He backed slowly away, disappearing into the darkness of the yard like a ghost. “You heard me,” he said. “Just stay out of it.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

I tried very hard to do what Blake instructed me to do.

What I wanted to do—live a normal life.

I went all through the house and checked and rechecked every door and window. I wished we had an alarm. Or a giant dog. I wished we lived in a fortress.

I took the bat with me when I went upstairs, and I paused in the doorway to Henry’s room. His night-light burned in the corner, casting his crib in a white glow. I went over and looked down at him, peaceful and calm. Did every parent feel like their heart would burst when they stared at their sleeping child?

Then I went on to our bedroom, placed the bat next to the bed, and slipped beneath the covers while Amanda slept. Once I was in and settled, she turned to face me.

“Well?”

“Well, what?”

“What did he say about the wedding?” she asked, her voice rough from sleep.

“Oh, that. I really don’t think we should go. It’s so sudden.”

She said something I couldn’t understand, her voice muffled by her pillow.

“What did you say?”

She said, “Whatever you want to do. I don’t care. I just don’t want Sam to be disappointed.”

“I think she knows what she’s getting into. Any commitment from Blake is tenuous.”

“And I don’t want you to lose a friendship. . . .”

Her voice trailed off, and soon she was breathing steadily as she slept. Her days with Henry were exhausting, and another one would start soon. The kid refused to let us sleep past six in the morning, which wasn’t far off.

I tried to sleep. I closed my eyes, told myself to clear my mind. But every time I closed them, I saw Jennifer’s face, her unseeing eyes. Her stiff body underneath the piles of clothes.

My hand touching her cool, lifeless skin.

I saw my phone lighting up with that friend request.

Twice.

I couldn’t make any sense of it, but it made me feel cold. And jumpy. Like I lay on a bed of nails.