Page 24 of Off Limits Daddy

I smiled. "Are you all cleaned up, buddy? I got your cookies and milk here."

His lips twitched in a small smile as he nodded and came to the table, climbing up into the booster chair I had gotten for him.

Deciding that Veronica was like a tenacious dog with a bone, I resolved that we were going to have to talk to him about why he was hiding in my car.

I put two more glasses of milk on the table and sat down. "Listen, Aiden, I want you to know that you're not in trouble. I'm just curious about why you went to hide in the car."

As expected, Aiden's head dropped. He hadn't even taken a bite of his cookie yet and all his doors clamped shut.

"It's okay, buddy. You're not in trouble. Were you afraid?"

He gave a single nod.

"Have you hidden in the car before?" Veronica asked.

I slashed my gaze to hers with a glare. Aiden was my son. It was my responsibility to make sure that he was protected physically and emotionally. She needed to stay out of it.

Aiden shrugged, which I learned usually meant yes.

"What made you decide on the car?" I asked before Veronica could say more. I didn't want her diving into whether he was in Wally’s car as he drove by and killed two people.

Aiden was quiet. I reached out, rubbing my hand on his back. "You're safe here with me, Aiden. If you need to hide in the car to feel safe, I'm okay with that. But it scared the poop out of me when I didn't know where you were.”

Aiden's head lifted, his eyes rounding with a small sparkle of humor.

"Seriously, little guy. I'm going to have to go change my underwear."

His head tilted down again, but not before I saw the slight upward twitch of his lips again. "My mom."

It took me a moment to realize he had spoken. "Your mom? She told you to hide in the car?"

Veronica cleared her throat, clearly intending to get my attention. She probably thought I was doing this all wrong, or maybe she was eager to get to the meat of her investigation. Well, that was too damn bad. I ignored her.

Aiden nodded his answer to my question. I didn't have all the details about Aiden's life with his mother. The impression I got from his social worker was that their life was chaotic. Often, she was homeless. She'd been a young mother, and while trying to do the best she could, she ended up in some precarious situations, often involving an abusive boyfriend and other unsafe situations. When Aiden had gone into foster care, his mother made an attempt to do as the court had asked her, but two years ago, she disappeared. Had she given up? Had she moved away? It was sad to think about, especially if she had been trying to be a good mother. I wondered if his mother had him hiding in the car as a way to keep him safe from the violence in her life.

"When did your mom ask you to hide in the car?" Veronica asked. I gave her another glare.

Aiden responded with a shrug.

"Was it like a game?" she asked.

"Batman.”

I glanced at Veronica, who also looked at me.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

Aiden was silent. "When your mom said Batman, did that mean to go into the car?" Veronica asked. Aiden nodded.

She looked at me. “She had a code word for him.”

I wanted so badly to be Aiden’s father, but even so, I was saddened that his mother, who clearly wanted to be a good mom, hadn’t succeeded.

“What about at your last home?” she asked Aiden.

I didn’t want to have this conversation, but instead of stopping it, I studied Aiden, ready to console or comfort him.

Aiden continued to stare down at his cookie.