Someone To Watch Over Me
by Purple Lacey
Part Eight
Ezra rolled over and brushed irritably at the hair that fell into his face. He sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes then looked around the room in confusion for a moment before the memory of the day before came rushing back. When it did, he hurriedly pushed back the covers and crawled from the bed, scooting over the edge of the tall bed backwards and dropping to the floor lightly He made a hurried trip to his bathroom before heading out of his bedroom and into the hall.
The little boy rushed over to Buck’s room to find the door open and only rumpled bedcovers to show that the man had been there. Ezra turned away and headed downstairs, his bare feet making no noise on the thick carpet. He climbed down the staircase being careful to hold on to the spindles that held the stair railing, the rail itself being too high for him to reach comfortably.
The boy checked the den...no Buck. He stuck his head around the door to Buck’s office but, as he had promised, didn’t go in. Still no Buck. Ezra began checking every room on that floor, his anxiety building with every room that failed to produce his foster father. Finally Ezra pushed open the door to the kitchen and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the tall man seated at the table in the breakfast area sipping a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper.
He must have made some sound because the man looked up and saw him standing there and his face broke out into a wide, welcoming smile.
“Good morning, Ez,” Buck called out cheerfully, folding the paper and setting it aside. The man held out his arms to the boy who took the invitation and ran over to climb in the man’s lap for a morning hug.
“Morning, Buck,” Ezra greeted him with both arms wrapped around his neck.
“Did you sleep well?” Buck asked lightly when the child let go and settled into his lap comfortably.
Ezra shrugged, not wanting to admit he had been scared, but not wanting to lie to Buck either.
Buck looked at the child knowingly and remarked casually, “Chris is real good at making you feel better when you’re scared, isn’t he?”
Ezra nodded and not realizing what he was admitting said, “Uh-huh.”
Buck turned the boy in his lap so he was facing him and said gently, “You know you don’t have to be afraid to come to me when you’re scared, Ezra. I want to be there for you all the time and that includes in the middle of the night when things are frightening. It’s what I’m here for.”
Ezra sighed and leaned forward to rest his cheek against Buck’s chest as he admitted, “I didn’t want you to think I was a baby.”
Buck hugged him close and while he reassuringly stated, “I won’t think you’re a baby if you’re afraid. Everybody gets afraid.”
“That’s what Chris said. He said you used to get scared when you where little too.”
“And he’s right,” Buck told him evenly. “I did get scared, and there are times I still do. There’s nothing wrong with being scared. It’s how you handle that fear that’s important. Reaching out for someone when you’re frightened doesn’t make you a baby, it just makes you smart. Next time you’re scared you just remember you can come to me, okay?”
“Okay,” Ezra sighed eager to close the subject.
“Good,” Buck said positively. “How about some breakfast?”
Ezra thought on that and realized he was hungry so he nodded.
“What would you like? Miz Nettie sent Casey over this morning to make sure we had a hot meal to start off the day right.” Buck grinned.
Ezra pushed back from Buck to look over his shoulder at the stranger who was busy at the stove.
“Ezra, this is Casey,” Buck introduced him and called to the girl, “Casey, come meet Ezra.”
The girl turned to smile and then moved the frying pan she was using to cook bacon from the burner and turned off the flame. She wiped her hands on a dishtowel as she approached the table.
“Good morning, Ezra,” She said agreeably, “It’s nice to finally meet you. Aunt Nettie’s been full of tales about you.”
Ezra smiled at her bashfully and shyly said, “Hello.”
“I’ve got the bacon almost done, and waffle batter already to go into the waffle iron. Do you like waffles?’ she asked cheerfully.
Ezra’s eyes got wide in delight at the thought of the breakfast treat, “Oh, yes! Please! I love waffles!”
“Okay then. Why don’t you get Buck to pour you a glass of orange juice while I get to cooking. I’ll have you some in a jiffy. Do you like them with syrup or strawberries?”
Ezra bit his bottom lip as he tried to decide when the girl solved the problem for him, “How about half with each?”
Ezra grinned up the young woman, thinking she was so smart, and didn’t realize what an charming picture he made sitting in his guardian’s lap with that happy grin on his face. Casey saw it though and couldn’t help but think how absolutely adorable he was.
“I’ll take that as a yes then,” she laughed and reached out to stroke the boy’s silky hair tenderly. Ezra unconsciously pressed his head against her hand like a cat, soaking up the affection.
Buck watched the pair with his own perceptive grin. He knew another person had just succumbed to his boy’s charm. As Casey turned away to finish breakfast, Buck leaned close to the boy’s ear and whispered, “She’s nice, isn’t she?’
Ezra nodded and whispered back, “I like her.”
“Me too,” Buck agreed. “I was thinking maybe you would like to have Casey watch you after school until I get home from work. What do you think of that idea?”
The little boy turned the idea over in his mind and decided it sounded good to him. “I think that would be neat!” Ezra whispered back.
“Okay then, let’s ask her,” Buck said decisively.
Buck had known Casey since she had come to live with her great Aunt Nettie at the age of fourteen when her Marine Sergeant father had been stationed overseas. She was only two years younger than JD and had developed a crush on Buck’s cousin the moment she had first laid eyes on him. To Buck’s amusement the boy had been completely blind to the girl, seeing her only as a frustrating nuisance until she started to blossom when she was about sixteen. JD had suddenly started seeing her in a whole new light then.
Casey, of course, had been thrilled but, being the feisty and proud female that she was, had to make him suffer for all the years the boy had ignored her. To Buck’s great amusement, she had led his cousin on a merry chase before relenting enough to allow him to court her. Buck couldn’t have been more pleased. As far as he could tell the two young people were made for each other.
The eighteen year old was currently working her way through her first semester of college at a local school. Buck had offered to pay her way but the proud young woman refused to accept help from either him or her great aunt. Buck had sneakily found a way to help her by hiring her part-time to help Nettie and the other two maids he had on the payroll to clean the two houses on the estate and run whatever errands Nettie needed done.
When he had begun to think of the logistics of having Ezra in his home, Buck had realized he would need someone to care for the boy when he was not available. Even though he planned to rearrange things so he could work out of his home office more, he knew there would be still be times when he would need someone there to help and just to be there when he couldn’t be. Nettie had enough on her plate supervising the upkeep on the two houses and seeing to the meals for him and now Ezra. He couldn’t in good conscience ask her to take on Ezra’s care, too. Casey had been the perfect answer to the problem. She was already familiar with his estate and he knew she was responsible and completely trustworthy.
Buck waited until the girl placed plates overflowing with waffles, scrambled eggs, and bacon on the table in front of them and then said, “Sit down for a minute, Case.”
The young girl looked at him questioningly but obliged the request by pulling out a chair and taking a seat.
“Me and Ez got a proposition for you,” Buck told her seriously although the usual twinkle was still visible in his eyes. “We talked it over,” he winked down at the boy on his lap who grinned back, “And we decided we’d like to hire you to take care of Ezra after school and during those times I can’t be here. We can hire somebody else to take your place helping Nettie.
I’d drop him off at school in the mornings, but you’d pick him up in the afternoons and stay with him here until I get home. You’d still have your mornings free for classes like you do now, and it would mean an increase in pay. What do you think of the idea?”
Casey looked between the two people watching her expectantly, and said, “Hmm, let’s see.” She held up her hands in front of her like a scale, and her left hand dipped down as she said, “Bust my back cleaning and pushing a vacuum cleaner around, or...play all afternoon with an adorable little boy,” her left hand rose as the right one lowered. “That’s a no brainer,” she said with a laugh and grinned down at Ezra.
Ezra giggled back.
“Great,” Buck said, very satisfied with her answer. He lifted Ezra from his lap to sit the boy in the chair next to him and pushed one of the plates in front of the child. “I’m glad that’s taken care of. It won’t be until after the first of the year when we have Ezra enrolled in school that you’ll have to start picking him up, but I’d like you to go ahead and start your new job right away. I have things that need to be done where I can’t take Ez with me so you’ll need to be on call during the day for the time being. Will that be a problem?”
“Nope,” Casey assured him, “I’m finished with all my exams and I’m free until classes start in January.”
Buck grinned and teased suggestively, “JD will be home in a couple of days.”
Casey laughed and replied slyly, “JD will just have to deal with having a rival for my time and attention then, won’t he? I believe it will probably do him some good, don’t you?”
Buck laughed and told her, “Have I ever told you that I like the way you think?”
“Once or twice,” she admitted with pseudo modesty.
Buck laughed loudly and Casey grinned at him unrepentantly.
“I’m going to start washing up. There’s more waffle batter if you want more,” the girl said as she rose and headed for the sink to begin the morning clean up.
“Thanks, Casey,” Buck said then turned to the watching little boy and said, “Dig in, buddy. We need to fuel up for the day.”
Ezra reached for his fork and stuck it into the scrambled eggs. He scooped a big bite into his mouth and started chewing.
“Umm, these are good,” the boy said being careful to swallow before speaking, not forgetting his carefully (not to mention painfully) learned manners.
“Yep, just about as good as Miz Nettie’s own,” Buck agreed. “She certainly taught you well, Casey.”
“Thanks, Buck. That’s a real compliment,” Casey smiled with self satisfied pleasure.
“Is Miz Nettie your mama too, like Vin’s?” Ezra asked as he tried to cut a piece of his waffle.
Buck reached over with his knife and fork and sliced the waffle into bite size pieces for the child. Ezra looked up and smiled his thanks.
“Nettie is my Great Aunt,” Casey explained, “Although Vin is the closest thing I have to a brother.”
Ezra chewed thoughtfully for a while then swallowed and reached for his glass of juice and took a sip before stating, “If Vin is like your brother, and Vin is like Buck’s brother because they’re both part of Chris’ angel family, then does than mean Buck is like your brother?”
Casey laughed and said, “I never thought of it like that but I guess you could say so. He’s definitely a big part of my family.”
“So is JD your brother too?” Ezra asked innocently.
Buck almost choked on his coffee as he tried to breathe and laugh at the same time, remembering some of the less than familial clinches between the young people he had interrupted in the past. Casey blushed blood red guessing what has going through his mind.
“NO!” the young woman was quick to point out. “JD is NOT my brother. He may be a lot of things but not that!”
Ezra looked abashed, afraid he must have said something wrong to cause that reaction from Casey. He dropped his fork on his plate and sat with his bent head touching the knees he drew to his chest, his hands folded protectively over his head as he tried to blink away tears.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” he cried as he started to tremble.
Buck quickly reached over and pulled the boy from the chair and into his lap. He wrapped one arm around the boy and gently pushed the boy’s head into the crook of his neck with a gentle hand on the back of his head.
“It’s alright, Ezra,” Buck assured him softly. “Everything is fine. You didn’t do any thing wrong.”
Casey had watched the lightening fast change in the boy and felt terrible that she had been the cause of it. She hurried across the room and knelt beside Buck’s chair. She placed her hand on the boy’s back and began rubbing lightly.
“Buck’s right, Ezra. You did nothing wrong. I’m sorry if I made you feel like you did. You only asked an innocent question and you deserved a simple answer. So here it is: JD can’t be my brother because he’s my boyfriend. You startled me with your question but there was nothing wrong with you asking it.”
“You’re not mad at me for being stupid?” His little voice could barely be heard.
Casey beat Buck in replying.
“I want you to look at me, Ezra,” the girl said firmly.
Ezra reluctantly pulled his face away from Buck to face her.
Casey looked at him sternly and he almost dove back into Buck’s arms before she started talking again.
“First off, I’m not mad at you. Like I said, you didn’t do anything wrong. Second, I don’t ever want to hear you call yourself stupid again, do you hear me? You are not stupid. You are smart and clever and I’m very glad I’m going to get the chance to be your friend. Now do we understand each other?”
Ezra looked at her warily and nodded.
Casey gave him a bright smile and patted his back dotingly. “Why don’t you go finish you breakfast while it’s still hot. I’m going to make the beds then I’ll be back down and we’ll see what the plans are for the day.”
Casey looked at her boss for his agreement and got a thumbs up and a grateful smile for the way she had just handled the situation.
The two males remained at the table as Casey left the room.
“Casey’s right, you know,” Buck told him quietly. “You are a smart little boy. You have a quick mind and you are very good at figuring things out. I know your mother told you different, but you know what? She’s the one who’s stupid. She couldn’t see how smart, or funny you are, or what a good, loving little boy you are. She had a wonderful, special little kid sitting right there in front of her all the time and didn’t even recognize the treasure that she had. That’s pretty stupid in my book.
I think you should just forget all those bad things she said about you because she obviously didn’t know what she was talking about. It’s a really good thing you came here to live with us because we’re much smarter than your mother. We see you for the terrific person that you are.”
Buck gave Ezra a final hug before placing him back in his chair and nudging the fork resting on the plate in the child’s direction.
“Eat up now, Ez. We need to put some meat on your bones. You can’t grow up to be big and strong and have muscles like mine if you don’t eat,” Buck said with a teasing smile and playfully flexed his right arm to demonstrate.
Ezra studied the man blankly for a moment, still processing all he had been told, but then seemed to realize he was being teased. A smile began building and kept growing until the boy’s lips were spread wide in an earsplitting grin. He picked up his fork and began eating with enough gusto to satisfy the man watching him with a matching grin.