“OH NO,” I SAID UNDER MY BREATH. I BRUSHED past Pete and walked over to the area around the TV. Lily and Anna were nowhere in sight.

“Uh oh,” Pete said, coming up behind me.

“Did you see where they went?” I asked.

Instead of answering my question, Pete started, “Hey, can we just—”

“Later,” I said sternly. “I really, really can’t right now.” I sped off to a corner of the store. “Go that way!” I yelled back at Pete. He nodded and turned off away from me, his gaze lingering just slightly in a desperate apology.

I frantically searched the aisles of the store, stopping every few seconds because many of the kids were the girls’ height—but I was wrong. Over and over again, I was wrong.

After I had made a lap around the first level of the store, I bounded up the stairs, but Pete was standing there to greet me. He was white as a sheet. “Nothing,” he said.

“Oh my God,” I said, my stomach churning. “Great. Just great.”

“What do we do now?” Pete asked.

“They can’t have gone far,” I said sternly. “Keep your phone on. Let’s split up.”

We bounded down the stairs toward the exit. “What are their other favorite stores here?” Pete asked. “Any ideas?”

“I literally just met them, Pete,” I said. “The exact same moment you did.”

“So—”

“No,” I said. We had reached the exit. “Okay, you go left. I’ll go right.” I sped off.

Soon after I left the American Girl store, I realized how impossible this task seemed. The mall was huge, and I had no idea where anything was.

I passed by the Sharper Image, slowing down to peer inside and make sure they weren’t playing in the massage chairs. Nothing. I charged onward, passing by a Men’s Wearhouse. I blew past it, but immediately realized they could be in there—maybe they were hiding in the tie racks? Maybe they’d found one of the fitting rooms and were hiding out inside?

They could literally be anywhere.

I jogged over to a directory of every store in the mall. I scanned it, looking for places kids might be drawn to. Since the girls knew the layout of the mall like the backs of their hands, it wasn’t impossible they could have taken off for somewhere far away.

I read the list of stores frantically—Apple, Nike, Bath & Body Works—then it leapt out at me: Disney. That had to be it. And it wasn’t far! I sped off again, more of a pop in my step.

As I hustled towards an escalator to the third floor, I silently cursed all the men in my life—none of whom, apparently, could be trusted. Dad manipulated and used me, just like both of his wives. Pete thought this was the perfect moment to completely blindside me with—

I couldn’t even finish the thought in my head. It made my stomach twist into a thousand knots. Pete knew how I felt about Anthony Troy. That was the kind of guy for me. He was taller, broader, deeper-voiced than Pete. So why did he have to go and make this so complicated? Why put that on me? Especially now?

Was anybody on my side?

Suddenly the Disney Store—or, what used to be the Disney Store—appeared in front of me. Rather than a brightly lit expanse accompanied by cheery Mary Poppins tunes, all that greeted me was a wall of plywood and a big sign that read, “We’ll miss you, Wild Western! Thanks for 17 great years!” Mickey’s cheerful face sat next to the sign, really twisting the knife.

I felt completely out of options. My legs, after pushing me onward for the last ten minutes, were trembling. My upper lip soon followed suit, and my eyes burned, welling up. I wasn’t even sad, just frustrated. At Pete, at this mall, at these irresponsible and ill-behaved little girls, at Dad for abandoning me here—just like he had abandoned me so many years ago.

I slumped down against the plywood wall, right beneath Mickey. I took out my phone and hopelessly called Pete.

“Hello?” he said softly.

I asked the question, but I already knew the answer. “You found them?”

“No,” he said. “I take it you haven’t either?”

“Argh!” I bellowed, barely restraining myself from tossing my phone down the carpeted hallway.

“What should we do?” Pete asked weakly.

“I have no idea.”

“I’m so sorry,” Pete said.

“About what?” I asked bitterly. About your ill-timed declaration of love for me? I wondered. About ruining our friendship?

“I should have watched them more carefully,” he said.

I couldn’t help but laugh sharply, wiping tears from my cheeks. “Great,” I said. I hung up.

I quickly scrolled through my contacts, and called Dad’s number. It rang once . . . twice . . . three times . . . and went to voicemail. I swore bitterly in my head, and tried again. Nothing.

Deciding a voicemail was better than nothing, I left a short message. “Hey Dad, it’s Sara, call me back as soon as you get this, thanks.”

Feeling deflated, I got back up and started walking towards another directory ahead of me. I wasn’t hopeful. Nothing had stuck out to me on the list as a particularly kid-friendly place, other than the Disney Store.

Then a different idea sparked to life in my head. I pulled out my phone and Googled Dad’s business, Jackson-Flowers Industries. I quickly found a phone number, and dialed.

“Jackson-Flowers Industries,” answered a cheery young man’s voice, “how can I help you?”

“Hi, this is Sara Jackson,” I said quickly. “I’m calling for my dad, Danny? It’s urgent.”

“Oh. Uh . . . ” the man seemed flustered.

“Danny Jackson,” I said again, sternly. “The CFO?”

“Here, let me transfer you to . . . ” he trailed off.

A woman’s voice picked up quickly. “Is this Danny’s daughter?” she demanded.

“Yeah, I need to talk to my dad, tell him it’s—”

“It’s great you called,” the woman said. “We’ve been looking for him all day.”

I felt like someone had slapped me in the face, hard. It took me awhile to recover from what the woman had just said—so long that she hesitantly made sure I was there. “Miss?” she asked. “Did you hear what I said?”

“He’s . . . he’s not there?” I managed.

“Right,” she said, sounding impatient. “And it’s extremely busy down here. Tell him we need him right away.”

“I’m not with him!” I barked. “I’m looking for him!”

“Well, I don’t know what to tell you,” the woman said. “I hope you find him. Selfish little brat.” Then she promptly hung up.

Now I did drop my phone—just like I did when Dad had first called me. Unconsciously my hands flew to the top of my head and pulled my hair right at the roots. I ground my teeth together and wished to go back to that sunny day on the lake. I would do everything differently. I would hang up on him, and never think about him again.

Where could he be? He wasn’t with me, he wasn’t at home, and he wasn’t at work . . . Is this the real Danny Jackson? I asked myself. A liar?

I could barely get my feet to move, but I knew I had to. I still had this liar’s daughters to find, and they were innocent in all of this.

As soon as I got to my feet, my phone rang—was it Dad?

No, it was Pete. My heart skipped a beat—it was beyond time for some good news. “Hello?”

“I’m at the customer service desk,” Pete said flatly. “I told them the girls are missing. They’re radioing all the security guards and they’re going to make an announcement on the PA system. Just come meet me down here. There’s nothing else for us to do.”

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll be there.” I hung up, and looked on the nearby directory for the office.

Just then, a stern male voice came over the intercom. “Lily and Anna Jackson, please report to the security office, or find a guard in a blue uniform. Again, Lily and Anna Jackson, please report to a nearby guard, or to the security office. Thank you.” That was it. No urgency at all. If the girls hadn’t been listening carefully, they almost certainly wouldn’t have heard it. I had no hope left.

I needed a distraction while we waited or I was going to drive myself crazy. So as I walked to the security office I called the only person who could be a total breath of fresh air.

“Hey, girl,” came Maria’s haggard voice from the other end. “What’s shakin’?”

“Wow, you don’t sound good,” I said, chuckling. Just hearing four words out of her mouth made me smile, and made me miss her more than I was prepared for.

“Yeah, a long night plus a three-hour gig this morning where I sang the same Jessie J song eight times. No bueno.”

“I’m sorry but I don’t have long to talk,” I said.

“Okay?” she asked, concern flooding into her voice.

“So, it’s a long story, but right now I’m at a mall in Texas with my two half-sisters.”

“OMG! Are they so cute?”

“Sort of,” I said. “They’re little monsters, honestly. But here’s the big thing, Pete and I were talking just now . . . and please don’t say ‘I told you so.’ But . . . he told me he’s in love with me?”

An eternity passed after the words left my mouth. I was almost sure the call had been dropped when Maria laughed on the other end of the line, a booming, earth-shattering cackle. Finally, she found words again, and bellowed, “No he didn’t!”

“Yes he did!” I said, laughing in spite of myself. “He was like, ‘Sara, I’ve loved you since the moment I met you.’”

“Whoa,” Maria said with a little chuckle. “So what’d you say?”

“I, like . . . I don’t even really know,” I said. “He, like, reached out to touch me and I think I . . . slapped his hands away?”

Maria groaned. “What? Come on!”

“I know, I know. It was just like instinctual, you know? I was so overwhelmed! I don’t even remember saying anything, I think I just like turned away from him.”

“Wait so are you like still standing next to him right now? Why are you calling me? Why aren’t you ring-shopping at this mall?”

I couldn’t even laugh about that one. “We’re not together because right after that happened, I realized Lily and Anna had run away while we weren’t looking and now I’m like frantically searching this giant mall for them.”

Maria groaned. “So, things are going well for you!”

“You could say so, yeah,” I said. “Anyway I don’t really know why I called, and I’m gonna have to hang up soon, because Pete’s in the security office waiting for the mall cops to bring the girls back. I just wanted to tell somebody, I guess.”

“So, why are you so upset about it?” Maria asked, ignoring the fact that I would need to hang up soon.

“What do you mean?”

“Is it the fact that he said he loves you? Or the timing?”

“Both!” I said. “Definitely both.”

“Well, he definitely didn’t time it right,” Maria said. “But honestly, I think you’re blowing this a little out of proportion.”

“What?!” I yelled. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“I know it seems like a big deal,” she said, “but this happens between friends. Things get confusing when it’s a guy and a girl. You guys really care about each other, right?”

“I guess,” I mumbled.

“Of course you do. So you just need to have a talk and get on the same page again. Honestly, it’s good he told you, because if he didn’t—”

“You have got to be kidding me!” I yelled, power-walking across the first floor of the mall towards the security office in the distance. “You, too? God, can’t I get anybody to give me a lifeline here?”

Maria spoke quietly. “Sara, come on, I’m just telling you—”

“Sorry, I have to go,” I said, hanging up. I shoved my phone back in my pocket without another thought.

When I found Pete inside the security office, I gasped. I had never seen him look so hopeless, so pathetic.

“Hey,” I said softly, sidling up to him.

“Hey,” he said, avoiding eye contact.

“You’re Sara?” asked the sleepy-eyed guard behind the desk.

“Yes,” I said. “I’m their half-sister. Will this work?”

“We always find ’em,” she said. “Don’t you worry.”

I took a deep breath, trying to relax. “Okay. If you say so.”

“Nothing to do but wait. Have a seat.”

Both Pete and I sat in the rigid plastic chairs. Tacky smooth jazz was playing on the speakers in the room, probably to calm anxious parents and guardians just like us. We sat stone-faced and silent for what felt like hours, looking blankly at the desk in front of us. A cheesy, faded poster hung on the opposite wall: a friendly mall cop standing next to two white kids in brightly colored polos. The big, cartoonish text around them read, “Safety! It’s always on sale!”

Just then, the sleepy-eyed cop’s walkie-talkie crackled to life. “Found ’em, boss,” came a young woman’s voice.

I practically leapt out of my chair and so did Pete. My heart was going to beat out of my chest. The cop slowly picked up her radio. “The Jackson girls?” she asked.

“That’s them, sir,” she said. “Bringing them to you now. The parents there?”

The cop eyed us, skeptically. “Half-sister and . . . ” She gazed at Pete, evaluating him. “Friend.”

There was murmuring on the other end of the radio. I heard a little girl’s voice. Then the security guard again. “Yep, they say that sounds right. Just making sure.”

“Good job, Martinez,” the guard said. “We’ll see you soon.”

Pete and I sighed and looked at each other. I gave him a half smile. “I was ready to give up! Thank you.” I meant it sincerely, but I didn’t want to make him think I’d changed my mind about what he’d told me.

Again, we were out of words to say to each other. We had to have a big talk, I knew, but this was definitely not the place to have it. I looked straight ahead at the same dumb poster and willed the girls to get back to the office as fast as humanly possible.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I took it out, grateful for the distraction. It was a text from . . . Pete? I looked at him next to me quizzically. He met my eyes and nodded back at my phone, imploring me to read what he had sent. I opened the text.

Sorry about that, crappy timing. Can we talk later? I feel like there’s more to say.

I locked my phone and put it back in my pocket. I looked at Pete for half a second but I couldn’t hold the eye contact. He looked completely devastated, and in spite of myself, it hurt to see him that way.

I heard Maria’s words echo through my skull. I know it seems like a big deal, but this happens between friends. Things get confusing when it’s a guy and a girl.

So he’s just confused, I thought to myself. He thinks he loves me, but what he’s just feeling is the love that friends feel—not romantic love. Was that it?

It’s not like you’re the world’s expert on romantic love, I said to myself, seeing as you’ve never had a boyfriend.

But you know it when you feel it, right? I wondered. I tried to distract myself from continuing the argument raging on inside my head, but the boring office and the dreadful music made it difficult.

Finally, I heard two voices pipe up from outside the door. Lily and Anna were back, being led inside the door by a young cop, who must have been Martinez. The girls looked completely chill about the fact that they had been separated from their guardians in this giant crowded mall. I guess it’s hard to feel totally alone when you have your sister next to you, I thought.

I jumped up from my seat and hugged the girls. “Where did you guys go?” I asked urgently, squeezing their small, soft bodies.

“Barnes & Noble!” Lily crowed.

“Yeah, we always go there after American Girl,” Anna said matter-of-factly. “Then TCBY, then home.”

“Oh,” I said, smiling. I pulled back from the hug and looked at them sternly, trying to convey some sense of authority. “I wish you had told me that. We didn’t know about your favorite stores. You have to tell me those things, okay?”

Lily and Anna nodded solemnly. I sighed. “Well, I’m just glad to see you again.”

Lily looked behind me and beamed. “Pete your hair got even redder!” She cackled, and Anna marched over to inspect Pete’s hair. I rubbed my temples, having almost succeeded in forgetting Pete was there. Looking at him, charmed all over again by Lily and Anna, broke my heart. He was a nice guy, he was my friend. But he had made a big mistake. Would we ever be okay again?

But that question was suddenly erased as a much more urgent thought exploded in my head. Dad. Where’s Dad?