He walked over to the wrecked car. It was hard to look at because of all the reminders, but it occurred to him that as shaken as she was, Amanda might not have gotten everything out of it. A quick glance inside told him he was right, and he went back to his truck and grabbed one of the bags he kept for trash. He climbed into the awkwardly angled vehicle and began to grab up the scattered items. It looked as if her purse had spilled or split open in the crash, for there were lots of things like makeup and a hairbrush.

He paused for a moment when he saw a long auburn hair caught in the brush. And suddenly a memory shot through his mind, of one of the days she’d come to the station to pick up her father because this very car was in the shop. She’d been fresh out of college, still full of energy and ideals, her green eyes, so like her father’s, alight with dreams. But then, so had he been full of dreams. A couple of years ahead of her, but still fairly new to the job he’d wanted since he’d been a kid.

They’d been standing outside the station when Greg had mentioned his daughter was on the way.

I could have given you a ride.

No offense, Kirk, but I’d rather ride with my girl.

He’d said it proudly; Adam had known the man adored his daughter, but he didn’t think he’d realized until that moment just how much. And when he’d looked up to see her approaching, looking as good as she had the first time he’d ever seen her, he’d rather inanely agreed.

So would I.

He’d muttered it under his breath, but Greg had given him a sharp look. Don’t even think about it.

Yes, sir.

He tried to never think about her. Was almost successful, when he focused completely on the job. Greg Bonner was a tough training officer, and he’d washed out more than one cop on probation. But being signed off on by him was nothing less than an honor.

And less than three months later he was dead.

Adam made himself focus. He kept hoping shaking off the memories would get easier with practice, but it didn’t seem to be working that way. And he felt another jab of pain as he scooped up a few old audio cassette tapes, remembering how Greg had scoured online auctions for deals on the things, saying the era of the music should suit the era of the car. Adam had understood the idea, but silently thought streaming through his phone was a lot easier.