I stared at her, still lost.
She made a frustrated sound. "I want to help you find your biological dad."
I looked around the parking lot as if it could offer answers to the odd circumstance I found myself in. "What makes you think I'm looking for him?"
"Please, I know you. Even though you say you don't care, you do. I know I would if I suddenly found out I had a dad out there I didn't know about." She stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Let me help. I'm your sister. I know we haven't been getting along, but I'd like to fix that."
I rubbed my forehead. There was nothing I'd like more than to take her up on her offer. Invite her upstairs and share a cup of tea or coffee while we discussed the curveball I'd been thrown about my parentage.
But there was a vampire in my living room and a group with designs on my person. Jenna's presence couldn't have come at a worse time.
"You're right. I am looking for him," I confessed. "But I don't see how you can help. I have contacts that you don’t, and I’ve already put out inquiries. I'll hear something eventually."
Jenna’s shoulders sagged in disappointment.
"Thanks for the offer, though. I really appreciate it." The words didn't feel like enough. Already I could feel Jenna pulling back, a response to my rejection.
"If I can think of a way for you to help, I'll let you know," I told her.
She nodded, the hope she'd had earlier gone and her expression closed and guarded.
"How's my niece?" I asked, hoping the change of subject would soothe the sting of my earlier decision.
Like I knew it would, Jenna's face brightened at the mention of her daughter.
"Good. The doctors are actually a little surprised at how well she's doing."
Vampire blood had a way of doing that. I would be surprised if Linda got even so much as a sniffle for the next few years.
If there was one thing I could say for my sire, he'd come through when it counted. I would have given anything, promised him my freedom to make sure that little girl had a chance at a full life. Instead, he'd shared his blood freely, not asking for a single thing as payment.
Relief and pride had smoothed out some of the frown lines at the corners of Jenna's eyes. None of which had been there until her daughter's brief stint in the hospital. It had aged her, and she was just beginning to come back from the experience.
An awkward silence fell between us.
I gestured to my apartment. "I'd better get in there. We still have a little work to do before we're done for the night."
Jenna glanced in the direction of my door. "I take it he's a coworker, then."
"I guess you could call it that. I'm taking him on temporarily to see how he does in my business." I nodded than shook my head.
Jenna looked at me in surprise. "Business? I thought you were a courier. What business is this?"
Ah, crap. I'd forgotten that I hadn't shared my brief encounter with unemployment.
"I'm a private investigator," I found myself saying. It wasn't entirely a lie. I did investigate problems when the occasion warranted. I also did errands and occasionally recovered heirlooms for clients.
Jenna's expression was thoughtful. "That actually makes a lot of sense."
I couldn't help my surprise at that.
Seeing it, her smile was rueful. "You were always good at putting the pieces together. You were way more observant than the rest of us, too."
That wasn't the response I'd been expecting. Most times when my former job came up, it had been followed with a prod to get a real career or go back to school.
This was way more understanding than was typical with my family.
"I'm glad you found something you like doing, Aileen." Jenna's words were sincere as she started to move toward her car.
