not be true.”
Owen whispered, “Maybe she wanted us?”
Dr. Patel did not rush.
“She might have,” she said. “We are trying to learn more.”
Lily looked at Nathan. “Did you know?”
Nathan shook his head. “No, sweetheart. I didn’t.”
She looked at me. “Did you?”
“No.”
“Did Daddy know?”
The adults went very quiet.
Dr. Patel answered carefully. “We think your daddy knew more than we do right now. And we are trying to understand what he was protecting you from.”
Owen’s face crumpled. “Why do grown-ups protect kids by not telling them anything?”
The question broke something open in Nathan.
He slid from the couch to the floor, sitting a few feet from Owen.
“Sometimes grown-ups get scared,” he said. “Sometimes we think hiding things will keep kids safe. Sometimes we’re wrong.”
Owen watched him.
Nathan’s voice shook. “I was wrong too. I stayed away from your dad
