Leo stared at her.
"You don't have to decide anything now," Reynolds added. "But we want you to know it's there because of your courage."
Dunn stood there, stunned.
Leo looked at me, completely overwhelmed.
"Mom…?"
I shook my head, equally overwhelmed. "I… I don't even know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything," Reynolds said. "Just understand this: what your son did is no small thing."
Then he pulled something from his pocket—a military patch—and placed it gently on Leo's shoulder.
"You deserved it," he said. "And I can assure you, Sam's dad would have been proud of you."
That was it.
My eyes instantly filled with tears.
I held Leo close, my voice cracking with emotion.
"Your dad would have been proud, too," I whispered.
Leo's face hardened, and he nodded once.
The tension in the room eased, replaced by something more welcoming.
Sally approached us.
"Thank you for giving my son something I couldn't."
I reached out and hugged her.
"I'm really glad you did," I said.
She held on for a moment longer.
"Me too."
When we left the office, Sam was waiting for us in the hallway with the other soldiers.
The moment he saw Leo, his face lit up.
Leo didn't hesitate. He ran straight for him.
"Dude!" Sam laughed as Leo wrapped his arms around him.
"I thought I was in trouble," Leo said.
Sam smiled. "It was worth it, though!"
Leo smiled.
"Yeah," he said. "It was totally worth it!"
I stood aside for a moment, watching them.
They talked as if nothing had changed.
But everything had changed. Because now Sam was no longer the abandoned boy.
And Leo... he wasn't the only one worried.
He took action.
Continued on the next page:
