He put the cup down with a soft click on the table.

“I want to do right by her, Jodi.”

Rory drank the coffee in three long swallows, got up from the oak chair and put the empty mug in the sink.

“Tell Sadie I’ll text her Thursday to confirm the time for the mall,” he said, turning toward the back door.

“I’ll let her know,” I said.

I watched from the kitchen window as his gray truck backed out of the gravel drive and turned north toward the county line road.

The four winter tires stood in a tidy row against the garage wall, dark rubber lined up squarely against the green paint.