Damon’s face tightened. “I’ll come back.”

Violet pressed the elephant against her chest. “People say that when they want children not to cry.”

Damon looked at Cassandra. She did not rescue him. He had spent years believing a promise mattered because of the confidence with which it was delivered.

Now a two-year-old was teaching him that promises mattered only when someone came back.

“I’m coming back before you wake up,” he said.

Luke crossed his arms. “What if your work says no?”