Every cell in him wanted to be told he was forgiven.

And he made himself, every single month, not to ask.

Chapter 25 — From a Distance

Sometimes he watched their lives from a careful distance.

One afternoon he parked his truck down the block from the center and watched Marlowe walk toward the market with Posy skipping beside her, the little girl proudly carrying an empty canvas grocery bag as though it were a solemn duty.

“Is that heavy bag getting too hard to carry, sweetheart?” Marlowe asked, smiling.