Top Highlights

• Center meant she was in charge of all the big-picture stuff and had less time to be in the trenches with me. So, when we got afternoons like this one where we cooked for the shelter’s thirty or so residents, I soaked them up.
• sides. “Do you know what I need to do to petition for custody?” “Why can’t they go with their grandparents?” Walker asked slowly. Anna’s mouth clamped closed. Everyone was quiet for a long beat. Waiting and watching.
• ANNA PAST Derek’s voice cut through the car at a decibel that endangered our eardrums. “D, noooooo,” I begged.
• He only cast his gaze in my direction, belting out lyrics I could barely make out about wanting to know what love was. I couldn’t help the laughter that escaped. Even on the worst days, the ones where I thought I might drown with the weight balanced on my shoulders, he could always make me laugh.
• Lights flashed behind us, and Derek’s gaze snapped to the rearview mirror. I swiveled to look. The cop car definitely had us in its sights. I glanced at the odometer. He was only five over the limit. “They probably just want to give you a warning.”