It hadn’t started there either.
But now I was finally paying attention, and I saw the evidence of him shutting me out everywhere.
Whatever Cole was hiding hadn’t ended with my father’s visit.
When he came back inside, his face had that closed, careful look I’d learned to dread.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Fine,” he said.
I nodded.
But in my heart, I’d already made a difficult decision about my husband.
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“Everything okay?”
On the third morning, he grabbed his keys and told me he had errands.
“I’ll be back by lunch,” he said, avoiding my eyes.
“I’ll be right here when you get home.”
It was a lie.
I had already decided to follow him the moment he reached for those keys.
It was a lie.
The instant his motorcycle pulled out of the driveway, I got in my car and went after him.
I told myself I was being paranoid.
That whatever Cole was hiding would turn out to be innocent.
But then I recognized the road to the hospital.
My father hadn’t been mistaken about the hospital.
The only question left was what else he’d been right about.
I got in my car and went after him.
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I parked several rows behind Cole and watched him climb off the bike.
Then I saw the boy.
He came racing up to Cole, seemingly out of nowhere, and threw his arms around my husband’s legs.
Cole laughed and hugged him back.
Then I saw the boy.