“A child does not have to stay in my house forever,” I said, “to deserve my protection today.” And I took my daughter by the hand, and we walked out to my truck, and I did not look back.

Chapter 20 — What She Had Been Hiding

When we got home, Hannah peeled off the pale-blue dress almost the moment we were through the door, and put on soft gray sweatpants and one of my oversized Navy T-shirts, and looked, for the first time all day, like herself again.

Patricia stayed with us, and she helped me work the phones, the venue, the caterers, my lawyer, all the unglamorous business of unwinding a wedding, which had the mercy of keeping my mind occupied and holding off the emotional crash until later that evening, when Hannah finally fell asleep on the living-room couch.

Patricia handed me a mug of coffee and sat down across from me.