DAHLIAI wondered why his number wasn't connecting. Haven had missed him terribly the day before and had wanted to talk to him to no avail.

Even this morning, when I'd woken her up to prepare her for school, she'd made mention of him. It had taken a lot of pacifying before she'd agreed to attend school.

She'd wanted us to go look for him like he was missing.

It was the reason I was late today. It was my first day of work and I couldn't afford to be late. I had no idea what he'd discussed with ...