Chapter 15: Abraham's Offer

Abraham's POV

I sat in the truck at the corner of Maple Court with my hands on the wheel and did not get out.

That was the rule, and I had agreed to it.

Roz's van blocked the Ellery drive, and the street was so quiet I could hear a leaf blower three blocks away.

Joanna had walked into that garage four minutes ago.

At the five-minute mark I started counting the mailboxes.

At the six-minute mark a white pickup turned onto the street from the far end, fast.

It was Connor's.

He was supposed to be at the dealership until six.

I was out of the truck before I'd decided anything.

The pickup braked hard behind Roz's van, and Connor got out with his phone in his hand and his face white around the mouth.

He didn't see me.

He went around the van at a jog and in through the side door of his own garage.

I followed him in.

Joanna stood at the workbench with a coffee can in her hand.

Brynn stood in the kitchen doorway, a step above her, holding a small black phone against her chest.

Her mascara had run, and her hair was wrecked.

Connor stopped inside the door and looked at the three of us.

"Brynn texted me," he said, to nobody. "She said it was an emergency."

"It is," Brynn said, shaking. "I found your other phone."

Connor looked at Joanna, then at me.

His anger went out of his face, and what came back was grave and kind.

"Abraham, isn't it?" he said. "Thank you for looking after her. Could you give us a minute?"

"No," I said.