“Grandma’s going to take care of you here.”

Benji looked up from his stuffed animal, his small fingers tightening on the green cloth tail.

“Are you mad at me, Daddy?”

Clay stopped in the middle of a sentence, his breath catching as he looked at his son’s face.

“No, buddy,” Clay whispered, reaching out to touch Benji’s hair and then drawing his hand back.

“Daddy’s not mad at you.

Daddy made a big mistake, and he has to make it right.”