Chapter 41

Bratt

I took Noah directly home after we talked things out with the police and faculty at the library. My rage had ebbed pretty quickly once I was holding Noah in my arms, but I knew I’d have to deal with some emotional fallout later.

I needed to switch Noah over to another class, both for his sake and Marley’s. I didn’t want her to have to see me every day while we were both nursing broken hearts. I didn’t want to deprive Noah of having his dad drop him off at school, either.

I considered that we might be better off getting a homeschool instructor for him and structuring a play-date schedule of some kind for him to help him get his socialization in.

When we got home, I talked to Noah about the changes that would be coming down the turnpike for him—for us.

“Listen, buddy,” I said to him as he munched on dino nuggets. “Marley won’t be coming over for a while after today, okay?”

He stopped mid-bite and put his nugget down on the plate, his head tilting to the side like a confused puppy.