Chapter 3

Rick dug his cell phone out of his pocket to check his messages—he’d taken off from work, but that didn’t mean he actually had to pay attention to the movie. As a self-employed web designer, he could set his own hours, but they tended to overlap a lot, work bleeding into every other aspect of his life. He tried to keep things separate, of course, particularly when he had Micah around, but the thought of sitting through two hours of animated nonsense was enough to send him reaching for his phone. Surely one of his clients had a pressing problem that needed his attention right this minute…

“Oh, no. Dad, look.” Micah tugged at Rick’s sleeve to get his attention.

Distracted, Rick glanced up and looked around the crowded mall. “What is it, bud?”

“The line,” Micah whined. “It’s so long.”