Dr. Meadows messaged back her contact where he could share the database, too. That baby…was she related to him? His mom had been a troubled woman. Grandmother had reiterated that more times than Chay had needed her to, but as he’d gotten older, he realized she’d done it so he’d know it wasn’t him. He hadn’t been what had made her leave.
Which was a nice message for a child, but for a man who made his living watching people and looking for the truth, it was uncomfortable. His mom had left because being on the reservation wasn’t the life she wanted. Having a kid wasn’t for her, either.
He hoped she’d found what she’d been looking for in Atlanta, but given that she’d died of an overdose, he was pretty sure she hadn’t.
Ava couldn’t get Chay out of her mind all afternoon. Gracie had a good nap, and then when the baby woke up she was in a better mood. Ava put the Navajo blanket on the floor and let the baby roll around on it and play with the soft toys that Ava hadn’t been able to resist buying.
Watching Gracie, she had the local country music station playing in the background. The baby was trying to roll over but seemed to do it accidentally, which always surprised her and made Ava laugh.
The next few days were similar. While she was at work, they had a day-care center in the hospital where she left Gracie. Fern was starting to get stronger and was willing to talk more, but not about what had happened. Ava knew that each of her patientstook their own time to talk about their trauma, so she just kept showing up so that Fern knew she wasn’t alone.
Dr. Meadows asked her to come by her office. Ava was a bit surprised when she got there and Chay was in the office.
“The DNA results are in. Gracie is one-quarter Diné and shares DNA markers with people in the region.”
“That’s wonderful. Officer Benally also thought her blanket was familiar. Could he be related?”
“It’s hard to tell from the just the DNA. Do you have any siblings?” Hannah asked Chay.
“None that I know of. If she’s Diné, I think she should be raised with her people,” Chay said.
“I agree. It’s probably a good idea to get Marg in here so she can start working with tribal authorities.”
“I’m happy to facilitate that. Thank you for calling me in with the results. Did she share markers with anyone else?”
“Just you and your grandmother,” Dr. Meadows said.
“Oh, wow,” Ava said. Chay had said no siblings that he knew of. So, there was a possibility he had relatives he didn’t know about…
Chay just nodded. His face told her it was a closed subject, and she was happy to leave it be for now. Marg would work with the tribal authorities to find a home for Gracie. Which was a good thing. The little girl deserved a happy, solid home life.
“Any more information on Annie Ross?” Ava asked.
“Not much. The sheriff has an open investigation. Now that we know Gracie was Annie’s daughter, we can maybe help piece together more of Annie’s story.”
Everyone agreed that would be good.
“I’m done for the day if you want to come and hang out with Gracie,” Ava offered as she and Chay left the office.
“I’m…not sure she’s related to me,” he said haltingly.
“Well, I guess the DNA isn’t conclusive and that blanket might be tied to your family.”
“Maybe,” he said.
“You’re pretty good with her. I think she’s been missing you,” Ava said. Sort of making that up, but there had been times when Gracie had seemed to look around the house as if expecting to spot Chay.
“Sure she has. I have to get back to the office, but I’ll stop by tomorrow if that’s an open invite,” he said.
“It is.” Ava wanted Gracie to know her relatives, even if she was placed in another home—knowing Chay going to be a good familial bond for the baby as she grew up.
“It’s a date,” he said.
“A date?”
“Yup.”
“Okay, bring some coffee cake or doughnuts to go with the coffee then,” she said.
