Five faces lifted toward me.
“We’re not solving ten years this afternoon.”
Ethan nodded immediately.
“That seems statistically unlikely.”
I almost smiled.
“We’re going to solve today.”
Denise folded her hands.
“All right.”
“First, nobody is taking Ethan anywhere.”
“I know.”
“You said you came to take him home.”
Denise closed her eyes briefly.
“I know what I said.”
“Did you mean it?”
She took a long time answering.
“I meant something,” she finally said. “But not what it sounded like.”
“That is a very Denise answer.”
A trace of the sister I remembered appeared in her expression.
“I deserve that.”
“What did you mean?”
She glanced at Jonathan.
He gave no sign of rescuing her.
Good.
Denise had always been talented at attracting people who finished her sentences.
This man, apparently, would not.
“I came because I thought it was time to be part of Ethan’s life in a real way.”
