Come For Me With Green Apples And Honey (MXM)

Chapter 2

Waking up at 6pm and realizing Caleb hadn't had lunch, Micah quickly rushed downstairs to make something. At least he ate breakfast according to Irene.

The kitchen, located at the end of the long hallway, was made up of mainly mahogany shelves, with only the mahogany dish cupboard having doors, and even those were glass. This was fortunate, as everything was easy to find. The walk-in pantry was arranged so beautifully it made Micah's organization-loving heart beat a little faster. He looked through the fridge and started taking out things for Caleb's favorite. Seeing his precious nephew as he had been was just unbearable. He needed to start getting Caleb out of his shocked quiet state.

20 minutes later, Micah stood at the kitchen island serving up beef and broccoli mac-n-cheese in a child's portion absent mindedly. Caleb hated broccoli completely except in this form. It was really strange. Micah served up his own adult portion before carrying the empty pot to the sink for soaking.

Going back to the island, Micah served baby carrots and peas one section of the kiddie plate. Then he put homemade ranch and blue cheese dipping sauce in a small plastic dipping bowl and arranged it in the last empty section of the plate. After serving the remaining veggies and sauce on his own plate, he carried everything to the dining table before going up the stairs to wake Caleb.

In Caleb's room, he immediately found a tiny action figure with his knee as he knelt down by the bed to shake Caleb. 'how cliche' he thought through the stabbing pain. After some mumbled cussing, he looked at Caleb only to see he was already awake and staring at him.

"Hey, Kay" Micah said smoothing back chaotic curls.

"Hey, Uncle Mike" Caleb responded quietly. That was a little unsettling. Caleb was never quiet. Not even first thing in the morning. But given the circumstances it was understandable.

"Hungry?" Micah asked simply. Caleb nodded. "Come on" Micah said, standing and holding out a hand. Caleb got out of bed and took it and followed his uncle to bathroom and washed his hands. Then he allowed micah to lead him to the dining room. Caleb saw what was for dinner and threw a small smile at his uncle. Micah smiled back. Progress. They settled in to their seats at the four seat table and began eating wordlessly.

Throughout the meal, Micah was deep in thought. His mind was back on the question that nagged him as he fell asleep earlier. He had been trying to figure out why child services would be called so soon. Normally, the police would try to contact the next of kin first before social services. And they had. Officer O'keith had contacted Micah when she came to the house to find only Caleb and the sitter. Caleb had been the one to give Micah's number when there was some uncertainty as to who next of kin was. Officer O'keith then told the babysitter to go home before taking Caleb back to the station. That's where she finally called him.

What really wasn't making sense was the fact that social services had contacted the police first, supposedly to request uniformed assistance to attend Julian and Natalie's house. No one at the station had actually contacted them. That was what Irene had told him anyway. But someone had called the child services and had made his family sound like an unhinged pair of child abusers, who were too dangerous for a social worker to visit without police presence. Why? The facts were still vague on that and he needed to speak to Irene again to make sense of it all. He also wanted to speak to the social worker. And the babysitter. She might know something.

He was mentally making up a To-do list when the doorbell rang.

Micah opened the door to a wall of plaid-covered chest. What? Micah himself was 5' 9". Not exactly tall, but definitely not short. 'This guy is a giant' he thought, frowning. He looked up and froze. Beautiful but stunned deep brown eyes stared back at him. Micah took in a strong jaw, enhanced by a short dark brown beard. The strong features were offset by delicate pink lips, a straight, narrow nose and those beautiful almond-shaped eyes. 'A really hot giant' Micah mused inwardly, feeling a little dazed. Normally, Micah wasn't into that type, but the man in front of him was a real stunner.