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his cheeks and he pursed his lips, releasing his breath slowly the way he did when he was frustrated. “I’m not sure this is the right thing.”
    Her world tilted and she stared at him. “Which part? Selling the car?”
    With slow steps he crossed the kitchen and sat down at the table. “All of it.”
    He reached across and took her hands. His were ice-cold. “We just lost our car, Erin. So we give Candy and Dave the money and then what? The next day they ask for another five thousand and where does that leave us?” He lowered his brow.
    “Haven’t you thought of that?”
    Fear danced in circles around her, laughing, mocking her. Of course she’d thought of it, but only for the briefest partial seconds. This was the possibility she hadn’t allowed herself to consider: that somehow the scary-looking man Candy claimed was the baby’s father might be playing games, taking them for a ride without ever intending to give the baby up.
    She bit her lower lip. Her voice was pinched, racked with an unimaginable fear.
    “What choice do we have?”
    “That’s just it.” He paused. “There is no choice.”
    His answer told her that regardless of where the journey took them, he was as committed as she to the outcome.
    An hour later they sold the car, collected the money, and left the parking lot with a sense of doom. Erin used Sam’s cell phone to call Candy. “We have the money.”
    The woman’s voice was instantly cheerful. “Really? Five thousand dollars?”
    “Yes. Like you asked.”
    “Okay—” Candy hesitated—”meet at the park again.”
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    Erin’s body ached. The conversation was making her feel tired. “When?”
    “In an hour.”
    Erin and Sam parked their van not far from the grassy border of the park and waited. Even with the engine off, Sam held tight to the steering wheel and stared straight out the windshield. Beside him on the console was a manila envelope with five thousand dollars cash inside.
    He tapped his fingers on his knee and looked at Erin. “Why doesn’t this feel right?”
    A sigh slipped from Erin’s lips, and she folded her hands on her lap. “I know.”
    She looked out the window and shook her head. “Sitting here like criminals waiting to make some under-the-table deal.”
    “I keep asking myself why I feel guilty, like maybe we’re supposed to call the social worker or the attorney.”
    A beat-up car pulled into the parking lot, different from what Candy had driven the last time. As it came closer, Erin squinted. Candy was in the backseat.
    Dave—the man who claimed to be the baby’s father—was in the passenger seat, and behind the wheel was an older, bearded man with dark drifter eyes. i: Erin leaned toward Sam. “Great.”
    “Right.” Sam rolled down the van window, his eyes on the people in the car, his voice barely a whisper. “Now I feel much : Dave climbed out, gave a shady glance over one shoulder then another, and looped around the front of the car to Sam’s window. “Candy says you got the cash.”
    :”I have it.” Contempt filled his voice. Sam’s expression was his lips a thin angry line. :! Erin watched her husband take the envelope, hesitate a sec-or two, and then hand it to Dave through the window. Sam an even-tempered man, but one time when Erin had seen really angry, he’d put his fist through a wall. Now he looked ready to do the same thing to Dave’s mouth. She held her 28
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    breath. God… help Sam. Don’t let him say anything that’ll make this worse.
    At first Dave looked like he might turn around and leave as soon as the envelope was in his hands. Instead he opened it, pulled out the bundle of hundred-dollar bills, tucked the enve lope under his arm, and began counting. The man was shaking so badly, the envelope made a loud rustling sound.
    Drugs, Erin thought. He’ll use every dime for drugs. She looked past Dave at the car and saw the driver pass what looked like a marijuana joint back to Candy.
    The two