The new year came and went, blessedly uneventful. Logan seemed calmer, and Aaron hoped that his ordeal had taught him a thing or two about acting out.
Pen, though, was distant. Aaron tried to engage his niece, asking her about what books she was reading, but she'd give one-word answers and not much else. She generally stayed in her room, which didn't change when the kids returned to school after winter break.
Aaron wondered if he needed to worry about Pen acting out now. He had a difficult time imagining the mature thirteen-year-old running away or getting into any kind of trouble. He almost wished she would. At least then he could maybe begin to figure out what was going on.
One weekend, Aaron impulsively decided to take all of them to Seattle. Not just for something to do, but also to
