Sometimes, when he carried her to bed, she touched it while falling asleep.
To Sophie, that tiny compass was part of Daddy.
And now Marcus had one.
“Oh my God.”
I said it louder than I meant to.
Marcus turned.
The second his eyes met mine, his expression changed.
He knew exactly what I had seen.
“Evelyn?”
“I need to leave.”
“What happened?”
“I forgot something.”
“You just got here.”
“I told someone I would call.”
He frowned.
“You didn’t have a sitter tonight.”
I stared at him.
Then realized how badly I was lying.
“I have to go.”
I collected Sophie.
And drove home.
THE BOX OF PHOTOGRAPHS
After Sophie fell asleep, I pulled a plastic storage container from the closet.
I had avoided opening it for almost a year.
Inside were photographs from Daniel’s life before me.
College.
Road trips.
Cheap diners.
Bad haircuts.
Then I found Lake Briarwood.
