She scooted across the seat and started riffling through her backpack as Ava climbed in.

“Hey, Avs,” I greeted.

“Hi, Griffin.”

It wasn’t a play-by-play of her day, but it was something. Ava and I were making slow and steady progress. She no longer hid behind a sibling when I was around, she even let me help her with homework after school on occasion.

“Here!” Mia held out something in my direction as Will hopped into the front seat.

“What’s this?” I took the brightly colored item from her small fingers.

“That’s your rainbow. So you’re a part of our family, and you never have to leave.”

My gaze snapped from the bracelet to Mia to Will. He had frozen in the passenger seat. Everything was simple in Mia’s world, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t carry with her the knowledge that her parents had disappeared from her life. She might not have any memories of them, but she knew they were gone. Probably understood more than her siblings thought.

“Mi,” Will began.

“I love it,” I quickly cut in. “Can you put it on me?”

Mia beamed as a teacher scowled at us for holding up the line. I didn’t give a damn. I’d hold everyone up for hours if it meant Mia felt safe and secure. Her small fingers tied the ends into a very thorough knot. “I made it giant-sized.”

I chuckled. “Good thing.” I held up my wrist. “What do you guys think?”

It was Ava’s gaze that met mine in the rearview mirror. “It looks like you belong with us.”

Something in my chest cracked at her words, the simple sincerity of them. And for the first time in a long time, I did feel like I belonged.

23

Caelyn

I leaned back in the rocker, the curved legs making a soothing sound as I moved. I took a sip of my wine and closed my eyes for a moment. I could hear Ava and Mia in the living room bickering over who got to pick their game piece first, and the faint strains of Will’s keyboard piano as he practiced in his bedroom. Those sounds were just as soothing as the wood rungs of my chair against the porch. We were home, safe, together.

I forced my eyes back open and tapped the screen of my phone. I hit Callie’s name in my contacts and waited as the phone rang. It took a minute, and when Callie answered, she sounded out of breath. “Hey, Caelyn.”

I grinned out at the darkening sky. “Lost your phone again?”

Callie let out a huff. “It runs away from me, I swear.” I could picture her frantically patting all the papers on her desk in search of her phantom phone. Callie was a miracle worker in so many ways, but she was overworked, underpaid, and needed about four assistants. “So, what’s up?”