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It was odd that, after everything Holden had put her through, Skye still had to be reminded of that. She should have known better by now. But, still, knowing it didn’t diminish the anger. Or the fear.

‘How did she look?’ Skye hated that she had to ask, even though TJ was right – Holden had meant to bring Caroline to taunt her with.

‘She looked fine. But she didn’t know about Holden’s contact with you.’

‘It took her by surprise,’ Janey affirmed from the doorway.

‘I need to get her alone, to speak with her. Maybe things have changed. Maybe she’s ready t-to get out.’

TJ nodded carefully, but he didn’t stoke that hope within her. He had the luxury of rationale when it came to Caroline’s situation, and he knew that sometimes – most times – the story didn’t have a happy ending. The abuse didn’t end. It just rolled on to the next nightmare. ‘We’ll see what we can do. For now, try to relax. It’s been a long day.’ He kissed her gently, right there in front of his mother. ‘I’ll be back in ten minutes.’

He left. Before she could stop herself, Skye shouted after him. ‘No uncontrolled lifting or bending, TJ!’

He just yelled, ‘I know!’ without turning around.

Skye turned back to the house, but she pulled up short when she saw Janey. TJ’s mom was leaning in the doorway, her arms crossed, her eyes glassing over.

‘Janey?’

She waved away Skye’s concern. ‘The pair of us are a right mess, aren’t we?’

Skye nodded. ‘Yeah.’

‘Wine?’

Skye laughed lightly. ‘I thought you’d never ask.’

As she walked to the front door, Janey tipped her head in the direction TJ had walked off in. ‘He looks better?’

Skye heard the question, which Janey asked in that cautious, hopeful tone. ‘He’s trying again,’ Skye replied, being careful to moderate both their expectations. ‘He got an epidural back in January, and it’s brought his pain down a few levels, which is helping day to day. But he has a long way to go.’

When Janey nodded, the movement sent twin tears trailing down her cheeks. ‘He got the steroid shot?’

‘Yeah.’

‘How did you convince him of that? We tried – for so long.’

‘I told him I’d drop his butt back in Arizona unless he listened to me.’

Janey laughed, but it was watery. ‘At first, we tried compassion and patience. When that didn’t work, we tried fighting. And that might have been the scariest part, because TJ didn’t fight back.’

‘You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to help themself.’ Skye had learned that truth at twenty-two when she’d left her mom behind. She only wished she could have given her mother an ultimatum like the one she’d given TJ. ‘I don’t think TJ could think clearly through the pain for long enough to realize that he was his own biggest problem,’ Skye pointed out. ‘He wasn’t making good choices. He just wanted it to be over. Once he got the epidural and could focus again, he started taking responsibility. And now that he’s starting to feel some improvement, he’s starting to hope again. The hardest part for him is accepting that he has limitations.’ Skye actually smiled. ‘Which is why I nag him.’

‘Oh, I don’t think it was the epidural that got his butt back in gear,’ Janey teased lightly. ‘Even if it was, we still have you to thank for the fact that he got it.’ She waved Skye in. ‘Come on. I set up your old room.’

Skye didn’t have the audacity to mention that she didn’t mind bunking with TJ – at least, not to his mother. ‘Thank you. I’ll bring our bags in.’

‘Leave them for Ryan,’ Janey said.

Stepping into the house was like falling through a time portal. Nothing had changed. Even the smell – leather and orange oil – was the same. It was oddly comforting to Skye.

Until she stepped into the stairwell, because there, bolted onto the wall, was a stairlift. The sleek black leather chair and the shiny aluminum tracks didn’t change how much space the lift took up in the narrow staircase. It was a bold and ugly reminder of what TJ had been through.

Skye gently touched the leather seat.

Behind her, Janey sighed. ‘It took a while before he could walk again. Putting the stairlift in seemed like such a simple solution. But I’ll never forget the look on TJ’s face when he came home from physical therapy and saw it.’ She placed one hand on the banister as if she needed the extra support. ‘It was like watching a light get turned off. Just …’ She clicked her fingers.

Skye sat down, right there on the bottom step. ‘I wish I had known everything. I wish he’d told me.’