“I am her legal parent.”
Ruby found her voice.
“No, you're not.”
He turned.
Morales stepped between their lines of sight.
“Mr. Mercer.”
Grant looked at her.
“You are Ruby’s former stepfather.”
“I raised her.”
“That isn't the question.”
“My wife was her mother.”
“Your wife is deceased.”
Grant’s jaw tightened.
“You did not adopt Ruby.”
“No.”
“She is nineteen.”
“Yes.”
“Then you have no parental custody rights.”
Grant's face hardened.
“She's mentally ill.”
Ruby flinched.
Morales noticed.
She turned slightly so Ruby could see her face.
“Having a mental health history does not transfer your adult rights to someone else.”
Ruby swallowed.
Grant said:
“You haven't seen the records.”
Morales looked at him.
“I don't need to resolve a mental health petition in a diner.”
Then:
“I do need to address the protective order you're currently violating.”
Grant went still.
Dale looked at the door.
The second officer moved slightly.
Dale stopped.
Grant said:
“I didn't know she was here.”
Ruby stared.
He had driven seven hours.
Grant continued:
“We stopped for breakfast.”
Dale looked at him.
Mistake.
Morales caught it.
“You stopped by coincidence?”
“Yes.”
“Your vehicle was identified on Route 19 thirty-three minutes ago.”
Grant said nothing.
Morales continued:
“You passed two diners closer to the highway.”
Silence.
“Your phone records can answer the rest later.”
Grant looked at Ruby.
Not anger now.
Betrayal.
As though she had done this to him.
“Ruby.”
Morales said:
“No.”
Grant looked at her.
“You were told not to address her.”
Bear’s coffee had gone cold.
He did not care.
Morales asked the second officer to escort Dale outside for separate questioning.
Dale protested.
Then complied.
Grant remained.
Ruby thought police might handcuff him immediately.
They did not.
Reality moved slower than fear.
Morales reviewed the order.
Called dispatch.
Verified service.
Confirmed Grant had been formally notified two weeks earlier.
Then came the question.
“Mr. Mercer, did you know the order prohibited you from knowingly approaching within five hundred feet of Ruby Carter?”
Grant said:
“I believed it was no longer valid after I filed the emergency petition.”
Morales stared.
“Who told you that?”
“My attorney.”
“Name?”
Grant hesitated.
Morales waited.
“No attorney?”
“I consulted someone.”
“Who?”
Grant looked down.
That was answer enough.
Morales sighed.
“Turn around.”
Ruby gripped the counter.
Grant looked up.
“You're arresting me?”
“For violation of the active protective order, yes.”
Grant looked toward Ruby.
“Ruby.”
Morales stepped closer.
“Do not.”
Grant's eyes filled.
Actual tears.
That was new.
Or maybe performance.
Ruby could no longer tell.
“I came because I was scared for you.”
Ruby whispered:
“No.”
“You don't understand.”
“No.”
“I promised your mother.”
Ruby’s face changed.
“Don't.”
Grant stopped.
“You don't get to use her now.”