Page 102 of The Deadly Shallows

“It’s impressive you found them.”

“I started working with a private investigation firm outside of Tucson, and the skills I garnered helped me track her down.”

“You worked with the investigators rather than hiring them?”

She nodded. “After I left Tracey’s, I was totally on my own. Thankfully, I still had some money in my bank account, and I sold my car, as it was in my name. It bought me enough time to find the right investigators.”

“They hired you on?”

“In the first meeting, I broke down and explained why I wanted to learn to be an investigator and how they were the first to even give me an audience. The owner of the firm must have seen the desperation in my eyes, but whatever the reason, he hired me on to help in the office.

“It didn’t take him long to realize I wasn’t going to stop trying to learn the PI ropes, so he paired me with his mentee, Deckard MacLeod, for basically an apprenticeship.”

He brushed the hair from her face. “You learned quick?”

A soft smile curled at the corner of her lips, and he treasured the sight. Treasured her.

“Once I found Ella, I contacted her adoptive parents. The Spencers were super kind, and while they didn’t let me formally see her, they let me watch her play in a park from a distance. She was beautiful.”

He cupped her red-smudged cheek in his hand. “Like her momma.”

“The Spencers send me a picture every December. They also let me send them a letter every year on Ella’s birthday that they put in a manila envelope. And when she turns eighteen, they’ll give it to her.”

“How old is Ella now?”

“She’ll be nine on Christmas Eve.”

A rap on Austin’s kitchen door shook both of them from the moment. Caleb automatically shifted his hand to the grip of his gun, as Austin moved for the door. “It’s just Lucy with Jaxon.”

“Habit,” he said.

She pulled back the curtain on the door window and smiled as she turned the bolt.

Lucy hurried in, Jaxon bundled in her arms, a shopping bag in one hand, a dog bed in the other.

“Here,” Caleb rushed forward before something dropped. “Let me help.”

“Oh, thank you,” Lucy said as he relieved her of the bed and bag.

Jaxon squirmed in her arms, whimpering to get down.

The minute she set him down, his nails tapped over to Caleb, where he’d set the bag and bed on the table. Jaxon jumped up on his right leg, pawing and whimpering to be picked up.

Caleb shook his head. This dog was too much. A smile crossed his lips as he bent and lifted him into his arms.

Jaxon’s tail wagged, hitting Caleb’s arm each time it went right, as he slathered Caleb’s face with kisses.

“I’d say Jaxon’s found his new home,” Lucy said, smiling.

“Oh, I don’t know.” It had been so long ago, but after Skipper . . . after losing so much to his mom or her loser string of men, he never held tight to anything. Not until his team became his family . . . and now Austin, whom he ached to always hold tight.

“She’s right,” Austin said, inviting Lucy into the dining area where Caleb stood. “Look at how he is loving on you.”

He looked down at the big eyes staring back at him. The mutt was pretty cute. Maybe he should adopt him. It’d be nice to hear padded paws around the house again.

Lucy pulled a bag of treats out of the shopping bag, setting it on the table. “I brought his water bowl and a bag of the food he likes. I feed him twice a day. Breakfast and dinner. Okay,” Lucy said in a fluster. “I best run.”

Austin took hold of her hands. “I’ll be praying.”