Derek froze completely.
His brain short-circuited. For a solid five seconds, he simply stopped processing the world around him. The cool spring breeze, the singing birds, the sound of the courtyard—everything vanished. His mind went totally blank. His heart stopped beating for a second, then started hammering so hard it hurt his ribs.
He stared at the young boy.
Derek slowly crouched down, lowering his tall body until he was exactly at Ryan's height. He placed his large hands gently on Ryan's small shoulders. He looked deeply into the boy's bright, honest eyes.
"Awake?" Derek whispered. His voice was incredibly raspy and shaking. He was terrified to believe it. He was terrified it was just a child's dream.
He swallowed hard. "Did you say your mother is awake?" he asked, needing to be absolutely sure of what he heard.
Ryan nodded his head up and down so fast it was a blur. A huge, toothy smile stretched across his face.
