Denise blinked. “A room?”
“For when he comes home.”
Denise’s heart squeezed.
“Honey, that may take time.”
“I know.” Chloe picked up her spoon and stirred the soup. “But maybe rooms need time too.”
So they made a plan.
Not a full room. Not yet.
Just a box.
Chloe called it the Coming Home Box.
Inside she placed her drawings, the folded postcard, a smooth stone she had found outside the courthouse, a photo of her mother, and a list of things she wanted to do with Gavin someday.
Go fishing.
Eat pancakes.
Visit Mommy’s grave.
Read a whole book together.
Sit on a porch when it rains.
At the bottom, she wrote one more:
Tell the truth when it feels scary.
Denise watched her write and realized the child had already done something many adults never managed.
She had turned fear into a promise.
Three days later, Amelia finally found Karen Vale, the bartender who had confirmed Lyle Danton’s alibi.
