Alex sent Jamie upstairs to get cleaned up. “You’re
staying here tonight,” he whispered, kissing the soft skin beneath
Jamie’s ear. “You know which room’s mine. Go on.”
“‘Kay,” Jamie sniffled. “You coming, too?”
“In a minute,” Alex replied. “I want to call the shelter;
let them know you’re here.”
He watched Jamie trudge upstairs and into the bathroom; he
waited until he heard the shower turn on before picking up the
phone. Then he dialed the shelter and listened to the message on
the machine. After the beep he said, “Father Nate, this is Alex. I
just wanted to let you know Jamie’s at my place now, and it’s late
so he’s going to stay with me tonight. I’ll bring him by some time
tomorrow, okay? If you want to talk to him before that, you know my
number.”
He wondered if he shoul
