Kayla dragged the first bag up the stairs and into Connor’s room. It was just as she’d left it years ago, down to the old white comforter on her twin bed. Some of her old clothes were even still hanging in the closet.

It was apparent that her mother had kept her mess and her animals out of this room. For that, she was very thankful.

“See.” Connor bounced up and down on the bed. “Mine.”

“It’s nice, honey.” She stopped her son from bouncing by taking him in her arms and kissing him until he giggled uncontrollably.

“Stop!” he cried and tried to get away.

“You okay with this?” she asked when he settled down.

Connor nodded, then crossed his arms over his chest. “Downstairs smells.”

“I know, sweetie. But maybe we can convince Mema to let us clean up a little.”

Connor smiled. “Where is your room?”

“Let’s go see.” She held out her hand, but he climbed into her lap, so she carried him across the hallway.

When she opened her mother’s guest room, she held in a groan. Here, she wasn’t as lucky as Connor had been.

Three cats rushed out of the room when the door opened. From the smell that hit her, she wondered how long they had been locked in there.

“Ewww.” Connor pinched his nose with his fingers.

“Yeah.” She sighed. “Ewww.”

“Mommy.” Connor tugged the collar of her shirt. “I can help clean.” He took the sleeve of his shirt and rolled it up, then tried to do the same to his other sleeve, but his red cast was in the way. She smiled as he mimicked a move she knew he’d seen her do before.

“Thank you, sweetie.” She set him down. “Well, I’ll go downstairs and see if Mema has some Lysol.”

“What’s dat?” Connor frowned.

“The lemon stuff,” she answered. “The stuff that makes everything smell good.”

“I like dat stuff.” Connor smiled.

“Why don’t you go back to your room until I find what I need.” She walked him to the door. “Stay here, okay?”

He nodded as a reply and she noticed a yawn escape him. With any luck, he’d nap all the way through her cleaning spree.

When she returned upstairs almost half an hour later laden down with all the cleaning supplies her mother had, he was curled up on her childhood bed, fast asleep. Her mother was laying down on the sofa watching TV, her usual spot since her father had left shortly after Lori’s death.

She knew she would be able to work faster without help from either of them.

The first half an hour, she took several loads of empty boxes, extra bags of clothes, and junk out to the dumpster in the back alley. She didn’t even ask her mother what she could toss out. She just scooped everything up, threw it in trash bags, and hauled it away.

She was shocked at how many new items were laying around, things that still had the price tags on them. Everything from clothes to office supplies, and even a few lawn care items. That was kind of funny considering it appeared that her mother hadn’t touched the outside of the house in years. The grass hadn’t been mowed for so long that it had actually stopped growing in spots. Weeds had taken control of more than half the yard. She put all of the new items in the garage instead of hauling them to the dumpster.

When the room was clear of clutter, she pulled the blankets and sheets off the bed and tossed them into the washing machine, making sure to add extra soap and softener into the mix.

Then she pulled out the mop and cleaning supplies. Under a thick layer of muck, she knew there was a very nice Cherrywood floor. She scraped, mopped, and even got down on her hands and knees and scrubbed until the floors gleamed back at her. Checking on Connor several times, she kept the bedroom doors open so she could listen for him.

Then she tackled the layers of dust. Once every surface in the room shined, she opened the door to the guest bathroom and closed her eyes on a groan.

A cat had obviously had a litter of kittens at one point in the shower. There was a nest of old towels that she picked up carefully with a trash bag. She held her breath at the stink. She slipped on what she could only assume was cat poop as she walked out of the room, holding the bag in front of her at arm’s length. She seriously questioned her mother’s sanity once more.

Was this the kind of home she wanted to raise her son in? Why had she let her mother go this far? Did JT know it had gotten this bad? More important, what would it take to convince her mother to clean up the rest of the house?

When she came back up the stairs after dropping the towels in the dumpster, she heard Connor moving around and peeked her head into his room with a smile that froze instantly.

“Look, mama.” He smiled as a large black dog jumped up on his bed. “Doggie.”

She hadn’t known her mother’s dogs were so big. From the sound of the barking earlier, she’d assumed they were small. “Sweetie.” She started to move closer to him, just as Connor reached out to pet the dog.

Two things happened quickly. One, she reached her son in record time just as the black dog growled loudly. Second, she watched as the dog’s sharp teeth sank into Connor’s skin.

Connor let out a loud shrill, and the dog snapped again. This second bite hit his cast, and she wondered just how bad it could have been if that hadn’t been the case.

The dog had Connor’s cast in his mouth and Kayla grabbed a handful of its dark mane, trying desperately to yank it away from her son.

When it wouldn’t let go of Connor, she wrapped her arms around its neck as it shook her son’s broken arm, taking his little body along. Connor’s entire body shook violently several times as he screamed at the top of his lungs.

“What’s going on?” Her mother rushed in.

“Mom! Help!” she cried out as she tried to open the dog’s mouth. The massive teeth sank into her fingers as she pried its jaws from the cast.

“Bruno, down!” her mother cried out several times.

The dog didn’t even blink at the command. He continued to shake her son as its teeth sank deeper into the cast. Its massive body shook with a deep growl.

Fisting her hands, she punched the dog straight in the eye socket, a move she’d seen once in a movie. She felt her knuckle split open on contact, but struck out several more times, hitting it in the throat.

The dog’s jaw loosened and finally, released. Connor’s body bounced off the corner of the bed and hit the floor with a thud.

Her mother grabbed the massive dog by the collar and pulled him out of the room. She gave them no more of her attention as she held her breath and raced over to gather Connor up.

There was so much blood. Too much. His eyes were closed and his body was lax as she held him.

Her mother was scolding the dog in the hallway as she rushed out the door and headed straight for her car.

She drove with Connor in her lap, holding him tight to her body. Rowan’s clinic was less than five blocks away and she made it there in under three minutes.

When she ran in, holding Connor in her arms, nothing else registered other than seeing Rowan standing just inside the doorway.

“Help!” she cried out. She was thankful when he moved quickly to her side and took her son into his arms gently.

“Sarah, stay with Kayla.” He rushed Connor to the back, through a wide door.

When she tried to follow, a hand stopped her.

“Let’s stay out of his way,” Sarah said softly.

Kayla turned, and for the first time, realized Rowan’s cousin was standing there, her hand on her arm, with a worried look on her face.

“I have to—”

“It would be better to let him work. He’ll take care of him.”

“I’ll go see if he needs some help.” Ben, Sarah’s husband, disappeared through the doors.

“I need—”

“Come sit down.” Sarah motioned towards a row of chairs. “I have to get off my feet.” She glanced down.

Kayla glanced down at Sarah’s large belly and followed her to the chairs. She sat down, but her eyes remained glued to the door.

“Is that your son?” Sarah asked once they were sitting down. Kayla nodded as she bit her bottom lip with worry. “How old is he?” Sarah asked.

“Three.” She started biting her nails, then remembered what she’d been cleaning when she’d heard Connor and stopped the old habit. She glanced down and noticed how bloody they were. Some of it was hers but most of it was her son’s. Worry flashed again in her mind, so powerful, she felt her heart skip several beats. Her chest ached, her mind whirled, and for a moment, she wondered if she was going to pass out. Then she bit her bottom lip again until she tasted blood. She would not pass out. Connor needed her.

She moved to get up, but Sarah broke in and placed her hand gently on her arm again.

“What’s his name?” Sarah asked.

“Connor James.” She felt tears stream down her face. “It was a dog.” She felt her shoulders sink. “I shouldn’t have… I didn’t know my mother… it had gotten this bad…” She knew she was speaking in broken English, and that Sarah probably didn’t understand what she was saying, but it didn’t matter. What mattered most was lying unconscious in the next room.

She moved to get up again, just as Ben came back out to the waiting area.

“It’s not as bad as it looked.” Ben held up his hands. “There was only one bite and a small bump on your son’s head.” Ben sat next to her and took her hand. “Rowan is stitching up the bite now.” He ran his finger over his right forearm and showed her where she already knew the dog had bit Connor. “Rowan says you can go back in just a minute, and that Connor is awake.”

“He’s awake?” She held in a cry as her entire body started to shake.

“Yes, he woke up when Rowan gave him a shot.”

“A shot?” Her voice cracked as tears slid down her face. “I… I’m going back.” She stood up, then looked back down at Sarah. “Thank you for trying to keep me sane.”

Sarah smiled and chuckled slightly. “Anytime. We’ll wait around until we can meet Connor.”

She nodded, then rushed past the doors and followed a nurse to where Rowan was finishing up with her son.

* * *

Rowan watched Kayla with Connor and couldn’t stop his heart from skipping. It had scared him, he had to admit, when he’d seen the kid covered in blood and unconscious.

Seeing mother and son together assured him that he had chosen the right profession.

“Two small stitches.” He smiled when she rushed into the room. “I would have liked to use glue for it all, but where the dog’s canines sunk in, it was too deep. But I took my time and CJ held super still for me, so I don’t think he’ll have a big scar.” He smiled down at the small boy and patted his knee.

“Thank you.” Kayla didn’t even glance up at him as tears streaked down her face. She was holding Connor tightly as her eyes ran over her son.

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to salvage the cast.” He frowned down at the mess. “So, Connor has decided that you get to pick the new color.”

“We made an agreement that next time anyone broke a bone, I would get to choose the color of the cast.”

He wanted to ask how many bones they had broken between them, and how, but held in his question.

“So, what will it be?”

She glanced up at him and blinked a few times as if she didn’t know what he was asking.

Then she looked down at her son and smiled. “Blue.”

Connor nodded and gave his mother a reassuring smile. In all honesty, the kid was holding up better than the mother was at this point. He could tell that Kayla was trying to get her shit together, but the worry was still consuming her eyes.

She wiped her eyes dry and gave her son a smile. Then he noticed the blood on her hands and frowned as he watched some drip on the floor.

“Did you get bit, too?” He took her hands in his and examined them. He could see two large gashes on the palm of her left hand. One was deep enough to need stitches as well.

“I… I punched the dog,” she said, looking down at her hands.

He glanced up and smiled over at CJ, making sure to mask the worry in his voice for her son’s sake.

“Looks like your mom is going to get some stitches and a shot too.”

The boy’s eyes were starting to look clearer, a good sign.

“Does she get a sucker too?”

Rowan smiled and nodded. “If she holds real still for me like you did.”

Rowan motioned for Kayla to sit down, and she sat next to her son on the table.

“What kind of shot?” Kayla’s eyes scanned his.

He held in a chuckle as he filled her in while he and one of his nurses cleaned and prepared her hand for stitches.

“There, three stitches.” He smiled down at his handy work, two stitches on the palm of her hand and another one holding the skin on her middle knuckle closed. He gently put bandages over the stitches like he had with Connor.

He turned to the boy. “What do you say we get this mess off you and get you a new cast?”

As he worked on removing the shattered cast, he talked about the bump on Connor’s head. He went through the spiel on what to watch out for in head injuries. Then he told Kayla how to care for the stitches and wounds. He told her he wanted to see Connor tomorrow as he added the new blue fiberglass cast. He’d checked Connor’s arm after removing his old cast. As far as he could tell, the boy’s arm was healing nicely. He wanted to see his original X-rays and have his medical files shipped over from his other doctor.

“I’ll want to X-ray this soon. How far back did he break his arm?”

Kayla glanced up at him and looked like she was thinking. “Two weeks ago.”

He nodded. “How did he break it?”

Here, she bit her bottom lip and looked worried. “He fell.”

He nodded but felt like she was holding something back from him.

“We need to talk about the dog that bit him,” he said, finishing up with Connor’s cast. “Is it up to date on its shots?”

She shook her head and worry flooded her eyes once more. He could tell that she hadn’t thought about the possibilities. “I don’t know. I didn’t know my mother had such a big dog.”

“I’ll call—” he started to say.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

“Dr. Holley, Mrs. Thomas is out front. Should I send her back?” Jenny said, poking her head in.

“Yes.” He nodded as he turned to Kayla. “If that’s okay with you?”

“Yes.” She glanced down at her son and her shoulders sank.

“Give us a few minutes first, then send her back.” Jenny nodded and left.

“I can’t stay there,” she said when the door was shut. “Not after…”

His mouth often worked faster than his brain. In this case, it ended up being a good thing.

“You can stay with my aunt,” he said.

Kayla glanced up at him and blinked.

Both Connor and Kayla looked at him like he’d just sprouted another head. “Crystal is… has always been… eccentric, but she doesn’t have any animals and her place is a lot… safer.”

Kayla her bottom lip, then a few seconds later, she nodded her head slowly. “It might be best until… I can find someplace else or…” She fidgeted with the bandage on the back of her hand.

The door opened again and, this time, her mother walked in.

It had been years since he’d seen Mary Thomas. The last time he’d knocked on her door to check on her, she’d peeked out through the window and told him to go away.

Since he’d last seen her, she must have lost fifty pounds. It appeared that she was nothing more than bones and skin. Her once long brown hair had been cut short and had turned pure silver, making her look much older. The woman looked haggard and extremely upset.

“I’ve taken Bruno to the pound.” Her eyes flew to his. “He is up to date on his shots.” She rushed to Connor’s side. “I didn’t know…” She shook her head. “I had just gotten him last month.” She wiped a tear from her eyes. “I didn’t think…”

“Mom.” Kayla turned to her mother, still holding Connor’s freshly casted arm in hers. He watched her shoulders square and rise slightly. “I think it would be best if… until it was safe to return, we stay at Crystal’s place.”

Since he was done, he rolled his chair back, stood quickly, and exited the room while she spoke to her mother.

“How’s the kid?” Sarah asked when he walked out into the hallway.

“He’ll live. A few new scars and a bump on the head. He was lucky.”

“How’s his mom?”

“She has three new stitches herself and is scared and unsure of how to help her mother.” He sighed.

Upon Ben’s look, he explained quickly how her mother had become a hoarder and how her house was most likely unsafe for a young boy of three.

“That’s rough.” Ben shook his head.

“I suggested they stay with Crystal. At least for a while,” he explained.

“That’s a great idea,” Sarah said, stepping into the hallway.

“I told you to stay put.” Ben turned around and smiled at her.

“Just when did you start believing that I listened to you?” she joked as she nudged him back, then turned to Rowan. “Want me to go in and invite her to stay with Mom? Better yet, there’s room on the island…”

“No.” Rowan shook his head. “I’ll need to see the kid a couple times in the next few days. It would be easier if he was close.”

Sarah nodded. “Holley Hall it is then. Mom’s been driving me nuts lately. Maybe Connor and Kayla are just the distraction she needs,” Sarah said as the door to the room opened.

Kayla held Connor in her arms as her mother stood beside her. “We’ve agreed, that for a while, if your mother has room…”

“She’ll be tickled pink.” Sarah smiled and took Kayla’s arm and walked her towards the front desk. “She’s been consumed with baby things ever since we told her we were expecting.” Sarah continued to talk as they made their way into the waiting area.

Rowan stood back and stopped Mary from following them. “I’ll need to check with the vet,” he nodded. “For the dog’s paperwork.”

She sighed heavily and then nodded. “I… I would never do anything to hurt my grandchild. I talked to the vet about taking the other dogs I have as well.”

“Young kids can get infections from other animals. What else do you have in your home?” he asked.

Worry flooded her eyes. “A few cats.”

“How many?” he asked as Ben disappeared down the hallway.

Mary thought about it. “Well, I haven’t counted them, but less than a dozen.”

He wrote a few notes in the file for Connor that Jenny had handed him. The boy’s name was printed on the side and, so far, there was only a new medical chart inside. He jotted down a note for Jenny to look into getting the boy’s previous charts and medical history.

“Are all of the animals up to date on their shots?” he asked.

Mary bit her bottom lip, a move he’d seen Kayla do several times. It was strange how the simple move had a very different effect from mother to daughter.

“I… no, probably not.”

He nodded. “Until then, I’m going to officially recommend that Connor and Kayla stay with my aunt until living arrangements can be assessed as safe. Of course, the final decision will be up to your daughter.”

“Yes.” Mary glanced down at her hands. “I see. She’s already told me they will move their things over there this evening. Thank you, Dr.—”

“Rowan,” he interrupted. “Just Rowan.”

Mary glanced up and smiled at him. “Thank you, Rowan.”