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My dad looked at me. It was a sad look. It was exactly how I didn’t want him to look at me.

“I would have killed him,” he said. “If I had found him hurting you I would have killed him on the spot.”

“I think Curtis was tempted to do just that.”

My dad took a few steps toward the open door of the garage. I realized he was looking down the street, in the direction of the park.

“I’m sorry, honey,” he said, facing away. I heard the crack in his voice. “I’m so sorry that happened to you. You know I’d do anything to protect you and your sisters and your mom.”

I had to swallow the lump in my throat. “Of course I know that, Dad. But it’s impossible to protect us from absolutely everything in the world.”

“The world,” he spat, anger in his voice. “There’s too many fucking bad people in the world. Even if you do everything you can to make a safe home for your children, they’re still out there. Just waiting for a time when you’re not watching.”

My father never talked like this, using these bleak words. I knew he’d grown up in a terrible home. He’d suffered a brutally abusive father and a neglectful addict mother. His childhood must have been a nightmare. And he’d worked so hard to give us a wonderful life, a childhood so different from his own, a home filled with love and security. He must have hoped that would be enough to keep us from any harm.

I slid off the stool and quietly walked to his side.

“Yes, there are bad people out there,” I said. “But there are good ones too. There are men who might not seem like they belong in your life and then you find out they are honest and caring and trustworthy and everything you could possibly ask for. There are men in the world like…Curtis.”

He looked at me sharply when I said Curtis’s name. Then he looked away just as quickly and faced the dark street again.

“I had a call,” he said. “Just before you came out here. It was your Uncle Deck. They found Tristan down in Emblem. He’d hooked up with some lowlife pack of losers and he refused leave. Deck says there’s not much Curtis can do since the kid will be eighteen in another month so they left and came home.”

I processed this news and thought of Curtis, of how badly he wanted a good life for his brothers, of how hard he’d been trying to give it to them.

I swallowed. “Did Uncle Deck mention whether Curtis is back at his apartment now?”

My father didn’t answer right away. An old wall clock hanging above the workbench ticked away the seconds. I started to wonder if he’d heard the question. Maybe he just didn’t intend to answer.

“He’s there,” my father finally said and he gazed down at me.

I stared him right in the eye. He knew what I was asking, why I was asking it.

“Daddy?” I whispered, hoping he would understand.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds, then opened them and nodded. “Go on, Cassidy. Go to him.”

I touched his arm. “Thank you.”

When I turned to dash back into the house for my purse and keys I didn’t get far. My mother was standing at the door to the kitchen and holding both objects out to me with a smile.

“Thanks, Mom,” I said, snatching them because I was suddenly in a hurry. I needed to get to Curtis. I needed to be with him right now.

Before I pulled away from the house I glanced back to see that my mother had joined my father in the garage. She hugged him around the waist and he bent forward, burying his face in her hair. They held onto each other tightly, this star crossed pair of soul mates who had been through so much together and loved each other so desperately. I was glad to be their daughter. It was an honor.

The drive to Curtis’s apartment only took about ten minutes. When I was reaching out to knock on his door I realized I should have called or texted. He might not want any company after such a tough night.

He answered within seconds, wearing only his boxer shorts. I’d never seen so much of him before. He was all muscle and tattoos and complete perfection.

“You said earlier that your door would always open for me,” I said, a little breathless because I’d run from the parking lot to his door.

It was a strange greeting but Curtis didn’t appear to mind. His eyes were slightly red but he sounded sincere when he said, “That’s true. And there’s no one on earth I’d rather see at my door more than you.”

He stepped back so I could enter. I was still wearing my pajamas; a plain pink cotton shirt and loose pink shorts adorned with bunny rabbits. Curtis closed the door and leaned against a nearby wall, staring at me with such a burning expression I knew he didn’t exactly mind the bunny rabbits.

I set my purse down, suddenly nervous. “I’m sorry about Tristan.”

His expression dissolved into sadness and he looked away. “I guess you must have heard what happened. Deck said he was going to call Cord to give him an update.”

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