Page 107 of The Last Close Call

How lovely to hear from a future member of the Leary family. Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials...

She skimmed the pleasantries and scrolled to the end, where at last he addressed her question.

Yes, my project has become quite involved, as you have surely deduced from my many threads in the chat room. I know some might find it tedious, but this study of the Leary line truly fascinates me. I have managed to locate and initiate contact with four distant cousins, as well as locate an entirely NEW branch of the family back in Kilkenny, Ireland...

Joy scrolled back to the top and reread carefully. Then she consulted the family tree she had created on her legal pad.

“Damn it.”

He still hadn’t answered her question, but he’d come close. Should she respond to him right now and get more specific, or should she wait?

If she replied now, he’d know she was sitting here at her computer in the middle of the night. This guy was in San Francisco, so for him, it wasn’t that odd to be answering emails at this hour. But he knew she was in Texas.

On the other hand, if she waited until tomorrow, he might take several days getting back to her, and she didn’t think she could wait that long. Her nerves were frayed as it was. If she had to go through another workday with this question hanging over head—

“Screw it.” She hit reply.

Hi Randall,

So great to hear from you. Thanks for the congratulations! It’s such an honor to “meet” another cousin of Matt’s via email. I feel so grateful to be joining such a big, welcoming family!!

One question. You mentioned that you have been in touch with several Leary cousins this year about your research project. Could you specify which ones, exactly? And did you succeed in getting them to do a DNA kit, too? It’s such an exciting project, and I know Matt can’t wait to learn more...

Blah blah blah, grateful, blah blah blah, blessed, blah blah Kind regards, Jill (soon-to-be) Leary.

She reread for typos and hit send.

Then Joy tipped her head back and stared at the ceiling.

“Calm down,” she muttered.

But her heart was racing. Her chest felt flushed. She reached for her drink and paused as she realized it was already low again.

She couldn’t keep doing this.

Joy slid her chair back and stepped to the back door. Where was Frodo? She gazed out at the dark yard, chewing her lip as she thought about her email. Maybe grateful was overdoing it. She shouldn’t have sounded so sappy.

Ping.

Joy rushed back to the computer. He’d replied already. Her stomach tensed as she clicked open the response.

Dear Jill,

In answer to your question, I have been in touch with four cousins about my genealogy project: the Porter girls, Samantha and Sarah (who recently did a DNA kit), as well as Mallory Leary and Brett Leary...

Joy’s stomach plummeted. She stared down at the message.

She slapped the computer shut and backed away from the table. Bile rose in her throat, and she rushed to the sink and vomited.

***

Rowan awoke in a dark room. Muffled voices came from somewhere nearby, and she sat up in bed. The bathroom light was on, illuminating an open door near the closet.

She blinked at the dimness, trying to make sense of it. There was an adjoining room, she realized, and the door to it was open. Jack was in there talking to someone, probably someone on his team, and he was trying to keep his voice down.

She sat there for a moment, piecing together the events of last night, and her face warmed as she remembered him kneeling in front of her and stripping off her jeans.

A faint buzz sounded—someone’s phone. And then the adjoining door pulled shut with a thud.

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