She wiped at her forehead with the sleeve of her T-shirt. “Okay.”

“Okay you want to go or okay you don’t want to go?”

She took a deep breath and put her hands on her hips. “I’d like to go.”

I nodded and we started walking up the beach, back toward the house. “I’ll talk with your mom some more today about it then.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

We scrambled through the rocks to get to the sidewalk. The fog was completely gone now, having given way to a light blue sky and the sun over the distant mountains.

“Do you remember me?” I asked before I could swallow the words.

She looked surprised. “What?”

“Do you remember me? From before you were taken?”

She was quiet for a minute.

“Yeah, I remember some things,” she said. “Like I told you. Sort of like shadows. But, yeah, I can remember some things.”

“Like?”

She stared straight ahead. “I remember walking to school with you. I remember the white cat you bought me when I was…I don’t know how old. I remember some things, yeah.”

“With your mom, too?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

We walked for another minute and turned the corner onto our street.

“I have a tough question for you,” I said. “You ready for it?”

She glanced at me. “I guess.”

I cleared my throat. “Would you rather be here or in Minnesota?”

The corners of her mouth twitched and she reached back to fiddle with her hair as we kept walking.

“And I should preface that, I guess,” I said. “I want to know because I want to know where you’re at. Your mom and I aren’t considering letting you move back to Minnesota or anything. It’s not your fault that people lied to you and that you had to block things out and accept where you were out. I understand why you did that and I’m glad you did. But the fact is, you weren’t supposed to be with those people. We don’t want to treat you like a possession, but the bottom line is you’re our daughter. I just want to know because I want to know what you’re feeling.”

Her pace slowed until we came to a stop on the sidewalk. She dropped her hands from her hair, but they fidgeted at her sides, like she didn’t know what to do with them. It took a moment before her eyes found mine.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I mean, I don’t know how to answer, okay? I don’t feel like I belong here, but I know I don’t really belong there either. I know all that. It’s just…it’s just weird. So I’m not trying to be all ‘I don’t care.’ I just don’t feel like I belong anywhere right now.”

I nodded and we stood there for a moment on the walk, neither of us saying anything. She wasn’t crying, but I got the sense that she was on the verge of tears and I didn’t want to push her over the edge.

“That’s fair,” I finally said. “There’s no right answer right now, I guess.”

Elizabeth shrugged.

“Think about going to Minnesota with your mom,” I told her. “I think it might be a good idea.”

“Okay,” she said. “I will.”

“And Elizabeth?”

“Yeah?”

I stubbed my toe against the concrete. “For what it’s worth, I want you here. I want you to want to be here. And I know you belong here. I love you. Which probably sounds weird right now. But I love you and I’m glad you’re home. Just because you were gone doesn’t mean we didn’t stop loving you and missing you. So. I love you and I will do the best that I can with all of this.”

She forced a smile on her tired face. “Thank you.”

It wasn’t the exact phrase I wanted to hear, but it would have to do.

FOURTEEN

Lauren was home when we got back. She’d made breakfast and Elizabeth and I both sat down and ate platefuls of eggs and toast. When we finished, I went and showered and when I was out, Lauren informed me they were going to head out and finish up their shopping from the day before.

I glanced up at the staircase, waiting for Elizabeth to come down. “I think she’d agree to going to Minnesota with you.”

Lauren rolled her eyes. “Joe, I thought…”

I held up a hand before she could get on a roll. “I know, I know. I’m just telling you where she’s at. In case it comes up in conversation. That’s all.”

She gave me a look like she knew I was saying it for other reasons, but didn’t respond. Elizabeth came down in leggings and a T-shirt, her wet hair brushed thoroughly.

“Can we go back to the mall?” she asked, looking at Lauren.

“Sure,” Lauren said, smiling. “Wherever you want.”

“Okay,” she said. “I need makeup and stuff.”

I nodded, but it was strange to hear her say that she needed makeup. I was still thinking of her as the ten year old I’d left in the yard. I needed to start realizing that I had a teenage daughter.

“Yep, for sure,” Lauren said, grabbing her purse and the car keys. “We’ll go wherever you need to go. Ready?”

“Yeah,” Elizabeth said, heading toward the garage. She glanced at me and held up a hand. “Bye.”

“See you in a bit,” I said.

Lauren raised her eyebrows, shrugged and followed her to the garage.

I listened to the garage door open, the car start and then the door grinding to a close. I glanced up at the stairs. I had an urge to go into Elizabeth’s room and see what was there. But I immediately reprimanded myself. If I started doing that kind of thing, there would be no boundaries and no way to learn to trust Elizabeth. As much as I might’ve wanted to cocoon her, it wasn’t possible and trying to do so would just damage the relationship. I forced myself to look away from the stairs, find my laptop and do some work for a change.

I was a half an hour through answering emails when the doorbell rang. I stared at the door for a moment, as if I might be able to see who was on the other side of it and finally got up to answer it when the bell rang again.

I was surprised to see Agent Blundell standing there.

“Mr. Tyler,” she said, with a smile. “Nice to see you.”

“You too,” I said.

“Is this a good time?” she asked, peering over my shoulder. “Do you have a few minutes?”

I stepped out of her way and motioned for her to come in, shutting the door behind her. She wore gray slacks, a light blue dress shirt and a thin gray suit jacket over the shirt. Her hair was perfectly coiffed and her fingernails were painted the same color as the shirt. The heels of her dress shoes clacked on the wood floor and I could see the bulge of her weapon on her hip beneath the suit jacket.

She turned to face me. “I’m sorry for dropping in unannounced.”

I smiled. “No you aren’t. But that’s okay. Have a seat.”

She sat down on the edge of the sectional sofa and I sat down on the other side.

“Elizabeth and Lauren are out,” I said.

If that disappointed her, it didn’t show. “They’re getting along?”

“Well enough for now.”

“With you, too?”

“Same answer.”

Blundell nodded. “Good. Any more talk about her going to Minnesota?”

“We’re working it out,” I said.

She waited.

I waited.

“That’s good,” she finally said.

“Sure.”

It was quiet again.

“Is this where I ask why you’re here?” I asked, more amused than anything else.

She gave me a faint smile. “I really did mean to call.”

“It’s fine that you didn’t.”

“And I do make it a point to check on anyone that’s been returned to their family after a long absence,” she explained. “It’s part of the process.”

“I understand.”

It went quiet again.

“But…” I finally said.

“But I’m hearing you’re a little…restless,” she said, eyeing me.

“What does that mean?”

“You tell me, Mr. Tyler.”

I leaned back in the sofa. “I didn’t for even a second pretend I wasn’t going to keep digging. I told you that at your office.”

She nodded. “I recall. And I told you not to do it.”

“I’m bad at rules.”

She smiled, but she didn’t look that amused. “I assume there’s nothing I can do to stop you.”

“I’m not sure I’m really doing anything. You wanna tell me what I’m doing?”