Mom left for the airport at six in the morning.

She kissed my cheek, reminded me to behave for my stepdad, and promised she’d be back in four days. The door closed. The house settled into that particular quiet that only existed when she was gone. I went back to bed and tried to sleep, but the knowledge that it was just me and Richard in the big house kept circling in my head.

Richard Bennett.

My stepdad.

Tall. Broad-shouldered. Silver at the temples. The kind of man who still filled out a dress shirt in a way that made people look twice. He had married my mom three years...