IT WASN’T LONG after she left before Jax woke and plopped himself in the kitchen, across from Declan, who had been checking emails from his phone. They stared at each other for a moment before Dec finally broke the silence between himself and the groggy kid across from him.

“Rough night?” he asked.

With his head resting between his two hands like a drunk propping his head on the bar, Jax replied with a simple, “No.”

“Oh. Your mom had to go to work for a while. It’s just you and me,” Declan shared, surprised the kid hadn’t asked for his mom yet.

“And Dick,” the boy corrected.

“Right and…the dog.” Dick raised his head from the food bowl when Dec referred to him as dog. “Dick.”

“So,” he started, changing the subject, trying to get the kid to talk. “What do you normally do when you get up?”

Jax just shrugged. “Eat.”

This was going to be harder than Declan thought. Jax was not a morning person, and he didn’t know what to do next. “Okay. What do you eat?”

“Cereal.”

“Okay. Where is the cereal?” Somehow Declan felt like he had been set up. This was the bear Lydia said Jax would be. He’d say less of a bear than borderline mute.

“Kitchen.”

Looking through the cabinets to find the cereal, he came up short, “As it should be. Mind helping a dude out? I’m not seeing cereal.”

“It’s on the fridge.”

“Ah! Okay!” He grabbed the cereal that had been hiding in plain sight from on top of the refrigerator, then the milk from inside. “Got it, little man. We are on our way to some breakfast!”

After going back through the cabinets to find cereal bowls and silverware, he filled each with cereal and nearly spilled the milk everywhere when Jax decided to wake up.

“STOP!” Jax yelled, holding his hands out in front of him. “Da milk goes in da glass!”

“Oh, no problem. I can pour you a glass, too,” Declan reassured him before attempting to poor milk over the cereal.

“STOP! In da glass,” Jax repeated, his expression so alarmed you’d think Declan was boiling his favorite puppy.

“Okay…and in the cereal too, right?” Unsure what he was missing, he paused, afraid to give the kid a nervous breakdown. He didn’t know what the hell he was doing wrong, but it was really wrong given the panic Jax was experiencing.

“Eww. No. I like da cereal crunchy. Then I drink da milk,” Jax explained, as if everyone ate it that way.

“That makes absolute sense – everything is better when it’s…crunchy,” Declan agreed, not sure how else to respond to the discovery of a Jax quirk.

Setting Jax’s breakfast in front of him, he sat next to him and ate his own dry, crunchy, cereal. It actually was better. “So, what do you normally do after breakfast?”

“I don’t know.”

They were back to short answers, “Do you…watch T.V.?”

Sitting up straight, he spoke matter-of-factly, “I can only watch T.V. for thirty minutes after dinner.”

“Wow. Okay. How about a little hike? We can look for icicles and take…Dick…with us.” He still wasn’t excited about that name. It was just awkward, especially when speaking to a kid.

Suddenly awake at the mention of an adventure with the dog, Jax piped up with an excited, “Yes!”

Jax was fed and dressed in no time. Declan was packing a backpack that he found in the closet of the room he was staying in.

“What should we pack, kid?”

“Crayons!” he said, running for his stash.

“We won’t have time for that. Haven’t you gone on a hike before?”

Jax shook his head no, disappointed he couldn’t take his crayons.

“Well, we’ll need some snacks! Never go into the forest without snacks…just in case,” Declan said, rummaging through the pantry and stashing his findings in the backpack.

Jax ran to the refrigerator. “Water? Cause we have snacks?”

“Good one, dude,” Declan said, taking the waters from him.

Jax clapped his hands in excitement, proud of his contribution. “What else, Buddy?”

Declan was pleased with the enthusiasm stirring in Jax over their hike together. He just might score some points after all.

They were well into their hike through the trails that traced the lake. Those trails also led to a nearby waterfall, but Jax was still a bit small to make that hike, especially with the colder weather and semi-frozen ground. For his first hike, he did pretty good maneuvering a few tricky turns and climbs, staying just within the tree line to enhance the adventure, but never very far from home.

They made it to the creek, which was fed by the waterfall above and ended in the lake just below them. Jax stopped and began to pace along the stream’s edge, just behind the rocky border someone had added. When a hop in his step became noticeable too, Dec became curious. The kid looked guilty of something.

“What’s wrong, kid? You alright?” With his head slightly tilted to one side in confusion, he was almost afraid to hear the answer.

“Nope!” he said, seeming more agitated, his hop becoming more rigorous.

“No?” Declan knelt down beside him and looked him over, trying to find the problem. “You look fine. What’s wrong, kid?”

Big worried eyes met Dec’s and nearly crushed his heart doing so. “I drank all my water.”

Messing his hand through the boy’s hair, he put his mind at ease. “That’s okay, I have more.”

“No!” he sharply said, now dancing in place and holding himself. “I have to go potty!”

Relieved it was something simple, Declan stood back up, and turned around, “Oh! Then Go!”

Mortified by the instruction he received, Jax quickly fired back, “In my pants?”

“Nooo...just pick a tree and go,” Declan said over his shoulder.

Still confused and worried, Jax was on the verge of an accident that wouldn’t fare well in the cold temperatures or with the kid’s mom. He still didn’t understand what to do.

Dec knelt back down and said, “Jax, just find a bush, or a tree…shoot, a big rock even, and pretend it’s a toilet. Just…pee on it.”

Oddly, permission to pee all over nature brought joy to small children, Jax specifically. With eyes wide in excitement, Jax giggled. “Really?”

To which Declan nodded. “Really!”

Declan gave the little guy his space while he sought out the perfect spot to christen the forest with giggles and laughs…and other things. The loud sigh of relief followed by his fist in the air had Dec laughing. Something else he didn’t do often, laugh. It felt good.

Though they hadn’t been gone long, Jax was little and Declan didn’t want to push it. They had a great time, and Dec was pleased to take Jax on his very first hike, more pleased to be Jax’s new Buddy. The little guy held his hand all the way down the trail and talked a mile a minute the entire walk.

They finally ventured past the tree line to the lake’s beach that ran behind Colton and Meg’s house. His smile faded when off in the distance, he saw Blake’s police SUV parked in front of Lydia’s, lights on. It dawned on him that the other cars scattered around, haphazardly parked, were those of his brothers. Panic raced through him – Lydia.

Needing to move faster than four year old legs could go, Dec swooped the little guy up in one arm and began to run.

“Look! Uncle Blake is at my house!” Jax clapped his hands in excitement while Declan’s heart sunk. “He has da lights on!”

Trying to keep his cool, and of course avoid frightening Jax, he spoke, as if it were no big deal that the cavalry was parked ahead. “Yep. Sure looks like it. Let’s see what everyone is doing there.”

While Jax cheered and giggled, Dick ran alongside them, barking, and Dec did all he could to keep his shit together. He should’ve taken her to work himself. Something happened, and it was his fault for letting her out of his sight. What had he done?

“Lydia?” He yelled, running across the yard, and again when he crashed through the front door. “Lyd…”

He stopped in his tracks when all eyes shifted to him and Lydia herself, seemingly unharmed, charged him.

“Oh, my God! Jax!” She melted into tears, yanking her son from Declan’s arms, sobbing.

In that moment, he realized what he had done. They weren’t there because something happened to Lydia. They were there because Lydia got home and Jax was missing.

He hadn’t called, or left a note, didn’t tell anyone where they were. He didn’t think to. He just broke all of his own damn rules. Any trust he may have gained was gone because of his stupid slip-up.

The fear in her eyes, terror in her expression, crushed him because it mirrored exactly what he felt when running on the beach, thinking she had been harmed. He just couldn’t seem to stop hurting her.

“Lydee, I am so sorry.” Blake and his brothers all stood cross-armed, unimpressed with his weak apology, and totally judging him…as they should. “We were just going on a little hike up the trail. I didn’t… God, I’m sorry. I didn’t think!”

“You’re right – you didn’t think! Declan, you come in here waving red flags, telling everyone to stick together and stay in touch. I thought…” A sob escaped her, and she squeezed Jax a little tighter and closed her eyes, trying to regain her composure.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say, Lydee. Just, sorry.”

“I peed on a tree!” Jax squirmed from his mother’s arms and jumped up and down in excitement, breaking the tension.

“You…what?” Lydee asked.

“Just like a man, mama! If you have ta go potty in da woods – you just whip it out and go! You don’t get in trouble either!”

The men began to snicker, not only at Jax’s enthusiasm, but also at how much more trouble Dec just got into.

“Is that so? Just…whip it out, huh?” Lydia wasn’t impressed and made sure her side-eye glare at Declan stung.

“Uh huh! My Buddy teached me! You can go in the stream too. Just don’t go in da water, put your hands in da water, or drink da water if you do.” His joyful giggle brought a smile to her face despite how mad she wanted to be in that moment. Jax had a great day, was safe, and had a Buddy.

Declan knew that Jax wasn’t helping him in the least, but as Jax continued to call him his Buddy, he simply didn’t care how much trouble peeing in the woods got him in. The grin he wore was one of pride, and it wasn’t lost on anyone in the room.

“Can I go outside with Dick; I think he wants to go potty in da bushes?”

More snickers followed. It was pretty apparent that there would be plenty of peeing outside going on, and Declan would be to blame, every time.

“Sure, but he better be the only one peeing on anything outside. Little boys go potty in the house.”

That did little to no good as Jax was laughing all the way outside.

“Well,” Liam said, stepping forward, “that’s our cue. Since everything is good here, we should take off.”

He walked over to Lydia for a hug, followed by the rest of the brothers and Blake. She offered each of them a thank you, grateful for their help in her time of need. If anything good could come of their temporary missing persons, it was that help was plentiful and never far away…they just proved that.

“Thanks guys.” Declan said with only side-eyed grunts of disappointment in return. He was on everyone’s shit list.

It was time to face the music. After closing the door after the guys, he turned to face Lydia. He knew he had it coming, rightfully so.

“I’m really sorry, Lyd.”

“I know you are, and since he’s fine, I forgive you. Dec…you have to understand, that little boy is my world, my everything.”

“I know he is. I never meant to scare or worry anyone. When I saw the lights flashing and everyone was here, I thought something happened to you.”

“Dec…”

He held up a hand, asking for a moment to finish what he desperately needed to say. “The thought of anything happening to you and not being here to protect you and Jax, I… I… there aren’t words. So, I can only imagine what you thought when we weren’t here. I’m sorry.”

Tears breeched, as they tended to do, streaming her cheeks. “It was the worst feeling…but anyway, that’s not all. Jax has really, really taken to you.”

“Yeah, it’s mutual. He’s a cool kid.”

“He is, and you’re his Buddy. Declan he’s just a little boy. He can’t handle heart break like an adult. He won’t understand if you’re just gone one day.”

“Lydia, I said I wasn’t leaving.”

“Today. You aren’t leaving today.”

“Not tomorrow. Not the next day, or the day after that. You’re stuck with me whether you want me or not. And if not, I’ll spend every day making up for everything that hurt you until you do. I’m not here for the weekend. I’m here for good, and I’ll say it over and over until you believe me and let me do forever.”

“Well, I guess we’ll see. Please just keep that in mind though.” She poked his chest, half kidding, and half serious, trying to lighten the mood to avoid any more feelings while still driving her point home. “You hurt my boy, and Tom Boyd will be the least of your problems.”

He watched her leave the room, the sassy sway to her hips giving him a glimpse of something else he’d missed. She hollered for Jax and Dick from the back door, and all he could do was smile – she didn’t say no to forever.