“But we’re still temporary,” Joshua said in a small voice.

Dani wanted to promise him the world. But she didn’t want to hurt him any more than he’d already been hurt, so she just gathered him close and held him again, whispering behind his ear while signing behind his back so that Michael could see. “I know it’s hard right now. I want to promise you that it’ll get better, that you can stay here, but the truth is, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I can promise that I won’t lie to you. Ever.”

“Okay,” Joshua whispered into her neck, then pulled back enough to sign. “Can I still have the Spider-Man pj’s?”

Dani’s heart hurt. He’d gone from asking for a dog to asking to keep a pair of pajamas. “Yes, sweetheart.”

“Can . . . can I go to my room?”

She let him go. “Sure,” she said unsteadily. “I’ll be up in a little while to give you a bath.”

He turned away, the picture of dejection walking up the stairs. Still on her knees, her eyes burning, she watched Michael follow him.

The silence in the room was oppressive. Then Kate sighed. “You can’t save everyone, Dani. Sometimes shit happens. You can only do what you can humanly do. And like it or not, you’re human, not Wonder Woman. I see this every day on the job. I want to help all of the people I meet, especially the kids. But I can only do my job and do it well.”

Murmurs of agreement rippled from the others.

“I see it, too,” Scarlett said. “And the small things are important. You and I helped Tommy and Edna yesterday, and they’re safe and warm tonight. Tomorrow they’ll go back to the street. We can’t stop that. But we can be there the next time they need help.”

But Michael and Joshua weren’t two elderly homeless people who’d been living on the street for years and knew how to keep themselves safe. Michael and Joshua were children. I need to do more.

A hand on her elbow had her looking into her brother Greg’s concerned eyes, mismatched like her own. “Not your fault,” he signed and tugged her to her feet. “You’re keeping them safe. That’s a lot. Michael knows that. He told me so. He’s grateful for all you’ve done—this house, the lawyer, all of it. He just can’t let himself get used to it.”

Because it’s temporary. Just like Diesel, she realized with a start. He’d said that she thought him temporary. And she did, but not like he thought.

She knew he’d leave, because she couldn’t let him stay. She couldn’t let him stay because he’d leave. It was a vicious cycle.

One that needed to stop. She just wished she knew how.