Page 27 of Stand

He stood in the large foyer, glancing at each of them in turn, then at the old, rubbed wooden fixtures and the antique lights. “Yeah,” was all he said. “Could have been worse.”

But he didn’t look at her while he said it, just turned and left the house. Megan left the front door open, and in a few seconds he was back, ushering Matt slowly up the stairs onto the porch.

Matt’s left eye was swollen shut and several brilliant shades of purple. His other eye was an even paler blue than usual and didn’t focus on anything for long.

Jake, Paolo, and Mateo approached with remarkable care from the family room where they’d been playing video games. “Dude,” Jake said.

“Mm,” Matt replied.

“Don’t make him talk,” Ty said.

The boys looked horrified. Not talk? Not bust on each other in that easy way Sam had heard from other rooms all week? Not yell when they scored points or baskets or blew up video cars?

“Not too much,” Ty added. “His whole face feels like a football, he said.”

“Mm,” Matt agreed.

“You hungry, Matt?” Cat asked, her mother cat side coming out. “I’ll make you a smoothie so you don’t have to chew.” She somehow drew Matt from his father, bringing him into the kitchen and sitting him on a chair with arms to hold him upright. Alyssa went with her, and Megan looked at Sam, at Ty, and disappeared. Cairo followed the smell of food. Apparently, he knew Sam was safe.

“Is she in jail?” Sam asked in a low voice.

“Yep.” His lips tightened. “Where she was until this morning. But, of course, her attorneys got her out. Then this afternoon, she got served the restraining order and… she didn’t like it.”

He swayed in the middle of the room. “Here.” Sam pulled out a chair that had never served any useful purpose in the foyer and made him sit—fall—into it. “I’m gonna make you a plate. When’s the last time you ate?”

He shook his head. “Who cares? I couldn’t… I couldn’t stop her.” He rubbed his hand over his face. “In a million years, I never would’ve thought she could… I would never have let them see her if I’d thought for onesecondshe’d—”

Sam couldn’t loom over him like this. She sat on the floor instead, folding her legs under her so she could be closer to him. So he’d hear her without her having to raise her voice. “I don’t think she would, in ordinary circumstances,” she said. “She was furious when it happened because she couldn’t believe she’d done it. It was an accident.”

He paused with his face still covered. She wanted to pull his hand away and kiss his palms. Tell him it was going to be all right. That Matt was going to be all right.

Where had that tenderness come from? Sam Fielding made damn sure she never got close enough to anyone to feel like this.

There were more important things to deal with, and she didn’t want her sisters overhearing. “The other hits, though. She knew what she was doing with those. They’ve happened before. Right?”

He didn’t move for a second, then nodded. “Only to me though. Only ever to me.”

“Ty. That’s fucking awful.”

That made him shake with a single laugh. “I shouldn’t have married her, huh?”

“This started before you married her?”

“No. I just mean… you know when you look back and you see all the mistakes you made?” He took his hand away and his eyes met hers. “Yeah. I think you do know.”

“I know a hell of a lot more than you on the subject,” she pointed out. “Are you really going to blame yourself for what she did today? If I were the one sitting there and you were here, would you tellmethat I caused that abuse?”

The word made him wince. “It’s not the same thing when it’s the man.”

“I don’t see why not.”

“I never felt in danger,” he said. “I knew where it would go. It never went that far.” He looked up at the ceiling. “And God, if Matt had just…”

“He’s a good kid.”

“He’s gonna need therapy for the rest of his life for this.”

“Maybe. Don’t we all?”

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