I wondered if they checked on Austin. Their emotionless nephew wouldn’t need anyone checking on him.
“Nina, I know you’re probably confused, but I want you to know, the boys and I are looking into what happened to your birth and foster parents,” John said from his chair in Mary’s office.
I choked out my gratitude.
“We’re here if you want to talk,” Mary added. It felt good to have her Mama Bear energy directed at me.
“Thank you. Have you found anything?”
It’d been less than twenty-four hours, so I didn’t expect a yes.
“Not yet, but we’re looking. I’ll call Austin today and get as much info as I can.”
“I don’t understand why an insurance company is looking for me after twenty-six years.”
A lawyer might, if I would inherit a fortune.Yeah right.But why an insurance investigator?
It wasn’t like I’d filed a false claim. How could I? I didn’t even know their names.
Not until yesterday.
“It’s not that simple,” John answered. “And as soon as I can, I’ll fill you in.”
As soon as he can?What does he know that he’s not telling me?
“Am I in trouble?”
“No, you’re not.”
“Am I in danger?”
John’s pause as he looked at Mary was all the answer I needed.
“Maybe, but I don’t know enough to elaborate.”
Tears threatened to spill again as I clutched my hands in my lap. I’d lived my whole life without knowing a single thing about my parents, and the first time I learned anything—which was next to nothing—I learned I might be in danger because of them.
“Who are they?” I muttered, more to myself than to the Sheppards.
“Your parents?” Mary asked.
Stress made me want to be snarky, but I bit my tongue. They were trying to help me and didn’t deserve my stress induced rudeness.
“I literally know nothing about them. How can I be in danger because of them?” I asked.
“I wish I had answers,” John said. “For now, we’ll monitor Grannie’s for any more suspicious visitors.”
Monitor Grannie’s? More people might come looking for me? What if they found me? What if they went to my house?
“Is my grandmother in danger?”
“I’ve asked Weatherford PD to do extra drive-bys.”
John’s answer made my anxiety worse, not better.
“If you see anything, or notice anyone new hanging around, or acting odd, let me know.”
Weatherford’s a tourist town; there are always unfamiliar faces in Grannie’s.
