Page 50 of The Last Close Call

The dogs trotted over to a pair of plaid pillows in front of the fireplace and did their circle dance.

“They have beds in every room?”

“Almost.” She rolled her eyes. “They’re spoiled rotten, I know.”

“And what are their names?”

“Sam and Frodo.”

Rowan smiled. “You’re a Tolkien fan.”

“Yes.

Rowan rested her elbow on the arm of the chair, getting comfortable without leaning back. “So. What can I help you with?”

Joy took a deep breath. “Well, as you obviously know, your visit the other day came as a shock.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

“Not your fault.” She paused. “You do these a lot?”

“These?”

“Visits with family members.” She motioned back and forth between them. “Meeting with people you’ve traced through DNA.”

“I do some.” She tried to choose her words carefully. “But not very many with police detectives anymore. Lately, I’ve been focused more on my consulting business.”

“I visited your website.”

Rowan nodded. She was proud of the website, and she’d invested a lot of money into it. Skyler had created a logo for free—the same angel wings Rowan had hanging above her computer—but Rowan had hired a web design firm for everything else.

“It’s a fascinating business, tracking down birth families,” Joy said. “Do you like doing it?”

She hesitated. “Most of the time I do. It can be rewarding.”

“But...?”

Joy’s gaze was direct, and for the first time Rowan could see the edge that probably propelled her to the top of a software company filled with tech bros.

“But... not every adoption story has a happy ending,” Rowan said. “Some birth mothers don’t want to be found.”

“True.”

Rowan waited, trying to read her expression.

Joy folded her hands in her lap. “I think I might like to hire you.”

Her pulse picked up. She nodded.

“I’d like to learn more about my family history, but we’re not exactly tight,” Joy said. “There are some... rifts here and there.”

“I understand.”

She heaved a sigh. “I’m embarrassed to say I can’t even tell you the names of all of my grandparents.”

“That’s more common than you might think.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “Is it?”

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