But he wasn’t going to agree to that. Of course not. Especially not with Nick. Not that a friend would be better. Who would agree to that kind of marriage? Well, some people would, she’d learned. Some people were polyamorous, which had sounded like a dangerous idea when she first heard about it, but now sounded like a pretty great option. Would Ted agree to be polyamorous? It wouldn’t even be polyamory, actually. It would be monogamy. Just not with him.

But what about Kaye? Poor Ted was one thing, but what about poor Kaye? She made herself picture Nick’s wife, his pretty, well-meaning wife. It was something she really hadn’t done in a serious way until now. In what way did Kaye deserve to have her marriage destroyed by Allison? Or their children? What right did Allison have to potentially destroy Lindy and Jakey’s family? And for what? It wasn’t as if she and Nick were going to make a life together.

Allison made a decision. She would not meet up with him again tonight. She would not meet him ever again. She was done with it. Done hurting her husband, done hurting Kaye and the children. How had she let herself become a potential homewrecker—with a man who actually wrecked homes? She sent Nick a text, a cryptic one, in case someone in the family picked up his phone before he did. Cannot make meeting tonight. All collaborations off. Then she blocked his number.

It was a relief to know it was over, she thought as she walked home, that she would not behave in a morally reprehensible manner anymore, would not get caught in any wayward acts. She nearly had been caught. The other night when she was going to meet Nick, Ted came out to do a little more sleuthing even though he’d been out once that night. He joined her and Candy on the sidewalk walking toward the Sawyers’. Thank goodness she hadn’t caught up to Nick, who was half a block ahead. When Ted saw Nick, he insisted they follow him. So they trailed him past the Sawyers’ and around the green. Then Nick walked across the middle of the green, and they did too. After that he went back and forth in front of the closed market three times—as did they—then made his way home, where he waved to them both from his walkway.

“We saved a few trees tonight,” Ted said, clearly pleased—but then they saw this wasn’t the case at all. Their little dogwood, which they’d planted in front of the living room window a year or two back, had been attacked in their absence. A few of the branches were broken, and dry leaves lay scattered at its feet.

“How the heck . . . ?” Ted said.

“So it’s not him!” Allison said.

“Of course it’s him.”

“How can it be? We were just following him.”