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out of
the sedan.
    Charissa Simms immediately locked her gaze
upon Shad as she stood beside the vehicle. Before he habitually
shifted his own gaze away from hers, Shad noticed that Charissa’s
eyes were so dark they were almost black. Her long brown hair
cascaded halfway down her back in loose ringlets except for locks
on the sides of her face that were pulled back with a blue bow. She
wore red shorts and a white, collared blouse which seemed to
suggest Charissa had been dressed as a statement of how well-taken
care of she had been for the last month and a half. Even though
Shad was looking more at her mouth, he could see Charissa’s
attention shift to the day pack. As she started to look up again,
Shad offered a gentle smile and lowered himself to one knee before
the child.
    “Hello, Charissa.” He set the day pack on the
pavement and offered his hand to her while briefly meeting her gaze
again. “I’m Mr. Delaney.”
    Charissa glanced at his hand and slowly
extended her own as Shad continued. “This is all a little spooky,
huh? I bet you’ve got all kinds of questions.”
    Charissa’s hand settled in his, and Shad gave
it a quick and gentle squeeze. She spoke as he released it, her
voice soft and quiet. “Mom’s alive?”
    The nature of her question made him want to
shift into his more analytical ego, but Shad tried to keep it
balanced with his social self. “Oh yes, she’s alive.” The
analytical personality flexed some muscle. “Has someone told you
otherwise?”
    Charissa continued to scrutinize him as
though still trying to decide whether Shad was friend or foe. “Dad
said she’s dying.”
    That wasn’t a lie. What concerned Shad more
was just how Charissa’s father was relaying this information.
    “The sickness your mom has ... it doesn’t
change how much she loves you. She wishes she could’ve come to St.
Louis with me, but since she couldn’t, she sent this for you
instead.”
    Shad picked up the day pack and offered it to
the girl. With her gaze never leaving his face, Charissa gingerly
took it from him.
    “Your mom packed all kinds of goodies in
there for you.” Shad offered his best version of a reassuring
smile. Then he decided to imply a new concept Charissa was going to
need to adapt to. “Your Uncle Eliot and Aunt Tess put some things
in there for you, too.”
    Eliot Weller was supposed to be here with
Shad today, but he was a veterinarian and received an emergency
call concerning a prize brood mare this morning. Thus Eliot was
unable to meet Shad at the train station in Jefferson City, and
Shad had been forced to show up alone for Charissa’s scheduled
pickup. Having never done this sort of thing before, Shad was a
little more than annoyed by Eliot’s absence. Although he usually
preferred solitude, Shad had learned to value someone else’s
company whenever he was thrust into new situations.
    Charissa didn’t say anything as she studied
the day pack without opening it. Shad stood again while the woman
was taking a small blue suitcase from the car’s back seat.
    “I’ll take that.” Shad offered.
    After settling some final details with the
officer and the social worker, Shad thanked them and guided
Charissa toward the playground area of the park as the patrol car
drove away.
    “We have about half an hour before we need to
go to the train station.” Shad set his carrying case and her
suitcase on the first bench they approached. “Have you ever ridden
the train before?”
    He already knew the answer, so when Charissa
shook her head it was the response Shad expected.
    “You want to play on the playground while we
wait?”
    The girl only stared at him in response.
    Shad sat next to the cases. Charissa remained
standing at the other end of the bench. Her day pack was sitting on
it although she still gripped the top strap while never removing
her gaze from him.
    Now that he was getting back into something
more familiar, Shad drew a cleansing breath and offered another
reassuring