There was a knock on the door and the very object of his worry opened it.

“Dad, is Lila okay?” Noelle moved into the room, her backpack on her lap. It would include her lunchbox, a couple of books, and her laptop so she could catch up on schoolwork when she wasn’t answering the phone.

Would she be stuck here, working dispatch in a tiny station house for the rest of her life? She’d always been fascinated with chemistry. When she’d been a kid, she’d wanted a chemistry set when other girls her age had asked for Barbie Dolls for Christmas. The fact that she couldn’t walk didn’t disqualify her from working in a lab. But she would need the education to get there.

How would she do that? She couldn’t live in a dorm. His house was equipped to handle her wheelchair and all the problems that came with her lack of mobility. He couldn’t send her out into a world where no one would care.

But wasn’t that the worry every parent had to face?

“She’s fine,” Roxie said. “Lila wasn’t in the house at the time. She was in New Orleans with your father.”

“I didn’t mean physically,” Noelle replied. “She lost her home. I would be devastated.”

“Daley’s a tough one.” Roxie eased around the wheelchair to get to the door. “She’s already back at work. I like her. I would have her watch my back. Boss, I’m going home. I’ll be back for the night shift. Call me if you need anything.”

Noelle turned to him as the door closed. “Seriously, is she okay?”

“As okay as she can be,” he replied. “I need to talk to you about that. She doesn’t have a home. She could go to her sister’s.”

“Or she could stay with us,” his daughter replied quickly.

“You understand that there might be a reason her house burned down.” He wanted to be careful about this. He didn’t want to scare her. “It might be faulty wiring.”

“Or it might be that jerk in the jail cell.” She pointed toward the station house main floor. “Maybe he didn’t do it personally, but he had it done. He wanted to hurt Lila because she helped Carrie get away from him. I’ve heard all sorts of terrible things happened to her out on the islands. Did you know some people think the Petries run drugs?”

He groaned. “Don’t listen to gossip.” Although it might be helpful now. “They’re not blaming Lila for sticking her nose in other people’s business?”