Noah stared at her.
She lowered her eyes.
Victor asked:
“Did he?”
Noah shook his head.
“No.”
“Police?”
Noah laughed bitterly.
“We tried.”
“What did they say?”
“He’s an adult.”
Victor’s expression hardened.
“What about your mother?”
Noah looked toward the window.
“She died.”
Victor said nothing.
Lily whispered:
“Two years ago.”
Victor leaned back.
The weight of the conversation settled across his shoulders.
Daniel Carter.
Raven.
Alive three months ago.
Two children alone.
Noah continued before Victor could ask.
“We stayed with Mom’s boyfriend after Dad disappeared.”
Victor’s eyes sharpened.
“What boyfriend?”
“Not really boyfriend anymore.”
“What happened?”
Noah looked away.
“He drank.”
Victor waited.
Noah said:
“He took Dad’s money.”
“What money?”
“Rent money.”
“Then?”
“He said we owed him.”
Sam shifted.
Victor lifted one hand without looking at him.
Sam stayed quiet.
Noah continued:
“He got mad at Lily.”
Victor’s face became still.
“Did he hurt her?”
Noah did not answer.
That was answer enough.
Victor leaned forward.
“Where is he?”
“No.”
“Noah.”
“No.”
The boy’s voice cracked.
“You said food first, truth later.”
Victor froze.
Noah realized what he had said.
Victor looked almost impressed.
“That I did.”
He leaned back.
“Then no more questions.”
Noah stared suspiciously.
Victor meant it.
He looked toward Mara.
“Dessert.”
Noah blinked.
“What?”
Lily looked hopeful.
Mara brought two slices of pie.
Apple for Noah.
Chocolate cream for Lily.
Noah almost laughed.
It came out as a breath.
For fifteen minutes, nobody asked anything.
Victor drank coffee.
Sam ate fries.
Lily ate pie too fast.
Noah watched them all.
Eventually he said:
“Tell me about Dad.”
Victor set his cup down.
“You sure?”
Noah nodded.
Victor looked toward the rain-streaked window.
“He was twenty-three when I met him.”
“Where?”
“New Mexico.”
“What were you doing?”
“Making bad decisions.”
Sam smiled.
“That’s generous.”
Victor ignored him.
“We were in a different club then.”
He nodded toward the old patch.
“Road Saints.”
Noah looked at it.
Victor continued.
“It wasn’t what people think when they see motorcycles.”
“Some guys were rough.”
“Some stupid.”
“Some dangerous.”
“Most were just men with nowhere else that felt like home.”
“Your father joined after leaving the Army.”
Noah looked surprised.
“He told me he fixed trucks.”
“He did.”
“Before that?”
Victor nodded.
“Army mechanic.”
“Good one.”
Sam said:
“Best we had.”