And she couldn’t let Nate see how antsy this made her.It reminded her too much of all the trouble that had snowballed out of Aly’s deadbeat mom showing up out of the blue this summer.Nothinggoodcame from a random person showing up out of nowhere.
Particularly not with a murder trial set to start tomorrow.
Sam pushed back from her desk, rubbing her eyes.Too much staring at a screen, following the trail of John Doe/Bowman Lake.She had an idea of him now—no criminal record, no real trouble.Everything she’d unearthed about him matched what he’d told her.
Which still left a lot of questions.And damn if she couldn’t use a custodian.Even if it made more investigative work, stuff she’d have to pay for out of pocket.A custodian would take away the time she and Nate spent on the chore of keeping up with basic office maintenance.
She needed to call his references, make sure those were on the up and up, and then tomorrow she’d call the number he’d given her and offer him the job.
Well, she supposed she should get Nate’s approval first.She might be the boss, and own the building, and really be in charge of everything, but it didn’t feel right to make decisions likethiswithout discussing it with Nate.
She called Bo’s references.She hadn’t expected them to be anything but good—who would put bad references on their application—but she was a little surprised.They weren’t glowing, which would have made her suspicious.They mentioned he was a little flighty, a little lazy, but there was always an odd kind of affectionate tone to it.And they all knew his story—and had wished him well in his pursuit of answers.
At least, according to them.
Sam hung up with the last reference, tapping her pencil against her desk.What were the chances this was just… on the up and up?Bo was some long-lost Bennet relative whose story they would uncover without it upending everything.
Slim to none.
She heard the back door creak open and watched as Nate strode in through the back entrance.He didn’t look any more frustrated than he had when he’d left, so that was good.
“How’d it go?”
Nate shrugged.That edge from this morning was still there—in the way he held himself, in the way his eyes didn’t quite have that normal focus about them.“Cal said it was good.Vanderbilt’s good.The case is strong.He seemed… steadier after it.So, it was good to go over it all, get a better sense of the timeline.The police will be the first line of questioning after opening remarks, so we’re just spectating tomorrow.”
“Good.”She could press on that, because whatever had made Cal steadier hadn’t made Nate any steadier.“Did you tell them…”
Nate shook his head.“Not yet.”
Sam didn’t argue with him over that.Maybe heshouldtell his family about a mysterious look-alike, but if the situation was reversed, she sure as hell wouldn’t want to.Not in the midst ofall this.
And she wasn’t going to push him on the conversation, ask if it was okay to hire him, so…
She got to her feet.“You ready to go see that house?”
“Yeah.We can walk.”
“That close?”
“I figured if I’m not taking up Landon and Aly’s offer to live at the ranch, I ought to have a reason better than it weirds me the fuck out.I know Landon’s nothing like Dad, but he looks so much like him being there is like weird flashes of an altered past.Being able to walk to work is a decent reason they won’t question.”
“I happen to recommend it, though in the winter I’d suggest living in the same building.”She gestured to the ceiling, her apartment above them.
“Well, unless you’ve got a hidden extra room up there, guess I’ll have to go this route.”
Which was a joke and certainly shouldn’t feel… awkward.There was very little spaceup there.Just enough for her.
And he’d never ventured inside.It would be too weird if he did.
Why?
Definitely not the time to wade into that mental landmine.They walked out the front, Nate waiting for her with his hands shoved into his pockets while she locked the door.Then they walked through the chill, the encroaching dark.
“Maybe I miscalculated on the walking thing,” Nate grumbled, flipping the collar of his coat up to cover his neck.
“I like it.”
He slid her a disgusted glance.“You’re a masochist.”
