Guardian Angels – Protection (20)

Kip's phone rang. When he looked at the Caller ID, he immediately turned it off. "Likely a reporter," he said when Emily asked.

"Keep it turned off for a day or so," Mack suggested, "because they're going to keep trying."

Kip sighed. "When will things get back to normal again?"

"The twelfth of never?" Cass replied, chuckling. "Actually, probably fairly soon. There'll be some other story that will capture their attention. For today, however, I suggest you and Jamie stay indoors."

"No kidding." Kip realized then that Jamie had been very quiet. "How are you doing," he asked him softly.

"Okay." Jamie moved closer, but only to whisper, "I was watching my angel. I'm not supposed to talk about him, he said."

Instead of replying, Kip got up, pulling Jamie to his feet. "If you don't mind," he said to the others, "I want to talk to Jamie alone." Without waiting for a reply, he led his son into his bedroom and shut the door. "Now, about this angel."

"He's real, Dad. Honest."

Kip nodded slowly. "I think… maybe he is, and maybe he has a friend. As I told Cass and Mack, someone pushed me to the ground just before the shooting started. But"—he frowned, remembering what he'd seen, or hadn't seen, at that moment—"there wasn't anyone anywhere near me."

"It was your angel. Mine said they were watching over us. He really did, Dad. He said that."

"Somehow, I believe you. No one else probably would, so he's right. You shouldn't talk about him except to me. But, yeah, I think we both had angels watching over us today."

"And always?" Jamie looked hopefully at his father.

"Who knows? Perhaps. Or at least they'll be around if we need them again." Kip hugged Jamie then sat down on the bed. "Now the big question, do you want to talk about what happened? Not about the angels, but the rest of it?"

"I was scared," Jamie replied, climbing onto the bed beside Kip. "Really, really scared, but I didn't want to tell you because you might think I was a baby."

"I was scared too, but that's normal." He ruffled Jamie's hair. "We're not superheroes out of some movie. We're just…people. People are supposed to be afraid when bad things like that happen. It keeps us aware of what's going on around us. Understand?"

"I think so. That way we watch out."

"Exactly. For ourselves, and for those we care about."

Jamie nodded. "So maybe you're my angel too, and I'm yours?"

"Yep. Only we don't have wings. Neither do Cass or Mack, but they're still angels in my book."

"Are you…" Jamie hesitated. "Are you going to go out with Cass? She's real nice."

"That was out of the blue."

"Well… are you?"

"Somehow I doubt she'd want to go out with me. I'm just someone she had to play bodyguard for until they got Stewart. The same with Mack, Officer Smith, and his dog."

"Ranger."

"Yeah, him. They were just doing their jobs and now they'll move on."

"But you like her."

"She seems nice enough," Kip admitted.

"So, ask her to go out on a date."

Kip shook his head.

Jamie jumped off the bed. When he got to the door, he said over his shoulder, "Then I will," before dashing out of the room.