Daniel stared toward the barn window.
"Because he's been watching this place."
Grizzly immediately moved toward the door.
Outside, a black SUV was parked near the road.
Its headlights were off.
Someone was sitting inside.
I recognized the vehicle.
It was the same model Emma had described.
I ran toward the porch.
The SUV started.
Then it accelerated down the gravel road.
Grizzly shouted for everyone to get inside.
We did.
And for the first time, I realized that this wasn't simply a search for a missing man.
We were being watched.
We were being followed.
And Harold Keene had just made it clear that he was willing to use a child to get what he wanted.
We returned to town before dark.
Daniel insisted on coming with us.
Rachel sat beside him in the back seat.
Neither spoke much.
Their hands remained close but never touched.
I could imagine what they were thinking.
Eleven years of missed birthdays.
Eleven years of unanswered questions.
Eleven years of raising a daughter who deserved to know her father.
When we reached Dana's house, Emma was sitting on the porch.
She looked up.
Then she saw Daniel.
She stood.
Nobody told her what to do.
Nobody pushed her forward.
She simply walked down the steps.
Daniel knelt.
"Hello, Emma."
She stopped in front of him.
"Are you Daniel?"
He smiled through tears.
"Yes."
"Mom says you're my dad."
Daniel nodded.
"I am."
She studied his face.
"Why didn't you come home?"
He swallowed.
"Because I made a mistake."
"What mistake?"
"I thought staying away would keep you safe."
Emma looked toward Rachel.
"Did it?"
Daniel shook his head.
"No. It made things harder."
She considered that.
Then she asked:
"Are you going away again?"
Daniel's eyes filled.
"I hope not."
Emma looked down.
Then she held out the wooden horse.
"I kept this."
Daniel took it carefully.
His fingers trembled.
"You did a good job."
"There's a secret inside."
"I know."
Emma looked at him.
"Do you want to see it?"
He smiled.
"Maybe tomorrow."
She nodded.
Then she stepped forward and hugged him.
Daniel wrapped his arms around her.
Rachel turned away, crying.
I stood near the doorway.
And I felt something strange.
Jealousy.
Not because Daniel was Emma's father.
I had already accepted that the DNA report was false.
But because I had begun to feel responsible for her.
I had promised to protect her.
And now someone else had arrived who had a claim to the part of her life I had only just discovered.
I didn't want to compete with him.
I didn't want Emma to feel that she had to choose.
So I walked toward them.
Daniel looked up.
I held out my hand.
"Welcome home."
He stared at it.
Then he shook it.
"Thank you."
I looked at Emma.
"Your family just got bigger."
She smiled.
For the first time since entering the bakery, she looked like an ordinary child.
A little girl with a father, a mother, and too many adults trying to make sure she was safe.
But safety was about to become difficult.
Because at 8:47 that evening, the police called.
Harold Keene had been found dead.
His car had been discovered beside an abandoned road.
The vehicle had crashed into a tree.
There was no sign of forced entry.
No witnesses.
And on the passenger seat, investigators found a photograph.
It showed my father.
With a handwritten message.
He knows where the original records are.
The police arrived at Dana's house shortly after nine.
Two detectives requested to speak with my father.
They asked him where he had been during the previous three hours.
He told them.
They asked whether he knew Harold Keene.
He said yes.
They asked whether he had any reason to harm him.
He said no.
Then they showed him the photograph.
My father stared at it.
"I didn't give him this."
The detective placed another document on the table.
A vehicle registration.
My father's name appeared beside it.
The car had been used near the location where Harold's body was discovered.
Dad shook his head.
"That's not my vehicle."
"Your name is on the registration."
"I sold that car years ago."
"To whom?"
"Marcus."
The detective looked at him.
"Marcus Foster?"
Dad nodded.
The detective closed the folder.
"Mr. Maddox, we need you to come with us."
I stepped forward.
"He's not going anywhere without an attorney."
The detective nodded.
"That's his right."
Dad looked at me.
"Don't make this worse."
I shook my head.
"I'm not."
He turned toward Caleb.
"Take care of your mother."
Caleb nodded.
Then Dad looked at Emma.
She was standing beside Rachel.
"Everything will be okay, sweetheart."
Emma didn't answer.
She looked frightened.
I crouched beside her.
"Your grandpa is going to answer some questions. That's all."
"Did he do something bad?"
I hesitated.
Then I told her the truth.
"We don't know yet."
She nodded.
And I realized that was the only answer I could give her.