Colin didn’t move for a second. Then, very quietly: “Max walked Grandma to church every Sunday for six years. She sleeps at the foot of my daughter’s bed.”

He turned to his mother. “And you thought the thing to do was throw her out for Paige?”

“We took care of a problem this family wouldn’t,” Martha snapped. “A human child matters more than a shedding beast.”

Brenda stood up so fast her chair rocked. “You two are out of your minds,” she said, pulling Paige toward the door. “We’re leaving, and we are not coming back.”

The front door slammed hard enough to rattle the windows.

Arthur rounded on Colin. “You’ll tell your wife to sit down and stop this, or you can both get out of my house tonight.”