Forbidden (Southern Comfort)

quietly thanked whatever cosmic force that had decided to put this particular child in his path.
The day he’d spent with Max and Tate had done more for his shattered morale than any beach or booze or uncomplicated sex ever could have.  It had restored his faith that there was goodness left in the world, and reminded him why he continued his disheartening fight.  If his knowledge and skills could make the world a little safer for kids like Max, then every hour he put into that fight was worth it.
The wheel began to circle back around, and Clay caught sight of Tate’s smiling face as she leaned over the metal railing.  Something else began to swell in him, but it had little to do with altruism and a whole lot to do with physiology.
He was pretty damn sure he’d never wanted a woman this much in his life.
His eyes narrowed dangerously, easy smile turning feral as he watched her slide by.
That one little kiss had been just enough to learn the taste of her, and he had every intention of sampling some more of the delectable Ms. Hennessey by the end of the night.
The ride finally ground to a halt, but he and Max remained suspended in the air.  Their car had come to rest near the top of the circle, and as such made them some of the last to disembark. Max’s bright eyes bore the weight of sleepiness when Clay finally carried him down.
“Did you see me, Mommy?” He tried to stifle a yawn against Clay’s neck.  “Mr. Clay said that only the really cool people get to stop like that at the top.”
“Did he now?” Tate thanked Clay with her eyes as he shifted the exhausted child into her arms.
“Uh-huh.” Max blinked heavily, his lids reluctant to stay open.  “Do you think we can come back again tomorrow?”
“Sorry, kiddo.” Tate pressed a kiss to her son’s temple. “But this has been a one day only kind of thing.”  They started to move off the ramp leading from the ride’s exit, but a little blonde girl had them blocked.  Like Max, she looked tired and overextended. Tears coursed in currents through the dust on her cheeks.  “Sweetheart, is everything alright?”
The child looked at Tate out of wary blue eyes.  Chin wobbling, she shook her head no.
Clay bent to the child’s level.  “Are you lost?”
Shaking her head rather quickly, she cautiously backed away.  Sensing that she was intimidated by either his size or his gender, Clay straightened and motioned to Tate.  The fact that she was a female – and moreover, a mother – might make the little girl feel more comfortable about confiding in a stranger.
Shifting Max from his position on her hip, she stooped toward the disheveled child.  “Do you need help finding your mommy and daddy?”
Blonde curls tumbled as she shook her head again. But then the little girl lifted a chubby hand and pointed toward the crowd.  “My mommy works over there.”
Following the direction of the child’s extended finger, Clay saw a conglomeration of metal trailers and blinking lights.  “Your mommy works here at the carnival?”
“She makes funnel cakes.”
He and Max had nearly made themselves sick gorging on funnel cakes earlier in the day, and Clay was pretty sure he remembered the trailer’s location.  He squatted down again to join the others.
“My name is Clay, and this is Tate and Max.  If it’s alright with you, we’d like to help you get back to your mama.”
At the child’s unhappy frown, Clay shifted so that he could get his fingers into his pocket.  He pulled out his badge, flipped it open.  “Do you know what this is?” he asked as the little girl studied the bright gold shield.
She shook her head again. “This badge says that I’m a policeman.”  Of sorts.  “Did your mama explain to you that it’s okay to trust a policeman if you’re lost?”
“But I’m not the one who’s lost.”
At that, Clay frowned in confusion.
“Is your sister lost?” Max piped up from his position between Clay and his mom.
The little girl nodded and Clay turned his frown toward Max.  “I saw them earlier,” Max explained with a shrug.  “She pointed at my bear and told her sister she wanted one.  Her sister said ‘get real’.”
Impressed with Max’s powers of observation, Clay’s mouth moved in the hint of a smile before he returned his attention to the other child.  “Where did you lose your sister?”
“Here,” the little girl explained.  “She always waits for me to do the Ferris wheel ‘cause she’s scared of heights.  But when I got off this time she wasn’t here.”
“How old is your sister?”
“Thirteen,” the child supplied.  “But she’ll be fourteen real soon.  She wants an iPhone for her birthday, but Mommy told her she couldn’t have one.”
Clay relaxed a little as he catalogued the information.  A disgruntled teen being pressed into babysitting duty had most likely simply wandered away.  She was probably hanging out by the picnic tables where he’d seen the other teenagers gathering.  He started to suggest that he and Tate walk the child back to her mother, and let the other woman deal with her misplaced teen, but Tate’s next comment stopped him cold.
“I think I saw your sister talking to your daddy,” she told the little girl.
“I don’t have a daddy.”
As Tate winced over her inadvertent blunder, Clay’s instincts kicked into gear.  “Why did you assume the man was her father?”
“I don’t know.” Tate shrugged. “He looked… older. I guess I just assumed he was her father. I should know better.”
“Can you describe him?”
“Well, like I said, he was probably somewhere in his thirties, although I could be off because his face was partially hidden by the cap.  He was big, though. Really bulky.”  She used her hands to guesstimate shoulder width.  “Like maybe he lifted a lot of weights.”
Clay cursed under his breath, just loud enough for Tate to hear.  “Do you remember how he was dressed?”
Tate shrugged, clearly growing uneasy.  She