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 I still peed on you and it stinks and you oughta be mad, but you re not. You re being nice to me.
How come?
 Cause I like you. Cause I don t care if you peed on me. You slept good all night, didn t you?
Gom nodded strongly again and almost smiled,  I was comferble on you. It was like I was safe
and warm and... special.
 Oh, buddy, you are... all three of those things. From now on you need to believe that. Okay, do
you have some clean clothes? I have some over there in that bag. They re probably wrinkled, but
I m just going to be working in them. What say we go shower and we ll keep this our secret?
Soldier so wanted this kid to know he was all right.
Gom wiggled to be let go, so Soldier let him and he had a chestful of Gom again. Gom was
crying again, silently like Dillon had said. But Soldier didn t think the boy was upset this time. It
felt different. He let Gom cry for a few moments, then said, teasing,  Okay, now you re wetting
the top half of me, too. Give me a break, will ya?
Gom laughed a little and pulled back to look at Soldier. He reached up and patted Soldier s
scarred cheek, love evident in the caress. Soldier had no doubt that he d become this child s hero.
Soldier didn t even question the joy he got from that knowledge. He just let it soak in.
They got up and snuck upstairs together. Gom tiptoed into the room where Dillon was asleep and
grabbed some clothes off a shelf and met Soldier back in the hall.
They went into the bathroom and Soldier quickly stripped the wet clothes off the child and set
him in the tub. He told Gom to stand in the back until he got the water right, then he closed the
curtain and told Gom to hurry.
 I m clean, Soldier. Gom s whisper came quickly. Soldier leaned in, turned off the water, and
had a thin towel ready for Gom when he stepped out. Soldier almost chuckled at how fast Gom
whipped the towel over himself.
The little boy bent over to swipe across his ankles and feet and Soldier caught his breath. Was
that? No, surely not. It looked like there were little rows of round circles across the bottom of
Gom s little buttocks. Soldier shook his head. He didn t even want to let his mind go there.
Maybe it was just shadows or something. He d have to ask Dillon.
After telling Gom to hurry and get dressed and to sit and wait for him, Soldier threw a towel over
the rod and jumped in, throwing his clothes out. He hurried through his own shower and grabbed
the towel, using it quickly, then wrapping it around his waist.
When Soldier stepped out, Gom was dressed and sitting on the top of the commode. He looked
scared to death. He was actually shaking. His eyes rounded, though, when he saw how bad
Soldier s scars were and how far down Soldier s side they went. It looked like tears were going to
start again.
 Hey now, don t cry. You already cried cause I got hurt, remember? You don t have to re-cry.
Soldier teased him, trying to stop the tears.  It was over a good while ago and it doesn t hurt
anymore. Don t worry about me. God, what a sweet, loving kid.  Go check and see if we re still
the first ones up. If we are, will you help me make pancakes?
Gom jumped down and went out, very quietly. Soldier dressed quickly and followed him, coming
face to face with a sleepy and God help him sexy Dillon, heading for the bathroom.
 You re up early, Dillon stated in a rough, sleepy voice.
 Gom and I wanted to shower before everyone else got up.
Dillon nodded, knowingly, and said,  Oooops. Thanks for taking it so well.
 Handled it better than he did. Spent a little time convincing him he wasn t a bad boy, he was too
worth killin , and no one was going to hit him. Even convinced him his mom was wrong.
 Wow, he told you about his mom? Dillon looked amazed again.
 Some. He s hiding a lot of pain. She obviously convinced him he was more or less worthless.
Workin on that. I know you are, too. Soldier fought the need to reach out and touch. Dillon was
sleepy, rumpled, and sexy beyond standing. He wanted to taste, just a little. Nope. Not.
 Oh, when I was trying to get him to tell me who hit him for peeing in the bed, I asked him if it
was you. I knew it wasn t, but I wanted him to defend you and tell me. That s just what he did.
He loves you very much. Soldier did touch him now, just a quick caress on the smooth cheek
that still showed the crease lines from the pillow.  You have helped him tremendously. What you
do is remarkable. We need to talk later. I have some concerns. Just know I m proud of what
you re doing.
 I try.
 I want to know so much. How you got into this. How do you manage it? Where did you start?
How did you come to be here? The questions just kept coming, pouring out.  Where do the kids
come from? How do the bills get paid? You have electricity and water and so on. I don t get it.
Soldier was full of questions and concerns this morning after thinking for a good portion of the
night.
 I ll explain all I can. Right now, uh... can I get in there?
 Sorry. Sure. I m gonna go down and start breakfast. Okay to make pancakes?
 Great. Where s Gom? Dillon looked around the hall. All was quiet.
 I sent him to see if we were still the first ones up. I wanted him out so I could get dressed. I was
afraid he would start asking embarrassing questions. I m new to this. Protocol, you know.
Soldier went on to explain his reasoning.  I was just trying to make him feel like it wasn t a big
deal, the peeing thing. I got by, because he was more interested in my scars. He s a sensitive little
thing, isn t he? He shook his head, remembering how the tears flowed so easily for the little one.
 He really is. He has such compassion for others, after all he s gone through, Dillon said.
 I told him he didn t have to cry about them again because he already did. He s such a special
kid. He gets to me.
 Join the club. He s got me so firmly tied around his little finger that it s a wonder he can get
around. Just don t tell him. Dillon smiled up at Soldier as he admitted how much he cared for
the special little boy.
 I gotta feelin he already knows. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]