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“Did she hit you?” Reggie asked quietly.

“She locked me in a closet under the stairs. There wasn’t a light or anything. She would put me in there and not let me out for a long time.”

Reggie flinched, and tears filled her eyes. She quickly blinked them away.

“That would have scared me a lot,” she whispered. “Were you scared?”

Harrison nodded, then sat on the sofa. “I didn’t know what to do. Lori said if I told Dad, the police would take me away from him. I didn’t know what that meant, but I knew I had to be quiet.”

Reggie looked at Toby, her gaze questioning.

“I had no idea,” he said. “Harrison grew less enthused about Lori, but other than that, I had no reason to think anything was wrong. When I tried to ask him what was going on, he said everything was fine.”

“Dad went away for a few days,” Harrison continued. “He left me with Lori.”

“You must have been so scared.”

He nodded slowly. “I tried to be good. I tried not to break any rules, but I did, and she put me in the closet. Only this time it was a really long time, and she didn’t let me out.” He looked down. “I started screaming and screaming, and she said the more I screamed, the longer I would have to stay there.”

More tears filled Reggie’s eyes, and a few trickled down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Harrison.” She pressed her lips together. “May I hug you?”

He nodded and flung himself at her. She held him tight, then kissed the top of his head. Toby felt his tension ease.

“I came home early,” he said, picking up the story. “I didn’t tell her because I wanted it to be a surprise. I walked into the house and Harrison was screaming. I couldn’t believe it.”

He still remembered the horror of that moment. How it had taken him a second to figure out what the sound was and where it had been coming from. He’d freed his son and had held him, knowing whatever Lori had done was his fault. He’d been the one to bring her into their lives. He’d been the one to trust her with his son.

He remembered the body-shaking sobs and how Harrison was crying so hard, he couldn’t catch his breath. He remembered Lori’s defiance. “What’s the big deal? It’s how my mom punished me. It’s not like I beat him or anything.”

Harrison straightened and smiled at Reggie. “I’m okay now. Dad found a doctor for me. I talked to Dr. Nina, and she helped me understand I hadn’t done anything wrong. I’m better, except I don’t like being in the dark.”

“That makes sense,” Reggie told him. “You’re so brave. I’m glad you had someone help you heal. I’ve already talked to the manager of the community center, and I told her about the sticky door. It won’t happen again, Harrison. Not there.”

“Thanks, Reggie. I knew you’d understand.” He looked at his father. “I’m going upstairs now, Dad.”

“Okay. I’ll be along in a bit.”

He watched Harrison climb the steps to the family room. When they were alone, he looked at Reggie.

“He wanted to tell you.”

“I think I’m going to be sick,” she admitted. “Toby, how did you stand it? You must have wanted to hurt her.”

“I did. Once I got him home and settled, I wanted to go back and exact my revenge.”

Her mouth twisted. “I know you didn’t, even if she deserved it. What did you do?”

“Called a lawyer. I was ready to sign a complaint to press charges, but Harrison didn’t want me to. So I got him in to see a child psychologist.”

“Dr. Nina?”

He nodded. “She was incredible. When he first started seeing her, he couldn’t sleep with the lights out, and he had nightmares every night. Within a couple of sessions, he was doing better. Now he’s rarely bothered, but the closet at the community center threw him.”

She pressed a hand to her chest. “I can’t begin to imagine. Oh, Toby, I’m so sorry. You must have felt awful. Poor Harrison. What was that woman thinking?”

“You mean what was I thinking.”

“How could you have known? No one would ever believe another human was capable of that.”