope so.” Graham assessed her. “How about you? How are you doing?”
