Wade stopped her.
“No.”
“But—”
“No.”
“He went because I asked.”
“He went because he loved you and he made an adult decision.”
“But if—”
“Lily.”
Wade moved closer.
“Listen.”
She stared.
“Your dad died because cars lost control on ice.”
“Not because you loved a stuffed fox.”
She cried.
Wade did too.
He hated crying in public.
Hospital rooms changed his standards.
Patches was found inside Aaron’s car.
A state trooper brought the stuffed fox to the hospital in a clear evidence bag.
One ear was stained.
The toy itself survived.
Hospital staff cleaned it.
When Lily received it, she pressed it to her face and sobbed until she fell asleep.
Wade sat beside her.
Pink handcuff still looped around his vest pocket now.
She had unlocked it after learning Aaron died.
Then immediately regretted it.
She handed the cuff to Wade.
“Keep it.”
“Why?”
“So you remember.”
“I remember.”
“Still.”
He clipped it through a leather loop on his vest.
It looked ridiculous.
He kept it there for eleven years.
Child Protective Services arrived on the third day.
Wade hated them before they entered.
Marlene noticed.
“Do not be stupid.”
Wade looked toward her.
“I haven’t done anything.”
“You’re making the face.”
“What face?”
“The one men your size make when they want the whole building to know they dislike authority.”
“I do dislike authority.”
“I gathered.”
She straightened his vest.
He stared.
“Did you just dress me?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t.”
“Then stop dressing like you slept in a garage.”
“I did sleep in a hospital chair.”
“Close enough.”
The caseworker was younger than Wade expected.
Black woman.
Early thirties.
Name: Denise Howard.
She shook his hand.
Firm.
No fear.
Good.
She interviewed him privately.
Home address.
Income.
Business ownership.
Club association.
Prior conviction.
Rebecca.
Maya.
Therapy.
That irritated him.
“Why does that matter?”
“Because you lost a spouse and child.”
“So?”
“So caring for a grieving child may activate unresolved trauma.”
Wade leaned back.
“You talk like a brochure.”
Denise smiled.
“I can swear if it helps.”
He almost laughed.
She continued.
“Did you receive counseling after their deaths?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t want to.”
“Helpful.”
He glared.
She wrote something.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You wrote.”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“‘Avoids emotional support.’”
Wade stared.
“Take that out.”
“No.”
He muttered.
Denise asked about the Steel Saints.
“Outlaw club?”
“No.”
“Criminal activity?”
“Not as an organization.”