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job, and she was anxious to discuss the findings with her younger sister. Assuming Melissa was in her room, Toni decided to go to the kitchen first to find a couple of aspirin and to decide what to fix for dinner. As she stepped into the kitchen, she stopped, surprisedto see her younger sister standing silently in front of the open refrigerator.
    “Melissa? Honey, are you OK?”
    The slender, barefooted girl in the faded, cutoff jeans and oversized T-shirt, with auburn hair cascading down her back, didn't move. Toni came up behind her and laid her hand on her shoulder. Melissa jumped as if she'd been shot, turning toward her older sister with a look of wide-eyed fear that broke Toni's heart. How well she remembered that look. She had seen it in the mirror several times after her mother died, usually when she found herself sitting quietly in front of her dresser, remembering the touch of her mother's hands as she brushed Toni's hair or tucked her in at night. Then, a noise or a voice would suddenly snatch her back from her memory into the present, immersing her in an inexplicable, pin-pricking sensation of fear that shot through her body like a fiery bolt of lightning, and she would gaze in wonder at the terror-stricken girl in the mirror, trying to figure out who she was.
    Now, as Toni stared into Melissa's fear-filled eyes, she was amazed to realize how much the young teen had grown recently. When had it happened? When had her baby sister gotten so tall that their eyes met on an equal level? Gently, she reached out and pulled the trembling girl to her. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. Are you all right?” Toni felt a shudder run through the fragile body as Melissa nodded, struggling to explain.
    “I was just looking for… I wanted to surprise you and make dinner, but I… I couldn't figure out what to fix, and…”
    Toni took Melissa's shoulders and gently held her out at arm's length. “It's OK. Really. We'll do something simple.”
    Melissa nodded again, tears pooling in her green eyes and hanging on her long lashes. “Will I ever stop missing him?” she whispered, her chin quivering. “Will it ever stop hurting so much?”
    With all her heart, Toni longed to reassure her little sister, to promise her the pain would go away, but she couldn't lie to her. “No,” sheanswered. “You'll never stop missing him, and I won't either. And it will never stop hurting, not completely anyway. But it will get better, that much I can promise you. It won't always hurt this bad.”
    Relief and doubt mingled on the young girl's face as she forced a smile. “Thanks. I guess you should know if anyone would.”
    “Yes. I should know.” She took a deep breath and looked at the open refrigerator. “Tell you what. How about bacon and eggs? Nice and easy; what do you say?”
    “Can we wait a few minutes? Maybe sit down and talk first?”
    Toni closed the refrigerator door, then grabbed a tissue from the box on the counter and handed it to Melissa. “Sure. In fact, I've been wanting to talk to you anyway. How about in the living room?”
    They walked to the couch as Melissa dabbed at her eyes and blew her nose. Toni hadn't realized how exhausted she was until she sank down into the comfortable cushions. Melissa plunked down beside her, next to the end table.
    “What did you want to talk to me about?” asked Melissa, absently twirling a long strand of hair around one finger. “Is everything OK down at Dad's office?”
    “Things are fine at the office. In fact, I got the last of Dad's cases referred to other agencies this afternoon, so things are coming together.”
    “Does that mean you've decided for sure to sell the agency?”
    Toni shook her head. “No. I'm pretty sure I will, but… I just don't know yet. That's not what I wanted to talk about though.”
    Melissa raised her eyebrows. “Is it Brad? Is everything OK between you two?”
    Toni winced at the mention of Brad. She had not talked with him since their