PART 6
June’s hand shook against the doorframe.
Walter stared at his grandson through the rain.
“We raised you,” he said. “After your mother died.”
Colin’s jaw moved.
“And I paid you back.”
“No,” Walter said. “You collected.”
The words hit harder than a punch.
Colin stepped back toward his truck.
Then he looked at Max and smiled.
“You think that dog can watch them forever?”
I didn’t answer.
Colin climbed in, slammed the door, and spun mud all the way down my lane.
When the taillights disappeared, Walter’s cane slipped.
I caught him before he hit the porch.
Inside, June sat at my kitchen table and put one trembling hand on Max’s head.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
I pulled out the chair across from Walter.
“Don’t be sorry,” I said. “Start at the beginning.”
Walter looked at June.
She nodded once.
Then he told me everything.
Colin had moved in eight months earlier after losing another job.
At first, he said he only wanted to help.
Groceries.
Appointments.
Bills.
Repairs.
Then he took over their mail.
Then the checkbook.
Then the passwords.
Then the keys.
“He said he was protecting us,” June whispered.
Max pressed his head against her knee.
Then June lifted her sleeve.
There were more bruises.
One near her forearm.
May you like
Another above the elbow.
My jaw locked.
