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Charlotte’s face lights up as she slides off her chair.

“Wait, Charlotte—” I say. She stops and looks at me. “Come here.” She hops back to me and I point to the turtle in my coloring book. “Close your eyes and tell me what color to draw this.”

She closes her eyes for a few seconds. “Red!” she says.

“You want a red turtle?” I ask.

“Yes!”

I reach out and poke her cheek just beneath her eyes. My eyes. “You got it, girl. Go get your cupcake.”

Charlotte spins and bolts through the bakery to the kitchen.

I grab the box of crayons and poke through it until I find a red one.

“Are you having fun?” Anna asks, smiling.

“Hell yeah. I’m having a blast,” I say. “Forgot how relaxing this is…”

She chuckles as I color in the turtle’s shell. “So, you should probably lie low for a while.”

I glance up at the kitchen doorway. “How much more did you tell him?”

“Just enough, it seems.” She shrugs. “Need-to-know details only.”

“Like?”

“Like…” She tilts her head, watching closely as I continue filling in my turtle. “You’re her father. You lied on your donor profile. You have a criminal record. You were arrested for murder…”

“Tip of the iceberg, then,” I joke.

Anna smiles. “And that you saved our lives,” she says. “And that he should give you the benefit of the doubt, like I am.”

I set the red crayon down. “And what’d he say?”

She laughs. “Not sure if he’s been able to form a complete sentence that’s not grumbles and growls just yet, but I’ll let you know.”

“Sounds good,” I say, smiling.

I look down at my coloring book. A puffy pink dog and a bright red turtle hanging out on the beach. I sign and date the bottom with a black crayon, drawing a little heart next to my name.

From your friend, Milo.

“I should get going. Don’t want to cause any more trouble for you.” I close the book and slide it over to her. “Make sure Charlotte gets that, all right?”

Anna pauses, barely blinking as she stares across the table at me. “Okay,” she finally says.

I stand up, taking my duffel bag with me. “Bye, Detective. Thanks for letting me hang with her for a bit.”

“No problem.”

I turn to leave, but Anna slides forward.

“You know,” she says, making me pause, “I meant what I said before, about how we can work something out. If you wanted to hang with her again sometime, I mean.”

I nod as my stomach twists into knots. “Sure. We’ll stay in touch.”

She gives a short smile. “Bye, Milo.”