Signs of Love (21 page)

Beth snatched it from his hand and after she had eaten it, she said, "I suppose, but I'm still worried about Meredith."

"I'll give Marcus a call later to make sure they're doing okay."

Alana let the conversation swirl around her, surprised at how...normal it felt. Not at all like they'd just gone through a horrifying experience and lost everything but the clothes on their backs. She was eager, however, to get rid of the smoky stench that seemed to have permeated her hair and clothes. They'd taken showers at the motel but with no good shampoo and having to put on the same clothes, the acrid scent still clung to them. She knew she could probably borrow some clothes from Beth, but Caden wouldn't have anything clean to change into since there were no boys his size around. As long as he had nothing to replace his smoky clothes, she would continue to wear hers.

Once Justin finished his meal, he said, "I'm going to have to go for a bit. Need to get back to the compound to check in with the guys and pick up my truck. I'll be back in a few hours."

Than signed to Caden that he was going and her son's gaze shot to Justin. When he looked at her, she signed quickly that Justin would be back a little later. Her plan to keep Caden away from Justin had gone up in flames—quite literally. And with him having lost so much already, she wasn't going to deny him the opportunity to be around the man he admired so much.

Justin's hand rested briefly on her shoulder before he bent to give Caden a hug. Once the men had left, Alana turned to find Beth watching her with a bemused expression on her face. "What?"

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Beth tilted her head and smiled but was prevented from answering her question by the sound of soft cries coming over the baby monitor that sat on the kitchen counter. "Sounds like the princess is up. Be right back."

Alana finished the last of her salad, watching Caden as he sat in his seat still working his way through his fries. Usually, she just got him the kids' meal, but she'd figured he was probably pretty hungry having missed breakfast on top of everything.

He glanced up and when his gaze met hers, he signed
I wish I had my tablet.

Pain sliced through her. Since rent wasn't currently an issue, she planned to use the money in her account to get them some clothes from the thrift store. Unfortunately, a tablet—and a laptop—were a bit more than she'd be able to afford for a while. If she'd had her wits about her, she would have thought to at least grab that for him. But she'd been so focused on just saving Caden's life that nothing else had crossed her mind.

I know, baby. I’m sorry.

Alarm crossed his features as his eyes went wide in distress.
How can I talk to Justin without the tablet?

Alana felt her shoulders droop as if a weight had just been dropped on them. How had she not realized how important that piece of electronics had become to Caden in relation to Justin? Until Justin had a larger vocabulary of signs, that tablet would have been Caden's only method of direction communication with him. Something told Alana that Caden had enjoyed not having to rely on a translator.

She could have tried to find a used one, but without her laptop, she was limited in finding even that. It was possible that Beth would let her use her computer, so she took a deep breath and hoped she wasn't lying to her son.
I will get you another one as soon as I can.

Some of the distress faded from his eyes, but enough remained that Alana felt the prick of tears. She held her arms out to him, and he slid out of his chair and right into her embrace. Resting her cheek against his curls, she made the shorthand sign for I love you and waited for him to do the same, pressing his smaller hand against hers so their fingertips touched.

When Beth came back with Genevieve in her arms, Caden immediately straightened and left Alana's embrace. The little girl clapped, a huge smile on her face when she saw Caden. Beth set her down on the floor and Caden took her hand and led her to the toys that were piled in a corner of their living room.

"Do you want to take a shower?" Beth asked. "I have some clothes I can loan you."

Alana took a moment to try and formulate a plan. She hadn't wanted to change until Caden could as well, but she needed to be able to go out in public so she could get what he needed. "Yes, I would appreciate a shower and a change of clothes."

Though they were about the same height, Beth had curves that Alana didn't so likely anything she gave her to wear would be a bit baggy...which was just fine with her. Beth didn't take long to find her some clothes and then sent her down to the bathroom she'd used during their previous stay with them. Though a bath in that lovely tub was tempting, Alana resisted and showered instead, using the shampoo and conditioner Beth had told her were there for her.

Once finished the shower, she dried off and pulled on a pair of capris and a T-shirt and then used the towel to remove as much of the moisture from her hair as she could. Lowering the towel to the counter, Alana looked into the mirror and took a deep breath. The shower had helped to lift the remaining fear and worry which allowed her to focus on her plan of attack. Knowing that Caden was now in a safe place with people she trusted gave her the most comfort. Everything else she could fix. It wouldn't be the first time they'd started over.

She didn't plan to stay with Beth and Daniel indefinitely, so she needed to get a plan in place that would allow her and Caden to find another home of their own. First things first...she would ask Beth if she could watch Caden and then use the money they'd been given for food for bus fare. Once she had a couple of outfits for both her and Caden, they would be that much closer to feeling normal.

Alana closed her eyes briefly and prayed. "God, please let there be some good deals at the thrift store today. Thank you for providing us with a place to stay and good friends. And, if possible, please provide a tablet for Caden. Please."

As she opened her eyes, verses that she'd clung to in the past whispered through her mind.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

So many times she'd murmured that verse—particularly the first part—when she'd been worried about how she and Caden would survive.
Be anxious for nothing.
And God had provided for them time and again.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
How often had she wondered if she'd be able to cope with the weight of responsibility of Caden's care once they'd left Craig? Time and again she'd managed to pull through even the most trying and difficult situations, and she knew it was only with God's strength.

But the verse she'd clung to the most during the two years they'd been on their own had been
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus
. And He had supplied all their needs. Sure what they'd had hadn't been fancy or expensive, but they'd had clothes to wear and food to eat and a roof over their heads. Things might have changed, but God had already begun to provide for them again through Beth and Daniel's generous offer of a place to stay. And she was confident that He would continue to provide as she sought to replace what had been lost.

Her thoughts went to the fire and this time to the man who most likely had been responsible for it and how he'd paid for that with his own life. Was he at peace finally? She realized that she could have done more for the man. Though he'd made her uncomfortable, she could have extended friendship to him. She hoped that this experience would make her more sensitive to those around her who might be hurting.

With one final press of the towel to the damp ends of her hair, Alana hung it on the rod and left the room with her smelly clothes in her hands. Once Caden could change, she'd ask Beth if she could do a load of laundry. As she looked around the room where she and Caden had stayed not that long ago, she could hardly believe how much had changed in their lives.

Suddenly eager to get her plan underway, Alana left the bedroom and headed for the stairs. She had just set her foot on the bottom step when she realized there were voices coming from the main floor. Lots of them.

A little self-conscious about the short sleeves on the shirt, Alana didn't really want to see anyone, but Caden was up there and wouldn't be able to communicate with anyone. Resolutely, she walked up the stairs and into the living room. Her eyes widened as she recognized the group of women sitting in the living room with Beth.

Victoria slid off the couch when she spotted her and came over, arms outstretched. Alana bent over to hug the woman, still not really used to affectionate embraces from anyone but Caden.

“I'm so sorry to hear about what happened," Victoria said as she stepped back. "We all are."

"Thanks. We're both still alive, and that's really all that matters," Alana said, meaning every word of it.

"Well, we're thankful you're okay." This time it was Lindsay who spoke. "And we want to help you get back on your feet."

Alana's eyes widened as Lindsay motioned to a pile of bags by the coffee table. She looked at Beth, who was grinning.

"If you don't like what we bought, you can take it back, but first you can blame Justin," Victoria said with a laugh.

"Justin?" Alana asked, watching as Brooke and Lindsay began to pull items from the bag.

"Yeah. He was the one who told us what to buy you." Victoria grinned. "He said you preferred longer skirts and to skip the skinny jeans."

Heat rushed into Alana's cheeks. "Really?"

"Sure thing." Victoria wiggled her phone in the air. "I have the text messages to prove it. And he said that Caden liked Spiderman."

Oh, that man tugged at her heartstrings like no one else ever had. Even before all of this, she'd been teetering on the edge of falling for him. It may have been a small thing that he'd noticed what she preferred to wear and what Caden liked, but it was just enough to shove her off that cliff.

Tears pricked at her eyes as Lindsay and Brooke held up some of the items they'd bought for her. It didn't escape her notice that several of the blouses had long sleeves, something else he'd noticed and cared enough to mention. Was it more than just caring for her and for Caden?

"We have a whole bunch of stuff for Caden too," Brooke said. "I hope we got the sizes right. He looked to be about the same size Danny was at that age."

At the mention of Danny, Alana's gaze went to the corner where Caden had been playing before she'd gone for her shower and she noticed that two more kids had joined them. Sarah and Danny were now bent over a pile of blocks with Caden while Genevieve was doing her best to knock them over.

"I don't know what to say." Alana brushed at the dampness on her cheeks. "Thank you seems so...inadequate."

"Thank you is more than sufficient," Lindsay said with a smile. "I'm just glad that we were in a position to be able to help. I want you to take these things and don't look back."

"Thank you," Alana said again as Victoria took her hand and guided her to the growing pile of clothes on the coffee table. 

~*~*~

When Justin pulled his truck into the driveway of Beth's house, he recognized Trent, Eric and Than's vehicles on the street. Beth had called him a little earlier to let him know that they had shown up and the decision had been made to order pizza for everyone that was there.

He got out of the truck and opened the door to the back and lifted out the three boxes that sat on the seat. After closing the door with his elbow, he made his way to the front door and let himself in. He stowed the boxes on the top shelf of the closet where he usually put his weapons and laptop. This time around, he'd left them at his apartment at the compound even though he still wore a weapon in his ankle holster as per Alex's request that they be armed.

The smell of pizza tantalized him as he walked into the living room and saw the group of people gathered there. It looked like all the women who'd gone shopping for Alana were still there as well as their husbands. The only one still missing appeared to be Lucas Hamilton. He'd had no idea when he'd taken Beth, Daniel and Alana to the company family day that the collision of his co-workers and his family would be something that would come to mean so much more. Looking at them all gathered there warmed his heart in a way he wouldn't have thought possible not that long ago. He'd spent a lot of years keeping his work life separate from his family.

A sudden impact against his hip had him reaching for the wall to keep his balance. Even as he looked down, Justin knew whose face he'd see smiling up at him. Returning the smile Caden had for him, Justin slid his hands under his arms and lifted him up. As the boy buried his head into Justin's shoulder once again, he realized that he no longer had that acrid smoky smell clinging to him.

Justin hoped the memories of the fire would also no longer cling to Caden, although he had a feeling it might take a little longer to get to that point. But he was going to make sure that if—or when—Caden wanted to talk to him about it, he'd have that ability with the new tablet he'd bought him.

"Thank you." The softly spoken words drew his head up, and Justin found Alana standing in front of him.

Her big green eyes regarded him warily. He wondered what it would take to get rid of the wariness she seemed to have whenever she was around him. Did she not realize yet that he would never ever do anything to hurt her or Caden? He knew he'd been an idiot at the start, but he'd tried to show her that he was different once he realized how far off the mark he'd been. Yet she still seemed to expect him to lash out at any moment.

He gave a quick nod of his head, his hand splayed across Caden's back. "You're welcome."

"It was very unexpected and thoughtful." Her fingers twisted together in front of her. "I'm not sure what I would have done if you hadn't found us."

Justin reached out and covered her hands with his. "You're a strong and competent woman, Alana. I have no doubt that you would have done what was best for Caden and moved forward."