What Breaks a Man

A Truth too Hard to Face

Only one thing on earth pulls Reggie hard enough to land him in a junked car, in the middle of sweltering Texas.
His estranged son Scotty.
But when the trail goes cold, Reggie faces a hard choice.
Fight for the sweet boy he remembers. Or let the strange man live his life unknown.
How far can a father's love bend before it breaks?

Also available in the collection Passages in the Real World

Originally appeared in Fiction River: Dark & Deadly Passions.

Featured under Other Distinguished Stories in the 2021 edition of The Best American Mystery and Suspense.

An excerpt from What Breaks a Man:

How many last chances does one man deserve?

A click, and Scotty was gone.

Reggie stared up at the fluorescent lights overhead, one buzzing, one out. A scattering of dead bugs dotted the plastic covers. He blinked away tears before the girl could see them, thanked her, and left.

He sat in the car, face in his hands, trying not to shiver in the lingering heat. His damp shirt and the clammy fabric seat didn't help. Neither did the images tearing through his mind.

The last time he'd heard Scotty's voice was the day he'd left home a few months short of high school graduation. A last grand screaming match, and his son disappeared from his house and his life.

Scotty's mother left not long after. Reggie couldn't think of a single reason for her to stay, no matter how long and hard he tried.

They both knew they'd only been staggering along in their marriage for years, hoping they could somehow make their son turn out okay.