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She tucked closer to her father and offered a shy smile.
Roman’s hand rested on her small shoulder protectively, spinning her around so that she’d look up at him. He moved his hands, communicating to his daughter in sign language as he spoke the words aloud. “Can you say hi to Charli and Finn?”
Ariel lifted her hand and gave a small wave to Charli before squeezing closer to her father.
Charli smiled. “You are getting so big. Did you have a good Christmas?”
Ariel nodded, tugging on one of the dark twists in her hair.
“How’s your mom?” Charli asked Roman.
“She’s doing good,” Roman answered.
“You’re Ricky’s brother,” Finn said, as if just putting the pieces together.
Charli turned, studying her husband’s face. Was he still angry at Ricky for being with Laura? Wouldn’t that mean he still had feelings for her?
Roman chuckled. “Ricardo is indeed my little brother.”
“What’s he up to these days?” Finn asked.
“He works with me and the bees,” Roman replied.
Ariel tugged on her father’s hand. He looked down at her as she moved her hands.
“Sure thing, sweet pea,” Roman said before turning back to Charli and Finn. “We gotta run, but it was nice seeing you.”
“You too,” Charli said.
Finn guided the cart towards the checkout. “Anything else we need?”
“No, we’re all set.”
They got in line behind a mom talking quietly to her toddler while the checkout person rang up her things.
“Did we go to school with Roman Emerson too?” Finn asked.
“He’s four years older than Ricky. When you were a freshman, he would have been a senior. So, maybe your first year.”
“He has another brother too, right?” he asked.
“Yeah. And a younger sister. Mama Emerson adopted Ricky and her niece within a couple years of each other.”
He nodded as his pocket dinged three times with consecutive messages. Finn pulled it out, switching it to vibrate and putting it back into his pocket without reading them.
“Is his daughter deaf?” Finn asked.
“No. But she’s mute. She can hear just fine, but she hasn’t talked since . . . well, since everything happened with her mom.”
He opened his mouth as if to ask, but the cashier grabbed their attention. “How are you today?”
“Great.” Finn loaded their things on the conveyer belt.
A flicker of unease coasted through Charli. She turned around, searching the space around them. No one, and nothing out of the ordinary. But something didn’t feel right. An invisible weight settled over her. Anxiety stirred in her belly like the ticking of a clock. A bad feeling twisted in her chest—a premonition that time was running out.
47
Charli
