Mark finally said, “I was trying to help.”
Claire believed him.
That was what made it worse.
He still seemed to think good intentions should erase the method.
“You were trying to help your mother by volunteering something that wasn’t yours to volunteer alone.”
His eyes dropped to the paperwork in his hand.
The same paperwork he had brought out expecting, perhaps, to make the situation easier.
Instead, it had forced him to answer the one question his text message had avoided.
Who actually had the right to decide?
Claire did not demand an apology in front of the officer.
She did not give a speech about respect.
She did not tell Diane she had won.
There was nothing to win.
There was only a boundary that should have existed before the silver SUV ever turned into the driveway.
Diane finally reached for the handle of the suitcase nearest her.
