Noah was all set to simply take his Dad's excuse at face value if only because it was his Dad and he knew he had to have a good reason to stay gone as long as he had, but his Grandmother's words made him take pause. He was too young to recognize the hesitation in her tone or the subtle expressions being cast by both adults present, but he was old enough to realize, however belatedly, that she was right.
Wriggling a bit so he could see Angela with better ease, he gave her a gentle, loving smile and nod of his head. "Grandma's right. I was really worried," he agreed, peering up at his father while still holding onto him with one hand in an attempt to deter him from setting him back down on his own two feet. "You p'omised you'd never just go 'way, Daddy. P'omised. An' why din't anybody know where you'd gone? Not even Mommy knew an' she's 'posed to know things like that."