Saving a Legend(33)

“Okay, how about we put it under your arm instead? Can I do that?” she asked her sister, lifting her little hand gently.

Shea was reluctant but allowed the thermometer to be tucked into her armpit. Fiona let out an audible sigh of relief, and Kieran beamed at their successful teamwork as he watched Shea calm down.

“Jeez, Shea. You’re definitely sick.” Kieran frowned, reading a temperature of 100˚F when Fiona lifted it up for him to see after it had beeped that it was done.



“She definitely should have some of that medication and get some sleep,” Fiona agreed, nodding toward the measuring cup he’d already prepared with medicine.

Rereading the label one last time to double-check he’d portioned it out correctly, he offered the tiny cup of sticky liquid to Shea, and thankfully she accepted it without complaint. Slowly and gingerly, she downed the liquid with a grimace on her face.

“Good job, baby girl,” Fiona said with another kiss to the little girl’s forehead.

Heading back into the bathroom to put everything away, Kieran found a stack of clean towels and pulled out a small washcloth. He ran it under frigid water from the sink, then wrung it out until it wasn’t dripping wet anymore. One of his favorite things his mother had done when he was sick as a kid was place a cool washcloth on his forehead, so he hoped Shea would feel the same way.

He wondered if this was what parenting would feel like, having a teammate to help you face the world together. If it was, he was pretty sure he’d love it. He already felt closer to Fiona in the last few minutes than he had ever felt to anyone. Something about working together to help Shea had ignited a place in his heart he had never felt so acutely before.

Kieran rejoined them in the bedroom and held out the cloth. “What about a cool washcloth on her head? I used to love that when I was sick as a kid. Is that okay?”

“That’s perfect.” Fiona bit the corner of her lip, as if she wanted to say more. Instead, she pulled down the covers on the bed and Shea immediately crawled underneath, curling under the blankets. Fiona tucked the covers around her and Kieran gently draped the cool cloth over her head.



“How’s that feel, baby girl?” Fiona asked. Shea just nodded her approval and closed her eyes.

“Try to get some sleep; the medicine will work soon.” Kieran smiled at the child and pushed a stray tendril off her face.

Fiona turned on the nightlight by the bed while Kieran picked the drawer up off the ground and slid it back into the dresser. Heading to the bedroom door, he took one last look at Shea, tucked into the small double bed, and wondered again how she and Fiona fit in this space every night. But the sight that made him pause wasn’t the little girl or the little bed, it was the big sister standing over her. Fiona’s arms were wrapped around her own waist, as if to hug herself, as she watched her sister fall asleep. Fi’s eyes closed for a moment and her lips moved as if she was whispering or praying.

The room filled so immensely with love that Kieran felt his heart pound in his chest, as if recognizing the pure beauty of the moment between the sisters. Or maybe the swelling in his chest was all his own. Maybe it was because he’d never met a woman who could make him feel so much, so intensely. Kieran decided he didn’t want to interrupt Fiona’s prayers for her sister, so he slipped out and sat on the living room couch.

Honestly, he was feeling pretty proud of himself for the whole evening. Since meeting Shea, he’d read a few articles and websites that had given him a clearer picture of autism and how broad reaching it was. Nothing was ever entirely consistent, because one child often exhibited symptoms very differently from the next. He knew it was common for some children with autism to respond better to strangers than they did with their own families. Fiona had mentioned this to him before when she had also been surprised at Shea’s willingness to embrace Kieran rather than her, to become more physically affectionate just by his presence. But he didn’t want to chalk tonight up to that entirely, because he felt as if he had a strong connection with the little girl that surpassed anything a textbook could describe. Maybe that was naïveté, but he was really enjoying feeling needed and a part of something special.



Fiona came out and joined him a few minutes later. Despite her overworked appearance, her light blue eyes still sparkled when she saw him. The way she looked at him was still as intoxicating as it had been on the day they met. She looked at him like he could do anything, like he was her hero.

He knew right then and there that’s all he ever wanted to be.

“She’s asleep,” Fiona said softly. “Thank you.”