𝐓𝐨 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐀 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 | 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐰

𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

𝐒 𝐀 𝐕 𝐀 𝐍 𝐍 𝐀 𝐇

"Mom!" I turn around when I hear Sage's voice.

"Hey sweetheart!" I squat down as she runs at me. She wraps her little arms around my neck making my heart warm up. This is the best feeling. "How was school?"

"It was good." She pulls away from me. "Alice invited me to her birthday party. It's on Saturday and guess what!" Her eyes widen as they swell with excitement. I quirk a brow at her. "There's gonna be a bouncy castle." She sings.

"Wow that sounds exciting!" I glance up and see Sawyer with his teacher. "Look there's bubba." I point.

"Hi Bubby!" She calls out excitedly. He keeps his eyes on the ground as Mrs. Mecham walks his over.

"Hi Mrs. Mecham." I stand and give a small wave.

She nods at me. "Mrs. Ledger." Her short blonde hair swings around as she looks down at Sawyer.

"I'm sorry I took so long. There was a little mishap and-"

"Oh it's alright. We understand." She pushes some hair back. "But uh Sawyer here has something he'd like to tell you." I look down at my son who is still staring at the ground. Mrs. Mecham nudges him. He says nothing. She gives a small sigh. "Sawyer seems to be acting out again."

I chuckle. "Is that so?"

She gets a real serious look. "This is no joke, Mrs. Ledger. He threw an eraser at a little girl's head."

"And it will never happen again." I assure her. I squat down and make Sawyer look at me. "Right son?" He nods. I stand and grab his hand. "Have a great afternoon, Rachel." I give a half smile before heading out the door.

"What happened to Saoirse?" Sage asks.

"She got stuck at work so I had to pick you up." My gut churns as I think about the next few hours.

"Did you kill any bad guys today?" Sawyer asks, making me laugh.

"No but I thought about it." I think back to Hangman's smug grin. We arrive in front of Bradley's bronco. I knock on the window making him flinch.

He quickly hops out of the car and walks around. "Hey kids! Wow you guys have grown." He towers over them which seems to make them a little nervous.

"Mommy who is this scary man?" Sage asks.

"And what is on his lip?" Sawyer whispers.

I bite back a laugh and Bradley's cheeks darken. He brings himself to their level. "To answer Sawyer's question, it's a mustache. To answer Sage's question, I'm Lieutenant Bradley Bradshaw. Call sign, Rooster." He holds and hand out. Sage hesitantly shakes his index finger. "I'm an old friend of your mommy's. We fly together."

"You drive a fighter plane?" Sawyer asks.

Bradley smirks looking at me. "Yes I fly a fighter plane."

"That is so cool." Sawyer's eyes widen. He seems star stricken.

I nudge him. "Yes and Rooster is so cool that he is going to take us to the park." The kids cheer and a smile dances on Bradley's lips.

"Alright well let's get in the car." He claps before leading Sawyer to the opposite side. We had enough time to swing by and at least grab the car seats. Safety first as always.