“I know.” He pulled into the rink parking lot and after driving around a few times, he finally found a spot. The place was always crowded. He turned off the car and looked over at Scotty. “Every married couple hits a bump or two along the way. There’s always going to be things we don’t agree on, and Sam and I are still figuring out how to fight with someone else in the house—someone we’d never want to upset.”

“It’s okay. I know what you mean, and at least if you’re fighting you won’t be kissing all the time.” He made gagging and choking noises that had Nick laughing so hard his ribs ached in protest.

“You’re hilarious.”

“I know, right?”

As he got out of the car and followed the boy and his giant equipment bag into the rink, Nick realized he felt a tiny bit better. He was still upset about everything that’d happened, but for the next couple of hours he would focus totally on his son. He’d deal with his wife later.

* * *

Rattled by the way Nick had once again walked away from her without finishing their conversation and without any of the words they always said to each other, Sam stood there staring at the door for a good five minutes after he left. Most of the time when she dug in on an issue, she felt pretty confident she was right. This time, she wasn’t so sure.

He’d made good points. Brooke had put herself in a dangerous situation by sneaking out of school to attend a wild party at home. However, no one deserved to be sexually assaulted. With that in mind, Sam gathered her belongings for the two-hour trip to Middleburg, Virginia.

Before she left, she placed a call to Tracy, who answered on the first ring.

“How is she?” Sam asked.

“The same. Still sleeping and out of it.”

“That’s for the best right now. She’s going to be sick and in pain when she wakes up.”

“I know. That’s what the doctors told us.”

“I’m going to the school to see what I can find out. I’ll be gone about five hours. I’ve let it be known that no one is to talk to her without me present, so no one from the MPD should bother you.”

“Freddie stopped by a short time ago to check on us, but it was a personal visit, not professional.”

Sam expected nothing less from her faithful partner, who was friendly with her entire family. “That was nice of him.”

“He’d come from the crime scene and looked like hell.”

“It’s always worse when kids are involved.”

“I can only imagine. I don’t know how you do it.”

“Are you okay, Trace?”