Free Plain Promise by Beth Wiseman Page B

But then the shrieks grew louder and louder.
    There’s no time . She set the food down in the snow and ran toward the cottage instead. With courage she didn’t know she possessed, she sprinted up the porch steps and flung the door open. She stood in the entryway, her heart racing. Kade was squatting down beside a small boy in front of the fireplace, begging him to please stop hitting his head on the floor. He looked up at Sadie with fearful, desperate eyes.
    “Please help me.” He attempted to wrap his arms around the boy, who pulled away and continued bumping his head against the carpeted floor.
    Sadie grabbed a throw pillow from the couch and ran to their side. She squatted down beside Kade and placed the pillow underneath the child’s forehead. At least the pillow would soften the blows to the boy’s head.
    “I’ve tried picking him up, but he bit me,” Kade said. He held up his left arm, pushed back his sweatshirt, and revealed a prominent set of teeth marks on his forearm. “I don’t know what to do. He’s never done anything like this. He’s hurting himself, and I don’t know how to make him stop, and . . .”
    Kade’s voice trailed, and his eyes begged her for an answer she didn’t have.
    “Who is he?” she asked.
    “My son.” He reached out to touch the boy’s head, only to have the child scream even louder.
    “Your son?” She narrowed her brows at him. “Have you done something to this child, to make him act this way? Have you hurt him?”
    She wished she’d never said it. Kade sat there staring at her in disbelief, his face registering torment, and his eyes glassy and wide.
    Sadie didn’t wait for him to answer. She had her answer.
    “Hello,” she said to the boy, in a voice loud enough to rise above his cries. She leaned closer. “My name is Sadie. What’s your name?”
    No response. She looked up at Kade. “What’s his name?”
    “Tyler.” Kade tried again to reach out to the boy, who began flailing his arms wildly and continued to bang his head on the pillow in front of him.
    “Tyler, do you like pudding? I brought your daed some pudding.” The child stopped screaming, but he continued to bang his head. Sadie looked at Kade, who nodded at her progress, and then she turned her attention back to Tyler. “It is yummy pudding, and I sure would like for you to try some.”
    Tyler didn’t look at her, but his destructive behavior began to subside. “Tyler likes pudding,” he mumbled.
    She glanced at Kade, who ran his hand through his hair, sighed deeply, and said, “Did you really bring some? Because I’m out of pudding.”
    The boy didn’t seem to hear Kade and repeated, “Tyler likes pudding.” He sat straight up, and his eyes began to jet around the room, as if he was searching for something.
    “ Ya . I made you more pudding,” she told Kade. “It’s outside.” Sadie turned back to Tyler. “Why don’t I go get you some pudding?” She slowly stood up.
    “I’ll go get it,” Kade said. He jumped to his feet and moved toward the door. “Where is it?”
    Sadie kept her eyes on the boy, who had begun playing with plastic letters on the floor next to him, as if nothing had ever happened. “Near the barn, along with your groceries.”
    Kade was out the door before Sadie could say anything else. His son?
    She reached over to touch Tyler’s arm. He didn’t look at her, but jerked away and flinched.
    “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
    Kade returned, dropped the groceries inside the door, and headed toward the small kitchen with the container of pudding. “I’ll put some pudding in a bowl for you, Tyler,” he said.
    Tyler lined his letters up in no particular order. He was calm. Sadie saw Kade searching for a spoon, pulling drawers open. She allowed herself a look around the cottage. It was a mess. Dishes were piled in the sink and clothes strewn across the back of the couch. He really should have opted for the housecleaning service she offered with the rental,