"Shit." Cy turned and shoved a hand into his hair. "What the fuck else do you know about him?"
"Tell what you're thinking first," I demanded. "Stop asking and start talking, Cy."
"I need cold answers," he told me.
"Fuck that. Tell me!"
So he blew out a big breath. "I don't like how he looks at her. I'm concerned that it's not paternal."
"Like a real man," I snapped. "Stop being the fancy-ass doctor, stop acting like you're better than me, and just fucking say it."
"I'm worried that he's inappropriately attracted to your daughter instead of her mother. He's showing a lot of red flags of being a pedophile, Luke. Faith says he hasn't done anything, but the way he looks at her? I think that man wants to molest your daughter."
No. Nuh uh. There was no fucking way. Faith would tell me if something like that was going on. Meredith wouldn't ignore it - would she? I would've seen! There was no way that was possible, and I would not believe it.
"He's just a dorky guy who doesn't know quite how to act," I said. "He's fucking harmless, ok? You're reading too much into this shit."
"Luke..."
"No!" I yelled. "That shit happens in places like New York. Not here. Everyone knows what everyone else is doing around here. There's no way he could hide it. I'd know, Cy. If that man was molesting my daughter, I'd fucking know!"
"I don't think he is," Cy tried.
"Then why did you say it?" I stormed back into his face and shoved at his arm. "Huh? You think he is, but you don't think he is?"
Cy just caught my arm, stopping me from pushing again. "I think he could. I think he wants to. I think that Faith is fine, but I'm not convinced it's going to stay that way. Look, I've seen it - firsthand - and that man - "
"That's your issue," I snapped, yanking my arm away just to point in his face. "This is why you wanted to go to church, isn't it? You used me."
With a growl of warning, Cy snatched my hand away, pulling it to my side. "Yelling at me doesn't change a damned thing, Luke. What if I'm fucking right, huh? If I'm wrong, then I look like an idiot. No big deal, but what if I'mright?"
And that was the problem, right there. I had no idea what to do if he was. I didn't know how to save Faith from this. I couldn't just whisk her away. Never mind what would happen if I accused Brody of being a child fucker without proof. Meredith would throw that back in my face and make sure I never saw Faith again. Not ever.
"So what am I supposed to do?" I asked. "Just drive over there, show up with no warning, and ask him? I'm sure that would gorealgood. Just ask, 'Hey, Brody, you don't think you're going to molest my kid, do you?' Because I'm sure he'd fess up if he was." Fuck, if only it was that easy. "And if I did, the next thing Meredith did would be hauling me to court to make sure I never saw my child again."
"Breathe," Cy said gently. "Luke, she's fine right now. I'm saying we need to do something about this."
"No." I turned away again. And once again, I didn't make it far before turning back. "This is about you, not him. This is because you used to be a whore. This is something you learned in jail or something. It doesn't fucking happenhere,Cy. It can't!"
Then I kept going before he could change my mind. I was a good father. I would know if my daughter was in danger. I'd feel it, or something. And if that man so much as thought about touching her, I'd break every bone in his body. If he hurt her in any way, I'd kill him. I'd fucking beat the shit out of him,thenkill him.
But Cy had to be wrong. Brody didn't do anything. Nothing wrong and nothing right. The man just went to work over near Dallas, spent too much time driving, and fucked around on his computer late at night. He probably played those fucking video games or something. That had to be where Faith heard about them. And a forty-year-old man who still played role-playing games? That was the very definition of loser, wasn't it?
Plus, being lame wasn't a crime. Shit, Meredith liked that he had a stable job. Sure, she was a gold digger, but it wasn't really her fault. She didn't know anything else, but she knew better than to let a man do anything like that to Faith. No matter how much I hated that woman, I knew she loved her daughter. She wouldn't fight with me like this if she didn't. And even ifIdidn't know, she would, wouldn't she?
While my mind swirled, I walked into the house, but I forgot to think about where I was going. Before I knew it, I was standing in the living room, staring at the couch in front of me, and completely unsure of what came next. I just stood there, trying to catch my breath, wondering why I couldn't quite find it, and wishing I could do something to prove that Cy was wrong.
"Luke?" The voice was Violet's. "What's wrong?"
Slowly, I turned around to see her at the edge of the hall. She'd clearly come out of her office. "Was Cy molested or something?" I asked.
Her face turned stoic, which I was starting to realize meant I'd gotten a little too close. "It's complicated," she said. "Why?"
"He was, wasn't he? That's why he thinks Faith's in trouble. She was fine until she started talking to him, and now he's doing that shit where he makes her think she has problems she doesn't. That's what shrinks do."
"No, it's not," she said, crossing the room to grab my hand. "What happened?"
"He thinks Brody's trying to fuck her!" The words came out a roar.
