I nodded, but my chin wobbled.
“He’ll blame me.”
“Tonight,” Dana said more softly, “you’re going to stand behind me. You’re going to let me talk. And then you’re going to sleep in your own bed. Understood?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She squeezed my hand and started climbing again.
When we reached my door, Dana straightened her bathrobe, shifted the package under her arm, and knocked three sharp times.
It took a few minutes, then I heard Ryan’s footsteps stumbling toward the door.
“You’re going to stand behind me.”
My husband opened the door with a sleepy grin, but his smile disappeared when he saw his mother standing beside me.
“Mom?”
Dana held out the package. “A little surprise.”
He carried the package inside, and we followed. Then he tore off the brown paper and gasped, his smile vanishing. The package contained a folded camping cot with a carrying strap.
