Page 4 of Inside Silence

“Fine, but don’t think you’re off the hook for not giving me a heads-up about Silence’s prodigal son returning.”

Then I step around her and walk up to the aptly remorseful looking boy.

“Your father is on the way,” I inform him.

The news appears to deflate him even further, so I slip into the booth across from him. Bess hurries over with the coffee I’d almost forgotten about and slides it in front of me.

“Is Tatum okay?” he asks, his head hanging low as he peers at me from under his eyebrows. “Her dad seemed angry.”

I’m glad for the question, it reassures me his heart was and is in the right place. The mention of her father requires a little more processing, something I will save for later, when I’m home and can safely throw things. Nate Gaines is the last person I would ever have imagined in the role of a parent, or back in Silence for that matter.

“She’s fine,” I reassure him, quickly adding, “Other than the trouble she’ll be in for skipping school. I don’t think you’re her father’s favorite person right now though. You may want to keep your distance.”

He shakes his head. “Her locker is across from mine. A couple of little bitches were razzing her. I overheard them say something about her mom being a junkie and killing herself.”

I wince at the derogatory term but let it go since it apparently was deserved.

“They made her cry and she ran,” he continues. “I told them off and followed her outside, but she didn’t want to go back in so I brought her here.”

There is definitely a good kid hiding inside the troubled teen the world sees.

“She lost her mom,” I surmise.

He nods. “She said it was an overdose. Just three months ago.”

Christ. Poor kid. I feel a rush of sympathy not only for the girl, but her father as well. Like Carson, I know what it’s like to lose someone you love, but losing them like that is particularly harsh.

“A little close to home, right, Carson?”

“Yeah,” he mumbles, wiping his nose with the back of his hand.

At sixteen, Carson isn’t small; almost six feet and with a good set of shoulders, but in that moment he’s just a little kid trying to deal with the loss of his own mother.

“You did a good thing stepping up for her, but can I make a suggestion?” I offer gently. I wait for his eyes to come up and meet mine. “Next time, take her to the school office, or at least let someone know where you’re going. She’s only fourteen and her father was really worried.”

He snorts.

“I doubt there’s gonna be a next time. Her dad already hates me.”

“I’m sure he’ll be more understanding after Tatum explains to him what happened,” I assure him.

But just to be safe, I might actually run Nate down to make sure he’s aware. From my experience, fathers can be quite protective of their daughters.

Talking about fathers; from the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse through the coffee shop’s window of Hugo’s cruiser pulling up to the curb. I quickly get to my feet to intercept him before he stalks in here with proverbial guns blazing.

I catch him right outside the door.

“Where is he?”

He looks like an angry bull, nostrils flaring, and I’d swear you can see steam coming from them.

“Ease up,” I caution him. “And once you’re done barking at him, don’t forget to listen too. His heart was in the right place.”

Of course, I’m one to talk, I didn’t exactly stop to listen first either.

Hugo does little more than grunt before pushing past me. Instead of returning inside, I choose to head back to my office. Hugo can handle his son, and I’m not ready to get into a conversation with Bess. I’m going to need some downtime to come to terms with the fact he’s back in town before I tackle the subject of Nate.

The moment I walk in to the lobby, Brenda pokes her head out of her office.