He sliced tomatoes and onions as the burgers sizzled in the fry pan. Normally, he’d grill them outside, but he liked the camaraderie of working next to Autumn.
More than he should.
She looked deep in thought as he set their food on the table. Then she looked up with a smile. “Can you hear my stomach growling? Smells great.”
He dropped into the chair beside her. “I’m hungry, too.”
She surprised him by reaching for his hand. “Let’s say grace. Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for this food we are blessed to eat. We ask that You keep Jenny’s daughter safe in Your care and continue to guide us as we seek the truth. Amen.”
“Amen.” He paused, then added, “And please keep Autumn and Bear safe in Your care.”
“Thanks, Jordan.” She squeezed his hand before releasing it. “By the way, do you have a printer here?”
“Yeah, in my office.” He gestured to the study, which was located off the living room. “It’s wireless so you should be able to print from your laptop.”
“Perfect. When we’re finished, I’ll print the phone list for you.” She added tomato to her burger and took a bite. “Hmm, tastes amazing.”
“Thanks.” He couldn’t remember the last time he’d cooked for a woman. Probably for Shiloh, but she’d left him eighteen months ago. Yet this was the second meal he’d made for Autumn in the same day.
Dangerous ground, he reminded himself.
Bear came over to hide beneath the table, apparently done with playing. When Cutie tried to join him, Jordan scooped the puppy up and set her on his lap. “Leave the poor guy alone for a while, would you?”
Cutie whined but then settled down.
“She has a crush on Bear. I think it’s cute.” Autumn smiled at the puppy. “But at five years old, he’s not going to play as much as she’d like him to.”
“She’ll get over it.” He nodded toward the computer. “Anything else I can do to help?”
“Not yet.” She sighed. “I did find that two of the men I’d once arrested who were recently released from jail are still living in Denver. That doesn’t mean they couldn’t be driving back and forth, but since they’re both on parole, it’s not likely.”
He grimaced. “I get that. But you never know. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
“For sure. I plan to follow up with their parole offices and will keep digging.”
They ate in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. He eyed her curiously. “Is there anything else you can tell me about your conversation with Sasha?”
“Not really.” At his disappointed expression, she quickly added, “I would share if I’d learned something important.”
“Okay, thanks.” He trusted her judgement. “I’m anxious to dig into the phone records.”
She nodded. “My boss thought it would be helpful to have your input on Jenny’s recent calls.”
He was glad to assist in any way he could. When they finished eating, he carried the dishes to the sink. As he rinsed and stacked them to deal with later, he heard his printer whirl.
“I’ll help you with the dishes,” Autumn offered.
“They can wait.” He dried his hands on a towel. “I want to look at those phone records.”
Autumn nodded then turned her attention back to her computer screen. He crossed to his office to retrieve the sheets of paper. There were dozens of them, but he knew the last calls Jenny had made would be most important.
Rather than stay in his office, he carried the paperwork into the kitchen to sit beside Autumn. Going through phone records wasn’t something he’d ever done, but he found them straightforward.
Using a pen, he quickly crossed his calls off to help narrow the list. Then he recognized Karen’s number from the Dollar Store and did the same there. He knew Eric’s number, too, and eliminated that one as well.
There were several numbers he didn’t recognize. “Autumn?” When she glanced up, he asked, “Can you give me Sasha’s number so I can take those calls off the list?”
“Sure.” She pulled out her phone and rattled it off.
