Mattie nodded and leaned her head against Cole’s arm. They sat while she digested Cole’s words, and she assumed that, like her, he was thinking of how they applied to Doyle and Lillian. And even to their daughter Eve, now in jail facing a prison sentence. After several minutes, she spoke. “I guess I should go home and clean up so that I can get some sleep. Back to work for both of us again in the morning, right?”
Cole tightened his arm around her. “You must be stiff and sore. Do you want to soak in the tub here?”
Mattie tipped her face so that she could study his. He leaned down and kissed her, a kiss that was tender and full of promise. It had been a long time since Mattie had known such intimacy. She hated for the kiss to end.
Cole lifted his lips to speak. “No strings attached on the offer of the tub, but I want you to stay the night. I’m in this relationship for the long haul, and I want what’s best for you. Your decision won’t change my love, one way or the other.”
Her heartbeat quickened. “The kids?”
“The kids and Jessie are staying with my parents tonight.”
Mattie touched his cheek, and he turned into her palm to press his lips against it. “I say yes.”
Without another word, Cole stood and took her hand to lead her up the staircase.
* * *
For the life of her, Mattie couldn’t sleep. She rose on one elbow to study Cole’s face by the light of the moon shining through the open curtain. His features were relaxed in sleep, his lips parted slightly.
His bedroom window was closed, something she couldn’t stand, but she didn’t want to awaken him by opening it. Noiselessly, she slipped from between the sheets, put on a clean T-shirt he’d laid out for her, picked up her cell phone from the bedside table, and padded down the stairs with bare feet. Immediately alert, Robo and Bruno lifted their heads when she entered the den.
“Go back to sleep, you two. It’s just me,” she murmured as she sank onto the couch, picking up the chocolate fleece throw from the back and covering herself with it. She leaned into the couch pillows and considered going home, but decided against it. She didn’t want Cole to misunderstand.
Her sleeplessness had nothing to do with Cole; it was her problem. He’d been perfect—tender, decent, and loving. What passed between them might not have meant a change in their relationship for him, but now she loved him more than ever. And the excitement of being with him had resulted in a restlessness she couldn’t define.
On one hand, she’d never felt such joy in her life; on the other, she’d never been this terrified.
What if she didn’t know how to handle this heady love she felt for Cole and his kids? What if she messed up? What if she lost him? She supposed these were questions she’d need to talk over with her shrink.
She didn’t want to think about the Redman case anymore, and her mind needed a distraction from her relationship with Cole. Since she hadn’t had time to check her email all day, she decided to pass the time looking at it. Maybe she would grow drowsy enough to fall asleep on the couch.
An email from the ancestry database she’d submitted her DNA to was buried in the middle of her incoming list. It took her by surprise, even though she’d expected to hear from them for days. She squinted at it while she hovered her finger over the screen, afraid of what it might say. Had they drawn a blank while searching for family matches for her?
She tapped the screen and took in the email at a glance, scrolling to the end for results. Her heart tripped as she went back to read it more carefully.
Cole charged down the stairs, headed for the kitchen. “Mattie!”
“I’m in here, Cole.” Clutching her cell phone, she stood and met him at the doorway.
He swept her into his arms. “You were gone. I thought you’d left.”
“No, I just couldn’t sleep.” She squeezed out of his grip far enough to lift her cell phone to where he could read it. “Look. I heard about my DNA.”
Still holding her with one arm, Cole took the phone, manipulating the screen with his thumb. “They’ve found a match! An immediate family member. A sibling?”
“That’s what it looks like.”
“How in the world? A full sibling. Older or younger?”
“It doesn’t say. I have to email them to find out.”
All three dogs, Belle included, jumped up from their beds to gather at their feet, frolicking with each other in excitement as they soaked up their humans’ mood.
Mattie pressed her hands against Cole’s chest and leaned back so she could see his face. “I have a brother or sister.”
“And maybe they’ll know something about your mom.”
Her heart was full to overflowing, and Mattie couldn’t speak. She hugged Cole as hard as she could, hoping to convey how thrilled she was that he was here to share this glorious news with her. And how much hope she held in her heart for the future.
ALSO AVAILABLE BY MARGARET MIZUSHIMA
Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries
Burning Ridge
Hunting Hour
Stalking Ground
Killing Trail
Author Biography
Margaret Mizushima is the author of the critically acclaimed Timber Creek K-9 mysteries. Her first novel, Killing Trail, was named Debut Mystery of the Month by Library Journal and was an RT Reviewers’ Choice Award nominee. She balances writing with assisting her husband with their veterinary clinic and Angus cattle herd. They live on a small ranch in Colorado where they raised two daughters and a multitude of animals. This is her fifth mystery.
This is a work of fiction. All of the names, characters, organizations, places and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real or actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2019 by Margaret Mizushima
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Crooked Lane Books, an imprint of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.
Crooked Lane Books and its logo are trademarks of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.
Library of Congress Catalog-in-Publication data available upon request.
ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-64385-135-8
ISBN (ePub): 978-1-64385-136-5
Cover design by Melanie Sun
Book design by Jennifer Canzone
Printed in the United States.
www.crookedlanebooks.com
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First Edition: November 2019
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