“Knowing Olivia?” I said, stepping out. “I’m guessing no.”
Olivia had agreed to help us with the divorce since she could still legally practice, but I doubted she had helped anyone else get divorced. Although, I wouldn’t put it past her.
He grinned and closed the car door behind me, then fell into step beside me as we walked toward the entrance. For a few seconds, neither of us said anything. He looked at the sky, whichwas perfectly blue and cloudless in a way that made it feel like a set piece. I looked at the sidewalk, making sure I didn’t trip or scuff a heel.
“Actually, can we…?” I motioned to the park across the street, where the trees were just starting to bud and the walking paths had been swept clean by the recent windstorms. “Go sit and talk?”
He followed my line of sight, looked relieved, and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, let’s do that.”
We jaywalked like teenagers dodging a truant officer, and the minute my shoes hit grass, I realized how much I’d missed the feeling of open air. Adam seemed more relaxed too, hands in pockets, head tipped back to catch the sun, like a prisoner who’d forgotten what outdoors felt like. We meandered for a bit, not really saying anything, until he finally asked, “So, what’s up with the case?”
“Nothing,” I sighed. “All the drama has already happened.” Then I filled him in—Cliff Notes version. “Stacy’s out on bail, in a treatment facility. Her sisters are caring for Jeremiah. I met them, they’re actually really nice. Tanner is… well, just waste of space piece of shit, but did anyone really expect anything else.”
Adam frowned. “I talked to Birdie and read the report. You’re not pressing charges?”
It turned out Stacy had a history of mental illness and a very brilliant mind. She could hack almost anything which is how she’d been able to hack the security system of my building, my smartlock, alarm system, and Tesla. Tanner convinced her to get off her meds to start a family, then not to go back on them once she had Jeremiah because he was afraid, she’d put on weight. He isolated her from her family and was very emotionally abusive. So no, I wasn’t pressing charges.
“Not for the break-ins or the car. They’re only getting her for the discharge of her weapon.”
“And you’re paying for her lawyer.”
“I’m helping with legal fees, yes. The treatment facility is taking a lot of the family’s resources. It’s not cheap.”
He watched me for a second, his eyes unreadable, then shook his head. “You always do that.”
“What?”
He stopped us by an empty bench and sat down, patting the spot next to him. “See the best in people. Even when they’re… confirmed felons.”
I lowered beside him and set the manilla envelope with the divorce papers on my lap and flattened my hands over them. My palms were sweaty. “She’s not a felon. She was hurting. She has mental health issues. She needed help. You would have done the same if you’d been there.”
I knew Adam still thought I was being too easy on her, but he hadn’t seen how broken she was.
“No, I wouldn’t have. She pointed a gun at you.”
I knew we were never going to see eye to eye on this, so I changed the subject to one we did agree on. “How are the girls?”
That did it, his whole face shifted, like the sun came out from behind a cloud. “They’re great. They both started piano. Joey’s in soccer, she loves it. She even sleeps with her ball. Andi started the math league. She won a first-place medal but gave it to Joey because she thought it was a pretty necklace.”
“Sibling generosity.” I smiled. “Extremely rare. I hope they never grow out of it.”
“They miss you,” he said, quietly, almost reverently. “A lot.”
I lifted my eyes to meet his. “Really?”
“You seem surprised.”
“I am… I just thought…I haven’t been around in a while.”
“They talk about you all the time. Ask if they can call you all the time.”
“What do you tell them?”
“That you’re busy working,” he shrugged. “And that you’ll visit when you can.”
My brows lifted. “Do they believe you?”
He looked at me for a long time, and then smiled, but it was a sad smile, the kind people wear when they’re about to say something they know will sting. “No.” He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
