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by illustrating some of the stories Gene had told him or trying to capture his likeness. During down time at work, he 'd already done a dozen passes at Deb and Goose. She had an unusually strong jawline that was difficult to capture, and Goose's curls could keep Liam busy for hours. He bypassed all those pages, ripping out a few loose sheets. Shoving flash books and magazines aside, he made a clear space on the low table in the waiting room and sat on the floor.
    " That's a lot of colors." Cole's hand hovered over the markers.
    " Think we can use all of them in one drawing?"
    By the time Ace came back in, they 'd made a reasonable attempt at it. Cole's erratic lines had strayed to the edges of the paper more than once, but the table was already deeply scarred from years of service. The splash of color was a marked improvement.
    " What're you working on, buddy?" Ace slid to the floor next to Cole. He looked worn out, a few lines gathered at the corners of his eyes, but he had a smile on when Cole glanced up at him.
    " Making a spaceship," Cole said gravely. "Gonna fly to Mars. It's closer to the sun than Earth and super hot."
    " Really?" Ace traced the edge of the drawing. "So how are you going to land without melting?"
    " I've got a magic wizard in the spaceship." Cole shrugged.
    " Good backup plan."
    " Want me to cancel your appointments, hon?" Deb asked.
    " Yeah, guess you'll have to. Damn." Ace shook his head. "I had Alex coming back in for that last session on his back too."
    " I've got back-to-back piercings after eight." Deb frowned. "Maybe I could move 'em around?"
    " Do you just need someone to watch him for a few hours?" Liam pulled out the much-abused black marker and started shading in a wall. "I don't have anything scheduled, and we're doing okay here. If we get walk-ins, I can do the sketches tonight and book them for tomorrow."
    " Are you sure?" Ace rubbed a smudge of marker off Cole's cheek with a spit-dampened thumb. "I mean, he's not really any trouble and he's already had dinner."
    " It's fine." Liam shrugged.
    " Can I have the blue?" Cole held out his hand, and Liam plopped the marker into it.
    " You know I'm right down the hall if you need me, right?" Ace said to Cole.
    " Uh-huh." The boy didn't even look up from the drawing, and Ace snorted.
    " Guess I know where I stand." One hand braced on the couch, Ace levered himself up. "Thanks, Professor."
    Coloring occupied Cole for a surprisingly long time. He was an intense kid , and the longer Liam sat with him, the more he saw Ace in his features. Their noses had the same strong jut, and their eyes were a matched set down to the slight droop of the lids. Liam would bet that when Ace didn't have dreadlocks, his hair would fall in a thick sweep over his forehead just like Cole's.
    " I've got juice boxes for the kids." Deb announced and plonked down one in front of both of them.
    " I can't get a glass?" Liam asked as he peeled the straw off Cole's box and pierced the thin aluminum for him.
    " It'd be so much less entertaining." She tapped Cole's drawing. "What happened to the spaceship?"
    " We landed, and it exploded. Now we have to meet the aliens," Cole explained. The aliens were questionable purple and green blobs with zigzag antennas. "They're nice."
    " I always thought aliens might be." Deb glanced at Liam. "He's Ace's nephew, by the way."
    " Oh." Liam concentrated on his own juice box, neatly sinking the straw inside. He didn't want to analyze the relief that had flooded through him. "So the woman outside?"
    " Ace's sister. Named Joy. How's that for irony?" A customer came in, the electric chime summoning Deb back to her desk. "Let me know when he gets tired. We've got a few blankets stashed in the back. The tables make pretty good beds in a pinch."
    Pressed into service not an hour later, the blankets proved to have a faded Smurf pattern on them. When Goose sauntered in at nine, he ducked his head into Liam 's room and grinned when he spotted Cole's hair