Page 18 of SEAL's Angel
“Thank you,” she murmured.
Jake smiled as he stood up and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. It was comforting, but being wrapped in his arms would have been much better. Ugh, where had that thought come from?Focus, Dawn.
“Can we see Chase?” Cindy asked. Ah, to be a child again and oblivious to anything that didn’t involve them.
“I’m not sure, he might be with the doctor. But soon, okay?” Jake answered. “How about we go get hot cocoa from the cafeteria while Mom fills out the paperwork?”
“Okay. Can we get one for Chase and Mommy too?”
Dawn smiled at her daughter. She had such a huge heart. “I bet Chase would love a hot cocoa. I’ll pass on that, though. Thank you, Jake.”
“Not a problem, angel. I figured it might be easier this way.” He held her hand as he led them into the hospital and up to the information desk. His hand was warm and solid, like the man standing next to her. What would she have done if they hadn’t come tonight? Chase would still be out there, lost and alone. Who knows how long it would have taken for the police to think to search those woods.
“Can I help you,” the volunteer at the desk asked.
“I hope so. My name is Dawn Randolph. My son, Chase, was brought in about fifteen minutes ago by my brother, Rafe Buchanan.”
“Yes, I remember. They’re up in X-ray right now. After you fill out the rest of these forms, I’ll take you back to the waiting area.”
“Thank you.” Dawn took the clipboard with the paperwork and went with Jake and Cindy over to a row of chairs.
“Are you sure you don’t want anything?” Jake asked.
“Nope. I drank so much coffee at home I’m vibrating.”
“I thought I felt some shaking. I was hoping it was from touching me,” Jake teased.
Dawn smiled and teased back, “You wish.”
Jake’s smile filled her heart with warmth. “You’re right, I do. But we’ll talk about that later. C’mon, Cindy. Let’s get your cocoa.”
“Bye, Mommy.”
“Bye, sweetie.” Dawn turned her concentration to filling out the paperwork. Then a small body hurled itself into her arms and she almost dropped the clipboard.
“I love you, Mommy.”
Then just as quickly, Cindy ran back to Jake and took his hand. There was an expression on his face Dawn couldn’t read, and when he met her gaze, he smiled.
By the time she finished all the forms, Jake and Cindy were back. Cindy carried Wilbrr and her cup of cocoa. Jake held a tray with cups and a bottle of water, and he handed that to her.
“I thought after all the coffee that water might be a good idea. I didn’t want you to get dehydrated from all the caffeine.”
As she took the bottle from him, their fingers touched, sending tingles up her arm and to her heart. It had been years since anyone had worried about her like Jake did. It would be easy to give in and date him until he had to leave for his next mission.
“Thank you,” she said.
Then she headed over to the desk with the clipboard and handed it over to the volunteer. “Can we all go back to see Chase?”
“Normally it would only be you, but I think we might be able to break the rules tonight. There is only one other person back there. Let me just check to see if your son is back from X-ray.”
“I appreciate it. He’s been missing all afternoon, and we really want to see him.”
“Oh, is he the little boy the police were talking about earlier? They came in to interview a driver injured in a car accident and mentioned that they’d been searching for a missing child.”
“Probably. I don’t think anyone else is missing. At least, I hope not.”
“Amen to that.” The woman picked up the phone to check on Chase.
