Heart At Risk

“So here’s where Scotty was conceived.” He glanced below at Stoneville. “Thank God you got him out of there, Maddie.”

Kurt turned on the car and pulled out. He had a lot to think about—a lot of decisions to make. Maddie must have realized this, and was quiet on the ride back.

“I have to go back to the hospital tomorrow to get checked out, but then I’m coming back to work out some arrangement with you,” Kurt said when they reached the house.

Don’t panic. Stay calm, she warned herself. “Kurt, I meant what I said. I don’t need or want your help. I’ve gotten along thus far without it. If you simply keep me informed of an address where you can be reached in the event of an emergency, there would be no reason for you to remain.”

“I think that’s not entirely your decision to make. Since I’ve just discovered I have a son, I’d like to spend some time with him. Maybe you should pass that question by Scotty, and see what he thinks.”

So this was the start of his interference—the very reason she had hesitated to tell him. “I beg you, Kurt, please don’t tell Scotty the truth until we work this out. He’s the one who can be hurt by it all.”

“What did you tell him about his father?”

“I told him his father left before he even knew I was going to have a baby.”

“Well, thank you for that. At least you didn’t make me sound like a child deserter.”

“I did it so that Scotty would never think his father left because of him. I understand children often do so when their parents split up.”

Maddie got out of the car and went into the house. As soon as Kurt locked the door behind them, she said goodnight and headed up the stairs.

“And, Maddie,” Kurt said behind her, “I think Scotty should call me Kurt—unless you prefer Dad.”

Chapter 5

Kurt followed Maddie up the stairs a short time later, but sleep was out of the question for him. A man doesn’t find out he has a son and simply lie down and go to sleep. He stared at the sleeping boy in the other bed, and his heart swelled with tenderness. Scotty was a great kid, and he deserved a better father than Kurt could ever be. But he sure as hell was going to try and make up for a lot of lost years.

He had no idea how Scotty would react when they told the boy Kurt was his father. Trouble was, it was clear Maddie would bode no interference on his part, so who was going to be the biggest problem—the mother or the son?

He figured he’d go back to Milwaukee in the morning, get his final checkup, and then come back and spend the rest of his leave in Vandergriff. Dave Cassidy was a lawyer, and once Kurt and Maddie settled on an arrangement, he’d have Dave draw up a new will. In the event the squad had to go on another mission, he wanted to be certain Scotty and Maddie were his beneficiaries.

It was three o’clock by the time Kurt finally fell asleep. Scotty’s cries awoke him a short time later. The boy was sitting up in bed crying. Kurt jumped to his feet and ran over to him. Trembling with fright, Scotty clutched at him.

“Hey, buddy, what’s wrong?” Kurt murmured, embracing him.

“Don’t let go of me,” Scotty sobbed.

Kurt tightened his arms around him. “I won’t, pal. Did you have a bad dream?”

“I was in this big pool of black water, and…and I was choking and couldn’t breathe.”

“You were reliving your accident, Scotty. You’re fine, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“Will you stay with me, Mr. Bolen?”

“Sure will. I won’t let anything happen to you. And you can call me Kurt. Your mother said it was okay.”

The boy looked up at him, tears streaking his cheeks. “Promise?”

“Promise, buddy. And you never break a promise to a buddy.”

Scotty stopped crying and wiped his eyes with a balled fist. “Am I really your buddy?”

“If you want to be.”

“I sure want to be. I bet you’re the best buddy a fella could have.”

“Hey, I was thinking the same thing about you.”

“Do you have other buddies?”

“Only older ones,” Kurt said. “The guys in my…guys I work with. What about you?”

“I’ve got a couple friends at school, but I don’t have a real buddy.”

“Well, you’ve got one now. Tell you what, tomorrow I have to go into Milwaukee to get my leg checked, then I’ll come back and we’ll pal around together until I have to go back to work. Would you like that?”

“Really! Oh, boy, wait until I tell Mom!”

“Can you swim, Scotty?”

He hung his head. “Not very good. I’m kind of afraid of the water.”

“I bet I could teach you how to swim so good that you’d never be afraid of water again.”

“Could you really?”

“Yeah, I’m a pretty good swimmer.”

Scotty leaned forward. “Do you think you could teach my mom?” he asked in a half whisper. “She’s afraid of water, too.”

“If she’ll let me.” So, like mother, like son. “Now, how about you going back to sleep. Do you want a drink of water?”

Scotty giggled. “No, sir. I drank all the water today I want to.” Scotty slipped his hand into Kurt’s. “Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?”

“I promise, buddy.”

“And a buddy never breaks a promise to a buddy,” Scotty said. Smiling, he lay back and closed his eyes. “It’s sure gonna be nice having a buddy like you.”

Kurt sat on the edge of the bed, holding his son’s hand until Scotty fell asleep.

As soon as she heard Scotty cry out, Maddie bolted from her bed and rushed to his bedroom. She paused in the doorway when she saw him sitting up and clutching Kurt. For some inexplicable reason she chose to remain silent and not intrude on the scene.

As she listened to them, she could see how much Scotty missed and needed to have an adult male in his life. She had concentrated so hard on making a life for him that she had neglected the one thing he needed the most—a father to comfort him, to teach him the things a boy learns from just being around a man—especially around a father.

And it was obvious that he and Kurt had bonded from the beginning. Even just now, no matter how frightened Scotty had been, not once had he cried out for her.

She struggled with the reality that at this stage of his life Scotty needed Kurt more than he did her. She thought her heart would break, and turned away and went back to her room.