Page 173 of Secrets Hidden In The Glass

He wrote it down, ready to get the information verified. The dominoes were tumbling. In less than an hour’s time, he’d been able to narrow down life-changing answers for Callie. “Thank you for calling in, Danielle. This is going to help us a lot.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.” He hung up and rested his head back against the chair. This was huge. He had names, dates of birth, and Callie’s birthplace. He picked up the phone, eager to put in some calls—one of them to the Office of Vital Statistics.

“Nate,” Kay called down the hall. “We’ve got another car off the road over by the airport.”

“Fuck,” he murmured as he put the phone back in the cradle and stood, grabbing his coat. “I’m on my way.” His call to Sanchez was going to have to wait again. He had big news to share. They’d had one hell of a day with their case, but current issues came before the past. Always.

~~~~

“What about Carter Island…” Callie puffed up her cheeks and blew out a long breath as she looked at the long list of business names she, Molly, and Gwen had written down over the last couple of hours. “I have no idea.”

Molly and Gwen laughed.

Callie grinned. “I thought I had something new, but it’s already on the list.” She pointed to her not-so-original thought written on the paper.

“Ah, jeez. Here’s trouble,” Nate said, crossing his arms and leaning against the living room doorway.

Callie turned her head, her pulse automatically kicking up to a faster beat as she extended her smile to him. He was so handsome with his rosy cheeks accentuating his bold blue eyes. “Hey, Sheriff.” She stood and walked to him, pressing her palms to his frigid cheeks.

He grinned. “Hey, you.”

“You’re cold.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.

“It pretty much sucks ass outside right now.” He tugged on her chin and captured her mouth again. “Come back here and give me another taste of you,” he murmured against her lips.

“Okay, folks,” Molly said. “That’s enough of that. Momma and I are going to go start dinner.” She helped Gwen off the couch and they walked through the opposite doorway toward the kitchen.

Callie grinned up at Nate as she locked her wrists around the back of his neck. “Thanks for the text earlier. It sounded like you guys were getting pretty busy.”

He settled his arms around her waist and swayed with her in a slow dance. “Crappy weather tends to keep the calls coming in.”

She smiled again, still riding high on the relief of Nate’s earlier message that he and Captain Bob hadn’t found anything in the woods. Of course that meant another stall in her case, but she could live with that. Until they had absolute proof to the contrary, she needed to believe that her biological mother was alive.

“Looks like you’ve had a good day,” he said.

She nodded. “A very good day. You’re looking at the new part-owner of Carter Island Something or Other.”

He frowned. “What does that mean?”

“Your sisters and I are business partners. We’re diving into stained glass and decadent eats on a much larger scale than the original Wednesday night club idea.”

He raised his brow. “No kidding? When did you guys decide this?”

“Mmm, about five or six hours ago.”

“Sounds pretty permanent—like you’re officially staying for good.”

She ignored the hitch in her stomach. Why did words like “permanent” and “for good” always make her look for the nearest exit? Even when she was beyond happy? “I guess it does.”

He studied her eyes. “That’s not sitting very well, huh?”

She looked down, avoiding his gaze. The man was a mind reader. “I just have to get used to it—like bringing clothes over to your place.” She met his gaze again. “That seems to be working out well.”

He smiled. “Yes, it is.”

“So, tell me more about the woods. You really didn’t see anything?”