“Kisses are like potato chips, you can’t have just one.”

“I don’t like potato chips.”

“Come on.” I bring her around to look at me with a finger on her chin. “Hey. What’s wrong?” Something in her eyes…

“Nothing. Get your kiss, then get your ass back to your own desk. I’m working here.”

“No. Something’s up. What’s going on?”

She catches my finger and holds it in hers. A bold move for my little Bluebird. “My mom said something…I don’t know whether to believe her or not. She can be more than a little dramatic.”

“What did she say?”

“She said she got a phone call from a PI who wasn’t anyone from here, asking about Beau’s case.”

“Did she get a name?”

“Of course not. That would be helpful.”

“A phone number?”

She shakes her head.

“If he called on her cell or she has caller ID, then we could get the number.”

“I didn’t think to ask. I’m going to have to ask, aren’t I?”

“That would be helpful.”

“Ha, ha. But seriously, why would someone call my mom wanting to talk about Beau’s case? And why identify themselves as a PI?”

“Yeah, when they could’ve used the old law-student-studying-a-local-case ruse. That’s worked for me three times now.”

“I’m serious. What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. Could be a reporter.”

“Beau’s case is old news.”

“Get that number from your mom and we’ll check it out.” I lean in and give her a quick peck on the lips.

She has a thing about not getting caught here in the office. I agree. All I need is my dad coming at me again or Savannah pulling more of her crap. I don’t know what I’m going to do about Savannah. I’ve tried every way I know how to apologize and smooth things over with her, but she just doesn’t want to forgive or forget. It pisses me off that she’s taking it out on Cora though. That shit is not cool at all.

“We have a meeting with my dad in five minutes,” I remind her.

“Yeah, okay.” She’s nose-deep in that report, comparing it to the one she had.

I go back to my seat and check my email. I put out some feelers that I’m hoping will lead to something new in the case. I don’t want to tell Cora about them, because they could come to nothing. Which is pretty much what we’ve got right now—a whole lot of nothing.

There’s a knock at the door, then my dad pokes his head in. “You mind if we start a little early? I’ve got another meeting.”

“Sure,” Cora says, packing up her files.

I do the same and we follow my dad to the conference room. He sits down with a mug of steaming coffee and a big grin on his face. Something’s up. I close the door and take my seat next to Cora.

Dad starts, “As you know, I’ve been working on getting in to see your eyewitness, Damien LeFeaux, at Donovan state prison. Well, I’ve got a meeting with him next Saturday.”

“I swear,” Cora mumbles, “I don’t know what kind of voodoo you Nashes have, but I’m glad to have it on my side.”

“How’d you get him to agree?” I ask.

“I promised to give a message to his girlfriend, who won’t visit him in prison. I also put a hundred bucks in his commissary account. Half now and half after we meet. He’s the easiest and cheapest witness I’ve ever bought access to.”

“I’ll pay you back,” Cora insists.

“No, this one’s on me,” Dad says. “I’m dying to know what Mr. LeFeaux has to say. I have a feeling he’ll fold like a lawn chair the minute I put any kind of pressure on him.”

“We’ve made some headway ourselves.” I tell him about what we’ve learned so far and what we’ve got lined up.

He’s impressed. Hell, I’m impressed. I had no idea we’d get so far so soon. Or that I’d be any good at this investigation thing. When I glance at Cora I can tell she’s impressed too, and not just with our progress, but with me as well. My throat gets tight and my face heats up. I look at Dad, the wall, the papers in front of me, anything to avoid the look Cora is giving me.

“You two seem to be working well together.” Dad glances from me to Cora, looking for her affirmation.

“He’s been a bigger help than I thought he’d be.”

Ouch. But she’s not wrong. I’ve surprised myself. The biggest shock of all is how much I actually like PI work. Maybe hanging out here during the summer did rub off on me or else it’s in my genes. I don’t dare let Dad in on any of this. He’d take it and run all the way to retirement if he even got a hint that he could go and leave me in charge.

“Good,” Dad says. “And everything else is going okay?”

“There was one weird thing,” Cora says. “My mom got a phone call from a man who said he was a private investigator asking about Beau’s case. It’s not anyone from here.”

Dad leans forward in his chair. “Did she get his contact info?”

“No.”

“I suggested checking her caller ID to see if we can get a phone number,” I supply.

“I’d like to know who this PI is and what he wants. And if he is an actual PI, as he claims.” Dad’s gaze moves to Cora. “Can you get the number from your mother?”

“I’ll see what I can do. She’s not always the most helpful person in the world.”

I try not to show my surprise. Cora hasn’t talked much about her parents at all, and I can tell that her mom’s visit upset her. I can also see that the prospect of getting the number out of her mom is about the last thing she wants to do.

Dad nods. “Have your parents ever been contacted by a private investigator before?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Did they hire one to help with Beau’s trial?”

“Definitely not.”

Okaayyy. Sore subject.

Dad rises. “Good work, you two. Keep me in the loop. I’ll let you know about my meeting with Mr. LeFeaux.” He leaves Cora and me alone.

She closes the file she had open, then just sits there.

“Hey.” I take her hand. “Do you want me to talk to your mom?”

“No, that would only make things worse. I’ll take care of it.”

“Are you all right?”

“You’re lucky, you know that? Your dad is a really cool guy. I bet your whole family is cool.”

“Not my little sisters. They’re annoying.”

“You have sisters?”

I can’t believe this is the first time we’ve ever talked about our families. “Two. They’re nineteen and sixteen.”

“No brothers?”

“Nope. Do you have any other siblings besides Beau?”

“He’s it. All I’ve got. Are your parents still married?”

“Yeah. Yours?” Cora would not be happy to know Dad investigated her so I don’t let on that I already know the answer to my question.

“They separated during Beau’s trial. They finalized the divorce about a year after his conviction. I don’t see them often.”

“Why not?”

“It’s awkward. They don’t want to talk about Beau and he’s all I want to talk about.”

“Do they visit him?”

“Never. I’m the only one. ‘His good friend’ Dylan visited a couple of times. Then I guess he moved on. Everybody’s moved on.”

I give her hand a squeeze. “Everyone except you.”

“Everyone except me.” She pulls her hand from mine, gathers her papers together, and rises. “I’m stuck, and now I guess you’re stuck with me.”

“Beau’s lucky to have you and I’m glad to be stuck with you.” She gives me a look like she doesn’t believe me. “No, really. There’s no one I’d rather be stuck with. Wait. That didn’t come out right.”

Her laugh does something funny to the pit of my stomach. “Thank you.” She takes a quick peek at the hallway, then leans down and gives me a kiss.

It’s only the second time she’s kissed me. She’s gone before I can pull her back down for another one.

I head out to follow her and practically run into Savannah. “Oh, hey, sorry.”

She bumps my shoulder as she passes me to go into the conference room. “Yeah, right.”

This is as good a time as any to talk to her. I close the door. “Look, I know I’ve been an asshole to you and I’m sorry for it, but when are you going to get over it?”