.

      “Are you waiting for someone?”

      “I got sick in the car.”

      “Where’s your mom?”

      “Inside.”

      “Do you want me to take you in there?”

      The little boy nodded, still clutching his side.

      “What’s wrong with your stomach?”

      “It hurts really bad,” he peeped.

      William gently held his hand to the little boy’s side. “Right here?” he asked, inspecting the boy intently. Just as the child’s face screwed up in a hearty cry, William scooped the boy up into the crook of his arm and carried him into Pop’s Place.

      He knew it was generally a bad idea to have a stranger pick up a child, but leaving the boy seemed like a worse idea. William searched the diner for any woman fitting the mother description. As it turned out, he didn’t have to search for long.

      “James!” Annie called, racing from around the counter. She stroked James’s hair back from his face with frantic concern. “How on earth did you get here?”

      “I found him outside,” William explained. “I think he has appendicitis, Annie. We need to get him to the hospital immediately.”

      “Does it hurt, sweetie? This is all my fault.” Her voice trembled as she gingerly put her hands on James. “I didn’t think he was really that sick.”

      “James!” a voice boomed. Sean was on the threshold, the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled to his elbows, tie loosened around his neck. “I told you to sit your butt on that bench!”

      “We have to get him to a hospital, Sean,” Annie explained as Joyce brought her her purse. She tore off her apron before accepting James from William’s arms, struggling with all her might to hold the clinging child.

      “Hospital?” Sean scoffed. “He just yakked in my luxury sedan. If you had answered your cell phone, the school wouldn’t have had to call me. I had to leave a deposition early. Do you know how that makes me look?”

      “He’s sick, Sean,” she said in a quavering voice.

      “I’ll drive you,” William offered, shuffling Annie and James past Sean and out the front door. “My truck is right here. We can put James in the middle. Hang in there, buddy.”

      Out on the sidewalk, Annie’s eyes pleaded with him in a way that made him ready to charge into battle. “He’s so hot, William. He’s so hot.”

      “We’ll get you fixed up in no time, James. It’ll be okay, Annie. We’ll get him there in no time. Do you think—”

      “Who the heck do you think you are?” Sean said, racing up behind them and shoving William aside. Sean steered Annie and James toward his BMW that was parked on the curb. William straightened his shoulders and aligned his jaw at the sight.

      He knew it wasn’t the time or place to remind Sean of proper etiquette. All that mattered was getting James to the hospital as quickly as possible. But he certainly wouldn’t be forgetting Sean’s shove anytime soon. “Get in the car, Annie,” Sean directed, beeping the doors unlocked.

      Annie carefully eased James into the back seat and snuggled in beside him, guiding his head to rest against her chest. William kept watch from the sidewalk, a twinge of helplessness tightening in his gut. As Sean flipped his sunglasses on, threw the car into gear and peeled away, Annie mouthed something through the window to him. He couldn’t be sure, as the late-morning sun had cleared the rooftops, making him squint to see. But as the car disappeared in a flash, he would have sworn it was thank you.