“You need real energy for badges,” Dan told her.

  “We’re going to the children’s museum. We are going to spend the night. Do you think there are dinosaurs? Do you think we’ll be able to sleep with the lights on?” Emma grabbed Dan’s hand and held on tight.

  “I bet they have all sorts of amazing things. Puzzles and games and dinosaurs. I think they’ll have lights for next to your sleeping bag.”

  “Yeah. If I call, will someone come? You or Daddy? If I… you know.”

  “Oh, sweetie, of course we will. No one will make you stay if you don’t want to.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered. “It’ll be great.”

  Dan gave her a hug before helping her heft her backpack. “It will. Randi is coming too, right?”

  “Uh-huh. Randi. My friend, Brianna.”

  “See?” Dan let her chatter at him, getting a thumbs-up from Weldon. Go him.

  “Come on, child. Get ready. Jakob? You coming?”

  “I’m ready!” Jakob popped up like a jack-in-the-box.

  “Good deal. You’re good with Maddie and Kenzie? Caleb is spending the night at Mel’s.”

  “I am.” Dan could do this. Maddie and Kenzie were the easy ones, frankly. At least right now.

  Weldon grabbed the propane tank, loaded it and the two kids in the truck, and headed off. Suddenly Dan was there alone with a six-year-old and a twelve-year-old.

  Whoa.

  Kenzie bounced. “Can I watch TV?”

  He glanced at Maddie, who shrugged. “I need to do some work on my project, so she’s good.”

  “Sure, honey. You want to share a sandwich with me, Maddie?”

  “No. I’m not hungry.”

  He made sure Kenzie was busy with the TV before he said anything. “Can you sit with me a minute, kiddo?”

  “Are you going to fuss at me, because I don’t like that.”

  “Nope. No fussing.” Dan grabbed a pack of Swiss Rolls from the pile Emma had left. He broke open the plastic and pulled out a cake. “I just know your dad is worried. I think maybe you might have a reason you’re not hungry.”

  She looked down at the table, her face going bright red. Poor baby. “Nah. I’m just… not.”

  “So no one is pressuring you at school or anything? My brother Dix? He forgets to eat.” He rolled his eyes. “I used to think that was bullshit, you know, but he gets stressed out, and suddenly it’s been a whole day and he hasn’t.”

  “Yeah? I get that.”

  “Do you?” He broke off a piece of cake to nibble. “That stinks. See, when I get stressed, I work out. My brothers used to tease me because I’ll run for miles.”

  “You’ll get blisters. What do the other ones do?” Her eyes were on the cake, and he offered her a piece of the chocolate, which she took.

  “Dalton? Well, it’s not decent, what he does.” Dan chuckled. “And Damon drinks Dr. Pepper. I swear, he burps fifty times a day.”

  “Ew!” There. That was a laugh. He liked that he could find that in her. It felt damn good.

  “I know, right? He gets stressed a lot.”

  “Me too.”

  “You having friend trouble?” Dan asked.

  “No. Me and Evie are forever.” She held up her fingers, crossed them. “For real.”

  “Okay, so not school, not Evie. Boys? Can I kill someone?”

  “It’s a boy, but not boys, you know?”

  “Hmm.” So she was willing to play twenty questions. “Do I know him?”

  “Yeah.” She stole another bite of chocolate.

  “Not your dad.” Why would Weldon be causing her a hunger strike? Audie, maybe, but he had a feeling she’d never admit to that crush, and she wanted to tell him; Dan could tell. “Not me, right? You’d tell me.”

  “Not you. You haven’t told me any yucky secrets, Dan-Dan.”

  Bingo. “What’s going on with Jakob, sweetie?”

  “I promised I wouldn’t tell,” she whispered. “It’s bad.”

  “Well, I have three brothers…. Did you promise not to tell anyone, or just your dad?”

  “Just Daddy, but he’s gonna be real mad at me if I tell. He said I had to keep my trap shut.” The tears were close, sparkling on her eyelashes.

  “Oh, that’s not fair of him at all, Maddie. You should always be able to tell your daddy things. It’s his job to fix them.” She needed to know that. All day, every day.

  “But he’s never trusted me with a secret before.”

  “You said it’s bad, though.” He knew he was about to turn the screw, but he’d dealt with this sort of shit for his entire career. The wrong kind of secret could get a man killed. “Could he get hurt? That would make you really stressed.”

  “That’s the thing! I don’t know. I don’t… I didn’t even….” She leaned in close, the first tear falling. “I didn’t even know he had another dad. Nobody told me, and now they’re seeing each other. Do I have another dad too? I mean….”

  “Another father?” Dan took her hand, surprised at how small it was. Maddie always seemed so mature, but she was only twelve. “No, you don’t. That’s something you’d have to ask your dad about, but Jakob is the oldest, right?” Shit, he was so not going to explain this one to Maddie. More importantly, he had to get hold of Weldon. Jakob was seeing some guy that said they were related? Who said?

  “He says that Momma was already pregnant with him, that Daddy only took him because he had to.”

  “Where’d he meet this guy, honey?”

  “He went searching on Facebook. His girlfriend, that Jennifer? She found a bunch of love letters from Momma to Daddy and read them to him. He said he already knew he wasn’t Daddy’s, but he didn’t know the name. He says Daddy was hiding it from him.”

  Oh, man. Dan tugged her close and gave her a hug. “Thanks for telling me, Maddie. I was worried about you so bad.” He itched to call Weldon, but he had to wait long enough to make sure Maddie was okay.

  “You can’t tell Daddy. He’ll be so mad at Jakob, and then Jakob will be mad at me, and he trusts me.”

  Right, because a twelve-year-old girl who spent her free time making jewelry, practicing her handstands, and reading Harry Potter obsessively needed this shit dumped on her.

  “I promise that I will do my best to help with anything, Maddie. Any time you need me. Okay?” That was vague enough. Right?

  She nodded, her whole body bouncing, vibrating. “Are you mad at me?”

  “No. I am very proud of you for being brave. It’s hard to promise something and know it could make people mad at you.”

  He opened his arms. “Come here, honey? Give me a hug?”

  She came to him, sniffling softly, and he patted her back, wishing he could mentally holler at Weldon. Call me. I need to talk to you.

  “I’m really stressed. Want to share another pack of cake with me?” Dan asked.

  “No. Can I have a peanut butter sandwich? I’ll make one for you too.”

  “That sounds amazing.” Dan kissed the top of her head. “Thank you.”

  “You want strawberry or blackberry jelly?”

  “Can I have one too, Sister?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Kenzie clapped. “Strawlberry!”

  “Oh, me too,” Dan said. “Be right back, okay?”

  “Yeah.” She shot him a worried glance but grabbed the Mrs Baird’s.

  Did Dan feel like a traitor? Yes. Did he have to call this in to Weldon? Fuck yes. He hit the bathroom in the master, dialing on the way. Come on, babe. Answer the damn phone.

  “Hold up, honey. I’m wrestling the propane.”

  “Okay.” He glanced at the door. If he was gone too long, Maddie might freak out and call Jakob.

  “What’s up? I dropped the boy child at the library and the girl child at the Girl Scouts. I’m heading home.” He heard the dinging of the truck as Weldon hopped in. “Y’all okay?”

  “You need to get back to the library. Maddie says Jakob is meeting his biological father there.” Dan laid it out flat. If Maddie was wrong, no harm, no foul, but who knew who this guy really was?

  “What? What the fuck?” He heard the engine roar to life. “Are you sure?”

  “She said he’s been talking to him online. Said you hid him from Jakob.”

  “That’s bullshit and Jakob knows it. He knows as much as I do. The man’s name is Boyd, he drove a Mustang, and he left her crying in a Dairy Queen.”

  “Christ. I just think we need to be safe. I worry someone set him up.”

  “Well, someone better hope they’re not still there when I show up. All the ladies there know Jakob. He wouldn’t be allowed to leave with some stranger.”

  “Okay. Okay, good.” That was good, right?

  “Yeah. Fuck. What the fuck, Dan? What the ever-loving fuck?”

  “I don’t know, babe. I’m just glad Maddie told me.”

  “I’m going to beat her butt. After I kill her brother.”

  “Now, don’t get all over her. She was so worried she didn’t eat. She’s having a sandwich now.”

  “She ought to be worried.” He knew the tone in Weldon’s voice. It was pure fear.

  “He’s fine. I know it. You’re not far.”

  “I’m not.” Weldon sighed. “What was he thinking? What the fuck was he thinking? He’s blind. How’s he supposed to know what this guy looks like? I’ve never met him. What if he’s a child molester?”

  “I think he’s fifteen and starting to notice how very different he is from everyone.” Dan knew he had to stay calm for Weldon, even if he was freaking out.

  “It’s not like I kept it a secret from him. He knew that his momma was pregnant when she met me.”

  “Oh, babe. I don’t mean the family. I mean at school and all. He needs to feel like he has something no one else does.”

  “Yes, well. I’m going to give him the beating of his life. Putting himself in danger for what? Some motherfucker that left a little girl crying in a fast-food joint?”

  “Might be the best thing that ever happened to him.” Dan chuckled. “I need to check on Maddie.”

  “Yeah. I’ll be home with the boy shortly. If we stay in the truck, let it go.”

  “I will. I—I love you, babe.” What else could he say?

  “I love you. A lot. Tell me he’s safe, that I’m going to walk into this building and he’ll be there.”

  “He’s perfectly safe until you get there to beat him. Holler if you need me.”

  “I will.”

  The line went dead, and seconds later a quiet tap came to the door. “I made sandwiches.”

  “Coming, kiddo.” He flushed because he might as well keep up the fiction. “Did Kenzie put honey on hers?” Dan asked when he stepped outside.

  “Uh-uh. She wanted strawberry. Come on. Do you want milk?”

  “A little glass, please.”

  “’Kay. Is it going to be okay?”

  “It is.” Dan held out a hand, which she took. “Are you mad at me?”

  “Ask me this evening when Jakob hates me.”

  “I will. I’ll even play Scrabble with you, though you’ll kick my ass.”

  “I will. I kick everyone but Granny Mel’s. Granny’s amazing.”

  “Yeah. She is.” He found her a smile and tried not to stress this shit out.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  WELDON RAN into the library, the industrial building open enough that he could see everything. Every person.

  Including his son, sitting with a man Weldon had never seen before, and if he got his hands on the motherfucker, no one would ever see alive again.

  “Jakob Nathaniel Weldon,” he barked, and the stranger sitting with his son stood up, the chair clattering to the floor. “You got something to talk to me about?”

  “I—”

  He knew the son of a bitch was fixin’ to run from the guilty as fuck look on his face. “Who the fuck is this?”

  “Mr. Weldon!”

  He heard the librarian, but he didn’t really care. He knew who it was. Guy about his age, dark curly hair like Jakob’s, that weird bump on the bridge of his nose. He knew. Still, this motherfucker would have to come clean.

  “Dad!” Jakob turned toward him, and Pepper whined.

  “You heard me, son. Who is this?”

  “You know who he is. You have to.” Jakob sounded more than a little desperate.

  “I’ve never met this man before in my life.” And that was the stone-cold truth.

  “He knows who I am, Jakob. He knows I’m your real dad.”

  Oh, that fucking son of a bitch.

  “Let’s take this outside, son. It’s fixin’ to get loud.” And if Mr. Tall, Dark, and in Need of a Bath thought his short ass couldn’t beat him down, he had another think coming.

  “Dad.”

  “Now, Jakob. Right now.”

  “Yessir.” Jakob rose, grabbing his book bag. Yeah. Weldon was still the dad.

  He didn’t take his eyes off this Boyd fucker as they stormed out of the library. Boyd, right? Roy? No, surely it was Boyd. Whoever it was, Weldon was going to kill him.

  Then he was going to take Jakob home and… have a fucking beer.

  “Don’t you order him around like that,” Boyd said. “It’s my fault he’s here.”

  “Outside. Now.” He held the door open, waited for Jakob and Pepper to get out, and then he led them over to the truck. “You have thirty seconds, son. Talk.”

  “I—I just wanted to meet him! I’m so tired of being…. I wanted someone to talk to.”

  “And how, exactly, did you decide that this particular piece of shit was the sperm donor?”

  He’d been waiting to beat this motherfucker down for sixteen years.

  “Jennifer helped me.” Jakob waved his free hand in the air. “He’s on Facebook.”

  “You know he left your momma, right? Sitting and crying her eyes out, knowing you were coming. How could you disrespect her this way?” He was shaking, his fists clenched so tight they hurt.

  “Hey, I was young, man. I wasn’t ready to settle down and hook up with some girl.”

  Weldon spun around, popped the son of a bitch right in the gut, doubling him over. “You fucking refer to her as Mrs. Weldon, you bastard. No other way. Mrs. Weldon. Got it?”

  “Dad! Dad, you can’t just….”

  “Can’t I?”

  “I’ll fucking have you arrested,” Boyd said, wheezing and holding his breadbasket.

  “Before or after I get you brought up on charges for soliciting a minor online?” Weldon bared his teeth. “I got a lot of friends around here, buddy, and I don’t know you from Job. You said yourself you asked him to meet you here.”

  “He’s my son!”

  He made sure that this ugly motherfucker saw him, held his gaze and saw the murder in his eyes. “I will be his dad until the day he dies. Nothing will change that.”

  “Dad, please.” Jakob moved close, tugging at his arm. “Can we go? I need to go.”

  “You want to speak to my boy again, you go through me. Are we clear?” He unlocked the truck, and Jakob opened the door.

  “This isn’t over. That’s my son, and I’m going to—”

  “You will not. Not if I have any say.” Once Jakob was in, Weldon slammed his door and turned the key in the ignition.

  “Dad, I—”

  “Not now. Not one word, son.” He forced himself not to peel out, not to scream. He had to hold it together, because once he started to holler, it was going to be all over but the crying.

  “But I—”

  “No.” He said the word with flat finality, and Jakob slumped next to him, head down.

  They managed to make it to the house without saying a word. Then Jakob opened the door, and Weldon stopped him. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

  The door clicked shut again, Jakob sitting very still. “I wanted to know what he was like.”

  “Why didn’t you talk to me? Why didn’t you let me know? He could be anyone, Jakob! Anyone at all! He could be looking to hurt you!”

  “Why would he lie? He knew all about Mom back then.” Jakob clenched his hands in his lap.

  “Because people suck? Did he tell you how he left her? Stranded her in a Dairy Queen, alone and crying while she took her second pregnancy test? Did he tell you that?”

  Did the fucker mention that, when Jakob came out of Krista blind, Weldon was the one who stayed? Weldon was the one who was there for the diapers and the teething and the fucking learning how to raise a functional child who was blind? Did that son of a bitch happen to bring all that up?

  “I’m sorry.” Jakob said it small. Miserable.

  “Good. Did you think I wouldn’t have your back, Jakob? Did you think I would just—shit, what? I can’t even begin to understand what your thought process was here.” He didn’t want to think about how much it hurt, that Jakob would do this to him. Distrust him so much. Be so fucking thoughtless.

  “No! I mean, I just wanted…. I didn’t think.”

  “No, you didn’t. Goddamn it, son, you could have been hurt. You could still be hurt. I didn’t even know the son of a bitch’s last name! How did you find him?”

  “That box of stuff you gave me? The one that was Mom’s? Jennifer wanted to see it.”

  He waited for more, knowing that his first urge to ban Jennifer from visiting ever again was stupid. It’s what he wanted to do.

  “Apparently there were a couple of pictures with his first name on them. Jen found him in Mom’s yearbook. He signed it too, like with his whole name.” Jakob ducked his chin. “And there were some letters, to you. She said his name was Boyd.”

  “Those are mine.”

  “I know.”

  “I’m so disappointed in you. I never have been before. I didn’t think I could be. You lied to me, you put yourself in danger, and you… you just…. Dammit, Jakob.”

  “What do you want me to say? I said I was sorry.” Jakob hunched lower with every word.

  “I want you to…. Right now I want you to hand over your phone, and you can give me your laptop when we get in.”

  Jakob gasped, and the shock felt good for a second. “For how long?”

  “Until I decide that you can be trusted not to be a shit!”

  “But I’m blind! That’s like cutting me off from everything!”