“All right.”
“What was his favorite food?”
Bones barked an involuntary laugh.
Silas thought. “Peach pie.”
Sarah looked up. “Apple.”
“Peach,” Silas insisted.
“He told me apple.”
“He lied to impress you.”
For the first time all day, Sarah laughed.
It was weak and followed by a cough, but it was real.
Toby's eyes widened. “He lied about pie?”
Silas leaned back. “Your father considered peach pie a religious experience. He once rode forty miles because someone told him there was a diner outside Delano that served it warm with cream.”
Sarah shook her head. “He told me he hated peaches.”
“Definitely trying to impress you.”
The room relaxed by a degree.
It was not forgiveness. It was not resolution. It was simply the first human moment after too much truth.
Silas looked at Bones. “Go back to the Anchor.”
Bones nodded.
“Open the chapter reserve. Get Daniel from the credit union on the phone. I want the mortgage arrears verified directly with the lender before we send a cent.”
Sarah started to protest.
Silas kept speaking. “Get copies of the medical balances and pay providers directly. Nothing handed over in cash. I want receipts.”
Bones raised an eyebrow. “All of it?”
“All legitimate balances.”
Mickey whistled softly.
Silas looked at him. “Problem?”
“Nope.”
Bones folded the papers carefully. “Mortgage too?”
“Whatever clears the default and secures the house.”
Silas turned toward Sarah. “If the property arrangement is complicated, we use an attorney. We do it clean.”
Sarah blinked.
“You think I am going to trust a biker's attorney?”
Silas nodded toward the notices. “Trust the documents when they are done.”
Bones left before Sarah could restart the argument.
Mickey followed.
Outside, the motorcycles fired up and thundered away.
The house became strangely quiet.
Silas stayed another hour.
Toby asked questions in bursts. Did Elias like baseball? No.
Could he cook? Barely. Did he sing? Constantly and badly.
Was he good at fixing motorcycles? Better than Silas, which Silas admitted with visible reluctance. Was he scared of anything?
“Dentists,” Silas said immediately.