“I’m not like her.”Cody buried his face against his knees.“If I ever have a kid, I’m not gonna go off and leave them.I’d never do that.Moms and dads shouldn’t leave their kids.”
Braden stayed quiet so Cody would keep talking.
“I know Mom’s job is important but… Why does she have to do it?”His voice was muffled.“She never gets sick.Never.But she was really sick.And, this morning, on my way to the kitchen, I heard Gramma tell Uncle Mike she could have died.”
Well, hell.Cody was nine.After hearing something like that, of course he wouldn’t want Maggie going back to thatjob.He wouldn’t want her to go anywhere.He’d want his mom to stay here, safe and sound.“I bet that was real scary.”
“Can’t you marry her, Braden?Make her stay?”He started crying again.“Gramma and Grampa and Uncle Mike say she’s doin’ good stuff and I should be proud of her.But I don’t care about that.I want her to stay here and be my mom and love me.”
Braden pulled the boy close and wrapped his arms around him.He couldn’t stand this.He couldn’t let this boy think his mother didn’t love him.“Hey, now.Look at me for a minute.”Braden waited for the boy to look at him.“Your mom loves you so much, Cody.Don’t ever doubt that.”
Cody’s brow furrowed, but he stayed propped against Braden’s chest.“But she could get sick if she leaves again.Even worse this time.”He sniffed.“Delilah’s mom d-died but she has you.I d-don’t have a dad.I’d be alone.”
Braden swallowed against the lump in his throat.He took a minute before he spoke, searching for the right words.
“How do I explain this… Your mom…it’s like she has a mission to take care of people, Cody.Her heart is so full of love.She needs to take care of the women and children she visits because they need help.But she loves you the most.”
Cody shook his head.“I need a mom.I need her, too.”
“Of course you do.”
Cody sat up, staring at him.“Will you help me get her to stay?Please?”
“Even if I want her to stay, I want her happiness more.If this job is what makes her happy, then I want her to have it.”
Cody’s eyes were welling up with tears.“Why can’t I make her happy?Why can’t I make her want to stay?”
Braden didn’t know how to answer that.He knew there she’d made a promise that had bound her to her job but even he didn’t fully understand why Maggie was so single-mindedwhen it came to her work.“You should talk to her, Cody.She told me there’s no secrets between you.”He ran a hand over the boy’s curls—just as soft as Maggie’s.“Your mom wants to know what’s going on with you.She wants to make it better.She worried about you like you worry about her.”
“’Kay.”Tears were slipping down his cheeks again.“I was real mean to her, Braden.”And he was sobbing.
Braden wrapped his arms around the boy and rocked him.“She understands, Cody.I promise.You take some time and talk to her.It will be okay.”
“’Kay.”Cody drew in a wavering breath, then went back to sobbing.
He didn’t know how long they sat there, only that Cody cried himself out.Braden kept rocking him, but at some point, Cody started to droop against him—sound asleep.He scooped up Cody, put him on his bed and pulled the quilt at the foot of the bed up and over him.He ran his fingers through the boy’s hair, realizing the need to protect and love this child.No matter what happened with Maggie, Cody would have a piece of his heart.
He slipped out of Cody’s room and paused.He couldn’t leave until he’d talked to Maggie and admitted what he’d done.
The only closed door was at the other end of the hall, so that’s where he went.He peered inside.It was dark, the fading sunlight from the window casting long shadows.Even so, he could make out Maggie on the bed.He took a deep breath, sat on the side of the bed and put his hand on her hip.
“Braden?”She rolled over.“Is he okay?”
“He will be.”He lay down beside her and pulled her close.He didn’t see an easy fix for this.Cody wanted herto stay, Maggie wanted to go—at least he thought she did.And it scared the hell out of him to think he could lose her.
She turned into his chest.“I’m sorry to drag you into this.This is my mess, my problem.He told me to leave… and not come back.”
“He didn’t mean it.”But Braden could only imagine how hard that was for her to hear.
“Maybe.Maybe not.I don’t know how to fix this, Braden.I’m scared.”
He closed his eyes, running his hand up and down her back.“We had a talk.”He cleared his throat.“He’s hurting something fierce.He heard something your mom and Mike talking about how you almost died.He said that Delilah’s mom died and she had me but, if you died, he’d be alone.”He kept rubbing her back.“It scared him.That’s what this is about, Maggie.He’s scared.”
“Oh, Cody…” Her voice broke.
“He doesn’t want you to leave—to go back to work.”He cleared his throat.“He’s afraid you’ll get sick again.And that, this time, you won’t recover.He asked me to help him get you to stay.”
“What did you say to that?”
