room littered with kids’ toys. A plastic Christmas tree stood in one corner, the lights off but a few wrapped presents under it. The little boy sat on the carpet near the couch, bending over a collection of plastic cars, making vrooming noises as he bumped them into each other. Ariana said, “Go play in your room. If you stay there quiet, I’ll make the real mac and cheese for lunch.”
The boy looked up quickly. “Star Wars shapes?”
“Sure.”
“Wow. Okay.” He gathered his cars up, fumbling as he tried to carry six at once.
“Can I help?” Nick asked, starting to kneel and reach for one.
“Stop right there.” Ariana’s voice cracked like a whip, then softened to add, “Take three, Evan. Mac and cheese in an hour.”
Evan flashed a worried look from her to Nick, grabbed three of the cars and hurried off down the short hall. They heard a door open, then close.
Nick straightened. Now what? Brian hung back in the doorway, hands clasped behind him which meant he was nervous. Ariana had watched her son leave the room, and now she turned her gaze on Nick. He blurted out, “How old is he? Evan?”
“Five.” Her voice was cool.
“But— you’re twenty-one.” He bit off the rest of that sentence. She was sixteen?
Her eyes flashed. Dark blue eyes, yeah. “Doing math?”
Nick might not be the most sensitive guy on the block, but even he could tell he was getting into dangerous territory. Impulsively, he held the hair ribbon out to her. “You were five. You had long, curly hair and your hair ribbons and barrettes used to fall out all the time. You’d give ’em to me and I’d stick them in my pockets. Sometimes I ended up with three or four before I remembered to give them back. When that social worker dragged me away, I only had one.”
She bit her lip as she took it from him, eyes on his hand.
“I tried to get back to you, Ari. A whole bunch of times. I searched online. Ariana Rugo. Ariana Taylor.” He gritted his teeth so as not to spill the acid of sixteen years of frustration and loss onto her now. What do I say? “I’m glad I finally found you.”
She looked up at last, and the anger in her eyes had turned to a sheen of tears. “You’re my Nick? Really?”
“Really.”
“Oh, God.” She closed the barrette in her hand, pressed her fist against her mouth. “I don’t believe it.”
“You thought I was making it up?”
“Yeah, no, I don’t know. It’s been so long!”
“Sixteen years.” Where were you, Ari? But that didn’t matter right now. She was here, alive, well enough, safe enough. The rest could wait.
“God.” She took a step toward him. “We were so young. I didn’t even remember what you looked like. But—” She stopped right in front of him, her gaze meeting his. “I remember your eyes. You had gold eyes.”
“You called me your lion, remember? I was supposed to protect you.” He couldn’t help a quick glance toward Evan’s room, before saying, “I’m so sorry.”
“Dummy!” she said, as if they were nine and five again. “What could you have done? Anyway, I’m good now. Oh wow, Nick.” She smiled, damp and shaky. “Nick!”
One step forward and she threw her arms around him. He hugged her back fiercely. She felt so small in his arms, used to holding the bulk of Brian, or Charlie. Her head barely came up under his chin. They rocked side to side. She made a soft sound, laugh or sob, he wasn’t sure.
His eyes filled, but as he glanced up over her shoulder, he saw Brian watching them with a smile bright enough to light the whole room. Joy burst open inside of Nick, like music soaring or the sun coming out, flooding him with warmth. “Ariana,” he said back, because he could.
“You always said Ari,” she said against his shoulder.
“You were smaller then. It was too long a name.”
She laughed and pushed away from him, wiping at her eyes. “I still go by Ari. It’s, wow, it’s good to see you. Come on, sit down. You and your friend. Tell me what you’ve been doing.” As she sat on the couch, gesturing at the other end, her smile faded a bit. “You said you were a cop?”
“For a few years, in Minneapolis.” He sat down, and Brian came and leaned against the arm. Glancing up, he saw that Brian looked a bit drawn and pale still. Nick bounced to his