When I woke up, Ken wasn’t in bed with me anymore. I grabbed at the empty space beside me and then sat up in a flurry of sheets. I looked around and noticed that Ellis wasn’t on the couch either.

My heart hammered in my chest. Pushing back my worries, I grabbed my robe and slippers and raced from my room, not caring that my hair was a mess and my shirt was rumpled.

“Mom?” I ran to her room. The door was open and her bed was made. She was probably back at ...