Aponi stood in the doorway as Ava got Gracie out of her car seat. “Welcome to my home.”
“Thank you. I’m so happy to be here,” Ava said. When they were all inside, she looked around, trying to be subtle to see if Chay had come over.
“He’s not here,” Aponi said.
“Of course. He’s busy with work.” Ava didn’t believe for a second that he needed to work this case 24-7.
“There’s more to life than work,” Aponi said. “But Chay is very good at his job.”
“He is. I know that he won’t stop until he finds the men who took Fern.” She saw a photo of Chay on the wall in his tribal officer uniform. “You should be very proud of him.”
“I am,” Aponi said. “I’ll make us some tea, and then can I hold Gracie?”
“You can. Actually, I can put the tea on if you want to hold her.”
Aponi agreed. “It’s been so long since I’ve held a little one.”
“Since Chay?”
“No, his father.”
Aponi sang a little song in Navajo to the baby as they waited for the kettle to boil. Ava knew she shouldn’t pry into Chay’s past, but she wanted to understand him. To figure out if she was being dumb by feeling hurt and still wanting him to be a part of her life.
“Where is Chay’s dad? He’s only mentioned his mom,” Ava said. “Don’t answer that. I’m just trying to figure stuff out, and I shouldn’t go behind his back.”
Aponi looked at her with wise eyes. “You like my grandson.”
“A lot. But he’s not making it easy.”
“He wouldn’t. Easy isn’t Chay’s way.”
Which made perfect sense. But really wasn’t helping her much. The kettle boiled and they had their tea, moving to the living room so Aponi could watch Gracie crawl around on the floor.
Ava started to relax and, instead of keeping her thoughts on Chay, saw how much Gracie enjoyed being with the older woman. “Did your people find out any more about her DNA relatives?”
“Just the connection to Diné. Chay has run a search to find out if you have any other DNA matches that weren’t known to you, but I think that was a dead end as well.”
“It’s always been just us. His father died when Chay was a baby and his mother died when he was a teen. I’m not sure if she had other kids. I think the strongest possibility is that she did. That this child would have been his half brother’s.”
Ava didn’t want to think what that would mean to Chay. Having a sibling he didn’t know about. Was that other man alive? No one knew.
Aponi shared fun stories from Chay’s childhood, and Ava stayed until nine before she left to drive home. As much as she wanted to go by Chay’s place, she resisted. When he was ready, he’d reach out to her.
Chapter 14
Pulling into her driveway just after ten, Ava was glad to see her home. It had been a long, emotional day and really all she wanted was to get Gracie changed and to bed so she could get some sleep. Put this day behind her.
The porch light was out, becauseof coursethe bulb would die on this already crappy day. She got Gracie out of the car, holding the baby with one hand as she fumbled with her keys. As soon as she got to the front door and put her key in the lock, the door swung open without her turning the key.
Freaking out a little but keeping calm because of Gracie, she removed her key and double-timed it back to the truck, getting in the driver’s side and hitting the lock button as soon as they were both inside.
Her pulse was going so fast that she was sure the neighbors could hear her heart. Gracie was watching her with those sweet, innocent eyes. She stroked the baby’s back as she hit the speed dial for her mom.
“Ava—”
“Someone broke into my house, Mom.”
“Where are you? Are you safe?”
