Authors: Alexa Grace
Cheryl's hands went to her face as she gasped. "Oh, Billy. What have you done?"
Remembering he didn't have a warrant, Blake realized he couldn't search the Collins' home without their permission. "Tom, may I go up to your attic?"
Tom picked up his still-hysterical son, and said, "Yes. Do it."
The second Blake opened the attic door and switched on the light, Hunter raced through the door and up the stairs. The first thing Blake saw when he reached the top was the pup tent that sat by a round window. There were used paper plates and cups littering the floor around it, along with some green plastic Army men and wooden blocks. He crept to the tent to lift the closed flap, but there was no little boy inside.
Like most attics, this one was filled with a sea of storage boxes of various sizes. If Shawn were up here, as he strongly suspected, Hunter would find him. So he stood, looking in various directions until he saw the big dog, tail wagging frantically as he stood beside a wall of boxes at the other end of the attic.
Carefully avoiding weak or loose floor boards, Blake moved toward Hunter and the boxes. He stroked Hunter's head with fondness and appreciation, and gave him Frankie's unspoken signal to sit and stay. If the person behind the boxes was the one he thought was back there, the big dog would have his undying gratitude.
Blake moved one box and then another until he came to a large moving box braced on its side. As he bent before it, he could see the little boy who had stolen his heart long ago.
Shawn was trembling so hard the box in which he was hiding was shaking. "No, Detective Blake, I won't go with you! No, you can't make me go back there."
"Shawn, you're safe with me. I promise," Blake said in a soft voice.
"You can't promise," Shawn sobbed, tears filling his eyes. "You work for the sheriff's office and you have to make me go home."
"No, you're wrong. I won't make you go back to your mother's house. I promise." He held his arms out. "Come to me, Shawn. Please."
"You don't know," he cried. "She made me promise not to tell anyone about how she beat me. If you take me back there, I know she'll kill me. I don't want to die, Detective Blake."
Blake shook his head with disbelief. His eyes filled with tears and sadness that this little boy had experienced such violence and felt such fear and despair. "Please trust me, Shawn. I won't take you back to your mother."
"Then are you taking me to those mean people my mommy told me about? The ones who hate little kids and beat them worse than she ever would?"
Christ, had Eve Isaac really told her little boy such a thing? What kind of a monster was she? He said a silent prayer that the right words would come.
"Shawn, remember when you chose me to be your mentor for the Buddy Program?"
Shawn nodded ever so slightly, his large eyes glued on Blake.
"Why did you choose me?" Blake asked. "There were a lot of officers in the Buddy Program, but out of all those men, you chose me. Why, Shawn?"
Shawn just stared for a moment, silently thinking of his response. Finally, he said, "Because you're my hero, and you made me feel safe."
Blinking back the emotions rushing through him, Blake cleared his throat and said, "Shawn, I'm asking you to trust me now. I promise not to take you home to your mother, and I would die before I'd let mean people get anywhere near you. Do you trust me?"
Shawn bit his lip, indecision racing across his face, then nodded his head and said, "I trust you."
"Thank you, Shawn," Blake said. "Now will you please crawl out of that box and let me hug you? It's been a long journey to find you, and I'm tired, and a hug from you is just about the best thing that could happen to me right now."
The little boy crawled from the depths of the box and held his arms out to Blake when he reached the opening. Blake swept him, weightless, into his arms, and held him snugly to his chest. He gently rocked Shawn back and forth, kissing the top of his head and assuring him with whispers that he was going to be okay, that he was going to be loved and safe.
Cradling Shawn in his arms, Blake stood, preparing for the precarious walk across the attic floor to the door.
"Where are we going, Detective Blake?"
"I'm taking you home with me. Jennifer, Mrs. Stone, is waiting for us."
"Am I going to stay with you and Mrs. Stone?" Shawn asked. Fear mixed with hope, lacing his voice.
"Do you want to stay with us, Shawn?"
"Yes. I wish I could stay with you forever."
"Then that's where you'll stay," said Blake. "Forever and ever."
<><><>
Downstairs, as Tom Collins apologized repeatedly, Cheryl Collins turned her house, including the attic, upside down to find Shawn's coat. Discovering it upstairs behind the pup tent, she rushed downstairs, handed it to Blake, then raced to her bedroom. When she returned, she held several blankets in her arms, as Blake helped Shawn into his coat. Billy handed Shawn a pair of his gloves, then ran his hand across Hunter's soft coat.
Outside, Blake carried Shawn to the ATV with Hunter close behind. He put both boy and dog in the back seat, and then used the blankets Cheryl gave him to wrap around the two to keep them warm for the drive ahead.
<><><>
"Jennifer, please come away from that window and sit down," Megan urged. "You're supposed to be on bed-rest. Please get off your feet."
Jennifer sat back down on the sofa and crossed her arms protectively around herself. The sun was going down, and Blake still had not returned home. She stared at the fireplace, as her mother covered her with the quilt, and tucked it around her body.
Her dad came in from the kitchen and sat in an easy chair by the fireplace.
"Tim, you're going to ruin your appetite before dinner," Megan chastised.
"What are you talking about?"
"Are you going to sit there with crumbs all over your mouth and on your shirt and tell me you weren't out in the kitchen munching on Christmas sugar cookies?"
"What cookies?"
Megan jumped from her seat, and before he knew what hit him, she was sitting on Tim's lap, sealing her lips on his in a kiss. "That's exactly what I thought. Christmas cookies crumbs," she said triumphantly.
Jennifer rolled her eyes and laughed at her parents. She'd thrown off the quilt, and was on her way to the window when she froze. Looking back at her parents, she asked, "Did you hear that?"
Megan shook her head.
Jennifer heard the sound again; this time it was louder. "Do you hear that? It sounds like a motor, and it's getting closer." She moved to the window in time to see a pair of headlights shining brightly in the driveway.
Tim moved behind her, his hands on her shoulders. "Those are ATV headlights. I think it's Blake." He hugged his daughter and prayed Blake was not alone. Grabbing his coat from the hall closet, he headed outside.
The snow was still coming down in lacy sheets of white, and Tim worked his way through the snow until he reached the ATV. Blake was bent over something in the back seat.
Seeing the Giant Schnauzer, Tim said, "Isn't that Frankie and Lane's dog, Hunter?" When Blake didn't respond, he asked. "Blake, do you need help?"
"Yes, I do." Blake answered, as he moved aside. If you wouldn't mind giving this little boy a ride to the house, I'll help Hunter make his way."
Tim blinked, his eyes filling with happy tears, as he looked down at his new grandson, snow-covered and wrapped in blankets. He looked toward the sky with a silent thank you for delivering man and boy home safely.
Tim picked up the little boy, hugging him close to his body as he kissed his forehead. "Welcome home, Shawn." With Shawn in his arms, he maneuvered around deep snowdrifts and waited for Blake and the black dog to reach him.
"So how did you meet up with Hunter?"
"He was lying on the Collin's front porch on Elm Street. Hunter had found Shawn, and he wasn't going to leave until the boy was rescued," said Blake. "And as soon as I can, I'm buying him the biggest box of dog biscuits I can find."
"Hell, I'm getting that dog a truckload!" Tim laughed, then said, "I bet Frankie and Lane are worried sick about him. That dog is never out of their sight. I'll call them. But there's something I need to do first."
Tim carried the little boy into the living room, winking at Megan as he passed her. He set Shawn down next to Jennifer on the sofa, who peeled back the blankets, and helped Shawn get out of his wet coat. Then she wrapped her mother's quilt around him and pulled him into a warm hug as she planted tiny kisses all over his little face. "You're here, Shawn. You're really here."
Blake watched his wife holding Shawn as he got out of his damp snowsuit and boots. He handed his things to Megan, who took them to the laundry room to dry. Once Blake reached Jennifer, he pulled her into a kiss and then sat down on the other side of her, with one arm around her shoulders, his hand stroking Shawn's back affectionately.
Though he'd gotten assurance from Blake, Shawn was still fearful and wanted to make sure it was really going to happen. Leaning his head back to gaze into her eyes, Shawn asked Jennifer, "Is it okay if I stay with you?"
Breaking into a wide, open smile, Jennifer kissed him on the cheek and answered, "Only if you stay forever."
<><><>
Shawn stretched as he woke up in a bedroom filled with a soccer ball, small train, red fire truck with a fire station, Lego police station, and more than a dozen books. Ignoring them all, he grasped his new Spiderman, which Dad explained to Mom was an action figure and not a doll, and then padded down the hall.
Once Shawn reached their bedroom, he crept to the side of the bed and noted his new dad and mom were still asleep. He then tiptoed to the big rocking chair where he sat and gazed with wonder at the tiny baby kicking her legs beneath the pink blankets in the bassinet next to him. With his index finger outstretched, Shawn ever so slowly stroked the velvety soft skin of her arm, and then smiled with delight when her tiny hand clutched his finger and she cooed. She was named Mylee. Her middle name was Faith, because Mom said that faith was the only thing that got her through the days he was missing. She told him that faith would get them through all the days ahead.
He was a big brother now, which was a very important role, explained to him by both Jennifer and Detective Blake—except Shawn didn't call them by those names anymore. Allowed to choose any names he wanted for them, he'd chosen Mom and Dad.