“Celia worked for you?” I asked.
“For the firm, yes. Roxy and Celia managed schedules, client files, and client communication.” He thumbed at Roxy. “That’s how I met this one, the love of my life.”
Roxy grinned, blushing as she blotted her eyes with the handkerchief.
“How long did she work for you?” I asked.
Wyatt hesitated, and Roxy rested a hand on his arm, a quiet gesture that felt like a nudge telling him it was all right to keep going.
“It was the strangest thing,” he said. “One day we were all sitting around talking about the future of the company. The next, Celia comes in and says she’s moving to Arizona.”
“What was in Arizona?”
“She was drawn to holistic living and wanted a town where she could be surrounded by people who shared that interest,” Roxy said. “We tried to talk her into staying, but once we hired her replacement, she moved on.”
“Did you keep in touch?”
“I helped her move, and I stayed with her for a couple of weeks, long enough for her to make a few friends,” Roxy said.
“That was nice of you,” I said. “Did you return to work for the law firm?”
“For a month or so. When Celia was there, I liked working at the office. Once she was gone, it didn’t feel the same. I’d always wanted to do some backpacking, so I talked to Wyatt, and he suggested I do it before we got married and settled down.”
“Do the two of you have any kids?”
Roxy frowned and went quiet, and Wyatt took her hand.
“We want kids, but we’ve never been able to conceive,” he said.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“It’s all right. I’ll admit, it was hard for a while, but we’ve moved on, and we’re both in a much better place now.”
“Did Celia ever tell you she wasn’t Holly’s biological mother?” I asked.
“She didn’t, and I have to say, when Holly stopped by and showed us the paperwork she’d found, we were in shock,” she said.
“Why do you think Celia kept it a secret?”
“As a lawyer, I’ve learned a lot over the years,” Wyatt said. “More than anything, it’s shown me how tangled people’s lives can get. I’ve had clients tell me things I never thought I would hear.”
“You said you talked to Chelle,” Roxy said. “What did she say?”
I filled them in on what I’d learned: the letters Celia sent to Chelle, the fact she knew Holly was adopted, Holly’s discovery of her adoption, and the claim that one of Holly’s birth parents was famous.
“Chelle said he was famous, huh?” Wyatt said. “Interesting.”
“You don’t seem surprised,” I said.
“Whoever her parents are, or were, I’m sure they had their reasons for why they decided not to keep her. Maybe Celia thought staying silent about the adoption was a way to protect Holly.”
It didn’t just protect Holly, though.
It protected the famous father, if in fact he was famous.
I shifted, looking at Roxy. “Did Celia ever confide in you about Lenny, or tell you what he was like and why they split up?”
Roxy took a long sip of wine. “She was tight-lipped about Lenny Cutler. We know she regretted getting married to him, but not much otherwise.”
