Page 222

"I learned it from you."

Maggie presses a hand to her chest. "Wow. Ungrateful child."

"Are you sure she’s a child?" Briggs asks.

“That’s what they said at the hospital, but I’m starting to wonder,” Maggie quips, shooting him a grin before turning back to Lucy.

The grin stays, easy, familiar. The sight catches me off guard because I recognize this version of her. The woman sitting across from me feels more like my sister than the frightened stranger who came home weeks ago.

The fear hasn't disappeared. The restraining order is moving through the system. Police reports, lawyers, statements, and endless paperwork still fill her days. Some nights she barely sleeps. Other days a ringing phone can make her jump halfway out of her skin.

Even so, she's here. She's fighting her way forward one day at a time. Right now, that's enough.

A waitress arrives with our food, setting plates around the table. The smell reaches me almost immediately.

My stomach revolts.

I stop moving.

Across the table, Torin notices. "You okay?"

I grab my coffee and nod. Too fast. "Fine."

Torin's gaze stays on me.

Briggs follows it.

A few seats down, Ashby looks up from the notebook he's been scribbling in since we arrived.

Fantastic.

I've managed to attract the attention of the three men whose favorite pastime is monitoring my wellbeing.

I force a smile. "I'm tired. That's all. I’ve been working hard. You know, my boss really has me doing a lot since I’m back to it. Remote working isn’t easy…”

Briggs appears to accept the answer and returns to his food. Ashby watches me for another beat before going back to whatever he's writing.

But I can tell Torin remains unconvinced.

Before he can say anything, Lucy slaps both hands onto the table. “Tyler is the new boy in my class.”

“Oh?” Maggie replies with interest.

Lucy straightens in her seat. "Well, Tyler said dinosaurs should pay taxes."

Briggs blinks. "That's where this story starts?"

"Yes."

"Good. I was worried it might make sense."

Lucy ignores him entirely.

"Anyway, Tyler says dinosaurs should pay taxes because they take up land. I told him they're extinct, which means they don't have jobs, and then he said being extinct isn't an excuse…"

The conversation immediately veers off a cliff.

Within thirty seconds, Briggs is arguing dinosaur economics, Maggie is laughing so hard she's wiping tears from her eyes, and Torin finally gives up on interrogating me with his eyes.