Jason pulled the front door open four inches, letting a harsh blast of wet Boise air drive cold rain right across the hardwood threshold.

“You wanted to be a mother so badly, so start acting like one,” he said.

He shouldered the outer screen door open, stepped out onto the porch into the dark and the rain and pulled the heavy oak door closed behind him.

The click of the latch rang through the dark front hall.

Hannah gave a high, ragged whimper against my left shoulder.

I shifted her weight and rested her hot cheek against my neck while I held Nora in the bend of my right arm.