“Ethan,” I said, looking straight past his mother to meet his eyes.

“Are you going to stand there and let her keep our son from me, or are you going to stop me from taking Noah somewhere safe?”

Ethan shifted his weight on the gravel, his thumb running nervously back and forth along his empty brass key ring.

“Mom, nobody’s going anywhere without the baby.”

“She walked out of this house on her own two feet,” Linda said, her sharp tone taking on the formal edge she used whenever she felt cornered.

“She chose to walk down the highway and make a scene.”