Said they’d come back to get it. Then tucked her into his side in the truck and took her home. Once there, he made her some weak coffee and brought it out to her on the porch. She was sitting on the weathered bench, and her hands shook around the cup. She hadn’t said a thing to him. On the drive. Or when she got home. About what had happened inside the senior care center. But he was worried. Seeing her pale and in pain made him crazy. He came around to face her and squatted down on his haunches. “Talk to me.” When she didn’t answer, he touched her chin gently and lifted her eyes to his. But once she looked up at him, the floodgates opened and tears streamed down her cheeks. “Grace . . .” She shook her head. “I went to see Palmer.” His gut tightened. “What? When? Dammit, Grace. He’s a monster. He could’ve . . .” He looked away, then back again.
