Lyra found her father sitting in the living room of his house, settled on the new couch Jake had bought for him, the one that had arrived when Lyle was out. He had one of the old blankets draped around his shoulders despite the warm day. When he looked up and saw her, a tired smile broke over his face.
“There’s my girl.”
She crossed the room and he opened the blanket without a word, pulling her into his lap like she was still little. Lyra rested her head on his shoulder, listening to the steady beat of his heart and breathing in the scent of pine and leather that always clung to him. For a while, neither of them spoke. Then she drew a slow breath and lifted her head.
“Dad, there’s stuff I need to tell you. Things we found out today. A lot of things.”
He tensed beneath her, his hand tig
