MADIGAN HELD THE cat puppet while Hank stroked its fur, recounting the story of how his childhood pet, Lazy Cat, had gotten his name. He’d been highly agitated when Madigan had arrived for their session, and he’d thought she was his mother. It had taken some doing, but she’d finally found the right approach to pull him out of his agitated state and into more pleasant memories. Their session time had already ended, but Tobias would be there soon, and she was hoping his grandfather’s mood would remain upbeat. Hank was always happy to see Tobias, whether he mistook him for his younger self, his brother John, or as he had last week, his father, but she hoped to help him stay as far from sheer agitation as she could.

“John pokes him,” Hank said in a conspiratorial whisper.

“He does?” Madigan asked with surprise. “How do you think Lazy Cat feels about that?”

“He doesn’t know. He’s too fat to feel it. Watch.” He poked the cat puppet, and Madigan made the puppet yawn, as if it was oblivious to his finger.

As he told her secrets and stories from his youth, Madigan thought about how much she loved working with him and with the other residents there at LOCAL. When she’d arrived for work today, Chloe had been waiting for her. That wasn’t unusual. They often caught up throughout the week, but this time Chloe had asked if she’d be willing to work more hours to accommodate more residents. Apparently they were starting to put together a waiting list for her services. Madigan loved the idea of helping more people, but she’d already put the wheels into motion for her new merchandising line, and she was behind on making it happen. She’d told Chloe she’d have to think about it and had been trying to figure out how to fit everything in.

“Where is John?” Hank asked, drawing her from her thoughts. “He didn’t go fishing without me, did he? That little bugger.”

“No. He went down to the corner store.” Madigan knew his brother used to go down to the corner store when they were young, because Elsa had gathered even more information from her own parents about Hank and their family, and she’d shared it with Madigan after their last session. There was a knock at the door, and Madigan’s pulse quickened as Elsa answered it. She heard her filling Tobias in on what they were doing.

“I hope he doesn’t lose your money this time,” Hank said, stroking the cat. His face brightened when Tobias walked into the living room carrying a large bag from his grandfather’s favorite restaurant. “Speak of the devil. What’s in the bag, John?”

“Dinner. Are you hungry?” Tobias glanced at Madigan, affection and gratitude fighting for space in his overly broody eyes.