“Thanks, but no.” Evangeline pulled a chair over beside her. “You’re sweet to try to fix us up, but it’s not a good idea.”
Julie shrugged. “You guys have a lot in common.”
Sinclair’s sinful body and devilish smile popped into her head.Easy, girl.
“Well, there must be someone because you’re smiling pretty big.”
There is someone. Someone I adore.“Can I run through the sign-in list from yesterday?”
On a snort laugh, Julie rummaged through a pile of papers and handed Evangeline a small stack. “Here you go.”
Over the next thirty minutes, she scoured those pages looking for Joey’s name. No Joey Thomason, no JT Thomason, no JT. She wished she had a picture to show Julie, but there had been hundreds of guests at yesterday’s open house, and she doubted Julie would have remembered him, especially if he never checked in.
Tucker rolled into reception. “Hey, darlin’, whatcha doing here?”
“Looking for a name on a list.”
“Hmm.” He scowled. “What’s wrong?”
“I saw this guy—”
Tucker chuckled. “You can’t use the sign-in sheet for personal—”
“It’s someone I know who may be lying about his identity. He used the firing range yesterday. And I don’t trust him.”
“You don’t trust anyone, honey cakes,” Tucker said. “So, where are you ringing in the New Year?”
She hesitated.
“I’m throwing an impromptu party,” he continued. “If you’re not busy, come on by.”
“Thanks, but I can’t.”
Julie cleared her throat, but Evangeline didn’t look over at her.
“No problem,” Tucker said. “Happy New Year.” He ambled back toward his office and she continued reviewing the sign-in sheets.
“Hey, Julie, if I showed you a picture of this guy, would you be able to ID him?”
Julie nibbled her bottom lip. “Probably not. I talked to a zillion people yesterday.”
Evangeline returned the list to her. “Have a fun night.” Feeling like she was making zero progress, she texted her sister on her way out.
Fifteen minutes later, she parked at the familiar coffee shop. As she pulled open the front door, she spied her sister sitting alone, her baby bump bigger than ever. Evangeline sat across from her. “Hey, there.”
Hannah’s smile was laced with sadness. “Thanks for meeting me.”
“What’s wrong? Is the baby okay?”
“He’s great. You want something to drink?”
“It can wait.” Hannah’s trembling hands were clasped on the table. Evangeline took hold of them. “What’s wrong Hannah-Boo?”
Tears welled in her eyes. When they spilled down her cheeks, Evangeline swiped them away. “I’ve given this a lot of thought and…I’m giving the baby up for adoption.”
“What?”
Several patrons turned in their direction. Too stunned, Evangeline sat there staring at her sister.
