Page 14 of Night By Night

Chapter Four

Maddox was on mile three of a grueling, punishing run on the treadmill when Avenged Sevenfold was interrupted in his earbuds by the Deadpool theme marimba remix ringtone. He glanced down at his phone, which sat propped in the holder on the treadmill, and nearly face-planted when he saw it was Hank calling.

He grabbed the handrails so he could put his feet on the sides and hit the treadmill’s emergencyoffswitch before answering the call. “Hey, buddy! Long time, no talk!”

“Yeah, I’m sorry to call so early, Dox, but I need a huge favor.”

It felt good to hear that nickname again. Hank had been the only one to call him that, and he’d always loved it. “Anything.” He grabbed his towel and mopped sweat off his face. “What’s up?”

“I’m at my daughter’s school and need a second emergency contact for her. Bryce Butler was my first call, because he’s sort of my lawyer now, I guess, and—”

“Wait a minute.” Maddox tried to process that. “What about your wife?”

“Wife?” Hank sounded confused.

“Um, I mean, your daughter’s mother,” Maddox clarified. “Girlfriend?”

“Well, she’s my sister, and—”

“Uh,whut?”

Hank sighed. “It’s a long story, and damn, I just realized how creepy that sounded. Sorry. JJ’s not my biological daughter, she’s my niece, but I adopted her. Lois was her mother. She was murdered a couple of years ago by JJ’s bio father.”

Horror filled him. “Shit. Dude, I-I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

“It’s okay, Dox. You didn’t know. But I need two local contacts, and…” He sounded close to tears and Maddox wanted to pull him into his arms and hold him. “I just realized I don’thavetwo emergency contacts.”

“Sure, yeah. You can add me. Of course.” He read off the information Hank needed. “Are you okay?”

“I’m…I’m just putting one foot in front of the other right now. I’m…vertical. Barely. I’m exhausted from the drive down from Pennsylvania, and the move, and everything. It’s just the two of us. I don’t even have after-school care set up yet. I’m kind of overwhelmed.”

“What about your parents?”

Hank hesitated. “They died not long after we moved up there. Car wreck.”

Maddox closed his eyes and silently swore. “Hank, I’m so sorry, man..”

“It’s okay. It’s been years now. You didn’t know. I sort of hunkered down in survival mode.”

But that didn’t make Maddox feel any better for not knowing. “Can I come over tonight to help you? Bring you anything?”

Hank laughed, but it sounded tight, emotional, close to breaking. “Yeah, I wouldn’t say no to a beer or something. I can offer you soup, leftover pizza, and canned tuna fish, until I get my last paycheck from my previous job and can go grocery shopping on Wednesday.”

“Text me your address,” Maddox told him. “And what time?”

“I’ll be home by five thirty, probably. Any time after that.”

“Does she have any food allergies?”

“No, but she’s in a fish sticks and tater tot phase, if that helps. She loves green beans.”

Maddox was already forming a plan. “Done. I’ll come by and cook you guys dinner.”

“I didn’t mean you had to—”

“Noarguments, buddy,” he gently said. “We’ll talk tonight and get caught up.”

“I…” Hank laughed again. “I’m not sure where my sheet pans are. I don’t think I sold those before we moved. I mean, I hope I didn’t. I really downsized.”