Page 97 of Tracking Safety

He didn’t answer.

But he didn’t move away, either.

The screen door opened a third time.

Softer footsteps. Careful, the way he moved when he wasn’t sure of his welcome.

Liam.

He stopped just outside the door, his hands in the front pocket of his sweatshirt, looking at the two of them and the dog at her feet. He was so much like his father that it still caught her off guard—that same stillness, that same measuring look before he committed to anything.

“Hey, buddy.” Luke’s voice was easy. Giving him room.

Liam didn’t answer right away. His eyes moved to Jenna. Then to Freya.

“She came to you,” he said.

“She did.” Jenna kept her voice gentle. “Surprised me too.”

He was quiet a moment. He came to the railing on Luke’s other side, close enough to be part of the group, far enough to still be deciding about it.

“Grandma says she doesn’t go to anybody.”

“That’s what she told me.”

Another silence. The night sounds filled it—frogs somewhere down near the water, wind moving through the top of the pines.

“I was mad at you,” Liam said. Not accusing. Just stating it, the way he stated everything—plain, careful, making sure it was true before he said it out loud.

Jenna looked at him. “I know.”

“I’m still a little mad.”

“That’s okay.”

He glanced at her sideways, like he’d expected her to argue. When she didn’t, something in his face shifted.

“Dad said you left because you were scared,” he said. “Not because you wanted to.”

She held his gaze. “That’s true. I was scared for all of you. I thought if I went, the danger would go with me. I was wrong about some of it. And I’m sorry.”

He turned that over a moment, looking back at the dark yard. “Miss Brenda—my counselor—she said sometimes people who love you still hurt you. And that doesn’t mean they stopped loving you.”

Jenna’s throat tightened. “Miss Brenda sounds like a smart woman.”

“She is.” He was quiet again. Then: “Freya kind of did the same thing. The lady who had her left her here. And she’s still sad about it. But she’s okay.”

He said it like he was working something out, not like he was making a point.

Jenna waited.

Liam pushed off the railing and moved to her side of it, crouching down in front of Freya. The dog lifted her head and regarded him with her amber eyes. She didn’t move away.

“Hey, girl,” he murmured.

Freya’s tail moved once. Slow. But it moved.

Liam looked up at Jenna from where he was crouched. “I don’t want to be mad forever. It’s really tiring.”