“Ah, he was.” Bull grinned. “He helped make your bed, in fact, but then Hawk got a call. Last week, he flew some campers into the Chugach range and was to pick them up next week, but somebody got hurt. Not badly enough for an air ambulance, but he needed a lift out.”

“Aric couldn’t stay with you?” Kit frowned. If Bull didn’t like little boys, he wasn’t good enough for Frankie.

“Aric still won’t stay with anyone but Hawk.” Bull ran his hand over his shaved scalp. “Whenever we tell him it’s all right to stay with one of us or Frankie, he just shakes his head, and we get, ‘Mama said.’”

“Did I?” Much of what happened after Nabera and Obadiah started beating her was still a blur. The way Hawk had saved her, she remembered that. And his rasping baritone. “…we’ll take her to the hospital. Get her help.”

The memory of his voice was like a magic wand, a way to banish nightmares.

She remembered his hard blue eyes and how they’d softened when he looked at Aric. How he’d held her son so carefully, so gently. And she’d asked, or maybe told Hawk to take care of Aric. Had she done the same with her son? “I’m guessing I told Aric to stay with him? That night?”

“You did.”

“I knew Aric was clinging to him, and that was why Hawk was the only one to bring him to visit. But…still?”

“Still. Because Hawk saved you and carried Aric out, Aric feels safe with him.” Frankie added, “Doc Grayson, that psychologist friend of the guys, said it might take a while before Aric gets over the need to be with Hawk all the time.”

Her poor son. Anger and guilt roused inside. She sat on the edge of the bed, simply wanting to cry.

“Oh, Kit.” Frankie sat beside her and put a gentle arm around her shoulders. “He’s getting better. He wants Hawk within eyesight but doesn’t have to be right next to him anymore. With you here, he’ll relax.”

“Okay. Right.” Kit tried to push the sense of helplessness away and concentrate on what Aric needed. Wanted. “I know he loves flying with Hawk.”

“Oh yeah.” Bull shook his head. “He’ll be pushing for his pilot’s license when he hits seventeen.”

That… Kit choked. “Let’s not go there.”

“Way to scare a mommy, deficiente.” Frankie glared at Bull, then smiled at Kit. “Why don’t you take a nap? Hawk and Aric should be back after supper.”

When Kit nodded, the two disappeared, their low voices coming from the living area.

Hawk and Aric. The way it was said came out smooth from repetition. As if the two were a pair, a family. It was a little unsettling to hear.