Emma Signed Over Her Kitchen Island to Keep Toby Safe in Massachusetts

I stood by the kitchen counter, listening to the front door click shut. The hum of the high-capacity refrigerator filled the quiet kitchen.

I walked to the mudroom window and looked out.

The yellow leaves of the birch tree by the garage were nearly all gone, scattered across the dark asphalt of the driveway. The floodlights overhead flickered once, then continue reading …