Page 18 of Damaged Protector
“All right. Be safe and call if you need me, okay?”
“I will.”
“We’re really glad you’re moving here, Mal. I’ve missed you.”
Tears welled in my eyes even as my lips turned up into a smile. “I’ve missed you too, Cam.”
“What the—where is all this water coming from?”
I scrunched my forehead in confusion. “What water?”
“Hold on, Mal. Bella!”
I heard a sloshing sound and then a tiny voice said, “Daddy! I gave Smooshy a baff.”
“You gave your bear a bath?”
“Uh-huh. Come see.”
More sloshing sounds.
“Bella Fitz! Did you put your bear in the toilet?”
“Him was dirty.”
“Jesus fu—” Cam cut himself off and called, “Shiloh, can you help me?”
I tried to suppress my giggles without much success. Cam’s little girl was what my dad called a ring-tailed tooter.
“Is everything okay?” I asked into the phone.
“Shit. Motherfu—No, my spawn has flooded the damn house. Let me handle this. I’ll call you back, Mal.”
And the line went dead.
An hour later, I stopped for a bathroom break and checked my phone. There was a message from Cam’s wife.
Shiloh: I am so sorry, but Bella tried to flush her stuffed animal and flooded the downstairs half of the house. Including your room. Don’t worry about a thing though. We’ll figure it out.
Crap! I really didn’t want to waste money on a hotel room, but I guessed I was going to have to. The Texas sun warmed my skin as I entered the humongous store and paused.
“Welcome to Buc-ee’s!” a young woman said brightly. My eyes flitted around the space. There seemed to be home decor items to the right and all manner of items to the left, all with the signature beaver logo on them. Coolers, pool toys, pajamas, T-shirts, and even swimsuits.
After using the extremely clean restroom, my phone pinged with another message from Shy.
Shiloh: Okay! I’ve got it figured out. We have a friend that has plenty of room. You can stay there until we get this mess cleaned up. I’m so sorry about this. Know anyone that wants to buy a kid? Asking for a friend.
Mallori: LOL, it’s fine. I appreciate you finding me somewhere to stay. I’m sorry to be so much trouble.
Shiloh: Girl, hush your mouth. It’s no trouble at all. I made one phone call and got it settled. Hold on, and I’ll send you the info.
As soon as I found the wall—yes, an entire wall—of beef jerky, the text message came through with a name and an address.
I stared at the name and smiled.
Tate Gentry.
I used to dance with a girl named Tatum, but everyone always called her Tate. She was an absolute sweetheart, and I couldn’t help but think maybe this was a good omen.