Chapter 2

"You're threatening to end our marriage over a dog?" Ryan laughed into the phone.

"I'm ending it because of what you did to your daughter," I said.

"I'm coming home."

He came through the front door twenty minutes later and stopped when he saw me folding dish towels at the kitchen island.

"The adoption paperwork is in my name, Nora." He dropped his keys on the counter. "I decide where that dog lives. You're acting insane."

I placed another towel on the stack. "I meant what I said on the phone."

He stared at me. "You really think you can do this? You haven't worked full-time since Sophie was born. You can't keep this house or give her the life she has without my paycheck."

"Be serious, Nora. Where would you even go?"

"Your things will be packed by tomorrow."

Ryan shook his head and snatched his keys from the counter. "I'll be at Megan's. Call me when you've calmed down."

He walked out and slammed the door behind him.

The next morning, I called the rescue organization that had handled Scout's adoption. The coordinator told me Scout couldn't be transferred to another household under the adoption agreement and promised to email me a copy.

My next call was to a local family law attorney. I scheduled a consultation, then went into the home office and gathered our tax returns, bank statements, and mortgage documents.

My parents arrived after lunch. My father carried Ryan's packed boxes to the front hall while my mother took Sophie into the backyard to draw with chalk.

Sophie followed her outside without asking about Ryan.

My phone buzzed on the kitchen counter. Megan had sent a string of messages.

"Nora, I'm so sorry. Ryan never should've hurt you and Sophie this way."

"But Lucy hasn't smiled this much since Jack died. She just fell asleep holding Scout."

"Please don't punish Ryan for trying to keep the promise he made to Jack."

A photograph appeared below the message. Lucy lay curled around Scout, asleep with her cheek against his back. The pink collar sat high on his neck. A small square GPS tracker was clipped beside the tag bearing Lucy's name.

"Mom?"

Sophie stood beside me, reaching for a juice box. Her eyes moved from the bright screen to my face. She handed the phone back, set the unopened juice on the counter, and walked out of the kitchen.

I blocked Megan's number.

Ten minutes later, Ryan called.

"You blocked Megan?" he demanded. "She was trying to apologize. None of this was her fault. Call her back and say you're sorry."

I ended the call and slipped the phone into my pocket.

Upstairs, I stopped in the bedroom doorway. Sophie was kneeling beside an open cardboard box with one of Ryan's wool sweaters spread across her lap. A framed photograph of her sitting on his shoulders rested in the middle of it. Ryan was laughing up at her, his hands wrapped around her ankles.

She touched Ryan's face in the picture, then folded the sweater around the frame, tucking the sleeves over the glass.

"Sweetie, why are you putting that in Daddy's box?"

"Daddy should take it. He might forget what I look like at Lucy's house."

Sophie lowered the bundled frame into the corner of the box. "Don't put anything heavy on it, okay?"

"Okay."

I picked up the next stack of shirts and folded them without looking at her.

A little after midnight, I was sitting on the living room sofa when something scratched hard against the front door. A heavy thud rattled the wood.

I hurried into the entryway and pulled the door open.

Scout stood alone on the porch. He was shivering, his coat soaked and his paws caked with mud. He panted as he stared up at me.

Footsteps slapped against the hardwood stairs behind me. Sophie ran through the doorway barefoot and dropped to her knees on the cold porch. She threw her arms around his muddy neck and buried her face in his fur.

Scout pressed against her, his tail beating against the porch boards. He was still wearing the pink collar.

Beside Lucy's name, the GPS tracker blinked red.