The night was black and hot with high summer and the cicadas along the river were screaming. As he turned into Zelda’s driveway Asher clicked off the headlights and his eyes adjusted to the dark; the moon had slid out from behind the silver-edged clouds and he could see well enough to roll down the steep driveway with ease. He shifted into neutral and killed the ignition.

The Jeep came to a stop near Zelda’s front porch, the long ropes of the willows brushing against the car’s hood. The cicadas quieted. Here their songs shook like nervous tambourines. A whip-poor-will let out its lonesome call.

“Lord have mercy,” Asher said aloud, and these four breaths of words calmed him. He eased the Jeep door shut and kept his eyes on the front door of the house, willing himself to not notice Zelda’s waxy red geraniums and the chimes that hung from the eaves. Still, seeing these things reminded him of his ex-mother-in-law’s liver-spotted hands digging into the potting soil, of Zelda looking up with a smile on her face.

He knew Justin was here. He had been watching for days now, his car hidden in a pull-off near the river, himself perched within the cover of the willows down by the river so he could see their comings and goings. Lydia had made a big show of hugging and kissing both her mother and Justin, which meant she was going out of town for a day or two, at least.

Three sharp raps with his right hand.

He counted to three and knocked again, harder.

The door chain clattered and the knob twisted. Zelda’s soft face appeared in the crack. “What is it?” she said, peering over her glasses. Asher got a tenderness for her in the center of his chest that threatened to spread easily despite her betrayal. Her small, bluish-gray eyes squinted to see better: curiosity at first, then recognition, shock.

“Let me have him, Zelda.”

“You shouldn’t be here, Asher. I’m—”

“Let me have him,” he repeated. She had stood by and let this happen, but she had also been the only mother he had ever had. Don’t look at her eyes. Don’t think of her gathering up her dress tail to wade in the Cumberland that day.

Zelda hesitated, keeping her eyes on his while she tried to figure out what to do.

“You know what’s right,” he said. “You know she shouldn’t’ve taken him from me.”

“Asher—” Zelda said, her voice trembling now “—you’ll wake him up—”