Page 49 of Fallout
She hoped she hadn’t lied. She also hoped with the police involved, Shelly would leave without too much trouble. And once she was gone, unlike Renee, they’d never see her again.
The phone in her pocket rang and vibrated with an incoming call. Answering was out of the question right now. She needed to take care of Maddox. Reassure him everything was all right by acting as normal as possible.
“Do you need to answer that?” Mazey asked as they left the sidewalk and headed up the front path.
“No. I can check voicemail after we get this little guy sorted.”
“Are you sure? I can handle Mad if it’s important.”
“No, it will be fine to wait. Maddox is my priority right now.” She waited for Mazey to open the door. “Which way to the bathroom?” she asked when they both stepped inside the house.
“Straight up the stairs, go left, then it’s the second door on the right.”
“Thanks.” With Maddox snuggled to her side, she headed upstairs. “Ready for a bubble bath?”
For the first time since Rylan had handed him over, Maddox spoke. “Baff.”
“That’s right. We’re going to have a bubble bath.”
He remained subdued while she undressed him. As she removed each article of clothing, Mallory looked for marks or bruises. She breathed a huge sigh of relief when she found nothing. Although, there hadn’t been a mark on him when Renee had him last year so she knew the lack of bruises didn’t guarantee Maddox was unharmed.
She checked his eyes when she handed him the bottle of bubble mixture, relieved they looked normal. She held his hand and together they poured the mix into the tub under the stream of water. She’d recalled Jacob saying Maddox didn’t like his bath to be hot, so she made sure it was only lukewarm before she carefully lowered him into the bath.
“There. That’s nice, isn’t it? Let’s see if we can blow some bubbles.” Scooping up a handful of white foam, Mallory blew gently across her palm until the bubbles took flight. They floated for a few seconds before landing on Maddox’s nose. “Oops!”
The giggle that shook his little body and echoed off the tiles made her smile. And when he grabbed his own handful, his pudgy fingers squeezing, the bubbles spurting between them, and tried to copy her actions she laughed along with him.
They were giggling and splashing and getting water everywhere when Mazey joined them. “Oh, that looks like fun. Can I play?” she asked, kneeling beside Mallory on the bathmat.
“Any news?”
Mazey shook her head. “Not yet. I fed Zane and put him down for a nap so we can concentrate on this little guy for a while.”
Lowering her voice, Mallory said, “I didn’t find any bruising or marks.”
“Oh. I never thought about that.” Mazey picked up a plastic watering can and used it to shower water over her hand until Maddox stuck his hand out for a turn. “Do you think she drugged him?” she asked quietly.
Mallory was shaking her head before she spoke. “No. His eyes look normal. They aren’t dilated or anything.”
Blowing a breath out through pursed lips, Mazey tipped her face down to stare at the edge of the tub. “I don’t think I could have taken it if that had happened again.”
She could hear the tears in Mazey’s voice and hated the fact her stepsister had made that statement a reality. In all that Renee had done, Mallory thought sedating Maddox for three straight weeks was the worst. Then again, she had left him alone for hours as a baby. She’d never understand how a mother could harm her child the way Renee had Maddox.
Needing to comfort Mazey in some way she reached for her hand and gave it a light squeeze. “He’s okay.”
With a nod, Mazey pushed to her feet. “I’m going to go check on Zane and see if Ry has called yet.”
Mallory watched Mazey leave the room, the sniffles she tried to contain a soft sound barely heard over Maddox splashing in the bath, and she knew the other woman was leaving to hide her tears.
Renee had hurt so many people over the years. It seemed no one was safe from the devastating fallout that followed in her stepsister’s wake.
15
Jake leaned back in his chair and watched Mad sleep. He’d let him curl up on the couch after Ry and Maz had gone home. He couldn’t bring himself to be apart right now.
He knew he’d have to get over it. Shelly hadn’t hurt Mad beyond neglecting him a little from what Lory had told him. Of course she hadn’t seen him for more than a few minutes in the twenty-four hours he’d been in the woman’s care.
Lory had assured him she’d checked for bruises and marks while they’d been at Ry’s house but that hadn’t stopped Jake from stripping his son down and checking for himself.
