8  The other boy’s father was not a tall man, but he was built like a refrigerator. He stood in the doorway, block  ing out the light.  His gaze fell…

7  I didn’t even have to go looking for trouble. It found me.  The school called. Patrick had gotten into a fight.  I floored it, racing to the kindergarten. When…

6  After dinner, I fed Buddy, and Patrick quietly washed his hands and went to his room to look at his pictur  books.  What was so “not right” about this…

5  The very next afternoon, Michael and I were at the courthouse getting our marriage license. He was in a rush, quickly helping me move my things into his apartment. …

  asked the nanny to just take out the trash and leave for the day. Then, I walked over to Patrick’s room and <nocked softly.  The nanny’s gone. When you’re…

  3  The next day, after Buddy’s check-up, I made a special trip to the toy store and a bakery, loading up on actior figures and a box of egg…

2  My daughter, Buddy, is a Golden Retriever I rescued from a back-alley breeder.  I spent twelve thousand dollars on his surgeries, which led to a six-month cold war with…

Chapter 1  After the divorce, my mom set me up again.  He was an engineer. Good-looking, well-off, and out of the country most of the year.  The only catch? He…

Chapter 175  I traced the edge of the quilt one more time before I heard the creak of the stairs and heavy footfalls, the kind that could only belong to…

Chapter 197  “They’re inside.”  It was Miguel’s voice that responded.  Jericho quickly walked to the door, opened it, and immediately saw Elliana storming in, full of anger.  “What did you…