"Because I have children," Terry answered, "and I know how easy it is for adults to mean well and still make a mess. I didn't want us confusing what we owed Luther with what Sky actually needed." He looked briefly at the girl before adding, "But when I saw what she was asking for, I knew doing nothing would be a decision too."
Martha asked Terry what had changed his position. He described the call to the youth crisis coordinator, the supervised visits, the lawyer, and the decision to follow the agency's safety plan. "Did anyone instruct you to keep Sky away from child services?" she asked. "No," he answered.
"There were moments when people were angry enough to suggest it. We didn't. We called the people responsible for her and asked how to keep her safe while the situation was reviewed." Gregory sat with his hands folded, absorbing a version of their own story in which restraint mattered as much as loyalty.
Lucy described Luther's old petition. She had brought copies of the documents he left at the garage, and Martha explained how the records had been preserved before presenting them. The filing showed that Luther had sought legal responsibility for Sky, identified a prospective home, and sought help from friends during his working hours. The petition had been denied pending further evidence and changes in his circumstances, and he had been preparing to seek another review when he died. Martha did not claim that his death proved every objection in the old case had been unfair. She asked the judge to consider instead the evidence of an established and enduring relationship between Sky, her brother, and people who had known him.
Judge Ward studied the photographs with their dates on the back. One showed Luther and Sky sitting at a diner with napkins spread across the table. Another showed the garage's first charity ride, with Luther wearing his black paint-stained gloves. The judge asked why Luther's petition did not list the club as a prospective home. Lucy answered that he had wanted a separate apartment where his little sister could have an ordinary childhood. The old man's friends, she explained, had not understood how much he was trying to keep those worlds distinct until the girl arrived.
Then the hearing turned to the group home. Sky's advocate submitted her account of the missing personal property, the treatment of her sketchbook, and the reasons she left. An independent review had been opened, but no final finding had been made. The judge asked the agency whether it intended to transfer Sky back while the review was pending. The attorney said the plan had not been finalized and that alternative placements remained under consideration. Judge Ward instructed everyone to speak in terms of actual orders and evidence, not assumptions about what somebody might do next.