The Fountain of Infinite Wishes (Dare River Book 5) by Ava Miles

emotion from the no-nonsense way he’d said it.
    That would make anyone stop wishing, she thought, including her.

Chapter 7

          

    Shelby sure was taking her sweet time getting their beverages with Vander. Sadie wondered if her sister had finally succumbed to flirting with the man. She saw how Shelby looked at him.
    But when Vander walked back into the office and handed Charlie her coffee, it was obvious the last thing on his mind was flirting. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be scowling like that. Shelby came through the door moments later, not meeting her eyes.
    “Let’s sit over at the table,” Vander suggested. “That way, we can be more comfortable.”
    When Shelby sat beside her, Sadie noted her face was ghastly white. What in the world had those two said to each other? She drank her tea and reached for her sister, even though she knew Shelby thought it was unprofessional to hold hands in a meeting. But her sister took it like she needed a lifeline.  
    Sadie caught Charlie glancing at their clasped hands. That woman was as tough as rawhide if you asked her, with a name that suited her. Charlie didn’t like women much, Sadie could tell, or at least not women like them. Sadie needed to quell the urge to make an ugly face.
    “All right, let me walk you through what I think are the best next steps,” Vander said. “There are two paths we could take, so to speak. The formal route would take more time and resources. Charlie and I would check with some of our older police department contacts to see if they remember anyone matching your father’s description. Maybe your mama or your father’s family listed him as missing at some point.”
    “A missing person?” Sadie exclaimed. “I never thought of that.”
    “What’s the other route?” Shelby asked, gripping her hand.
    “We can run his family members in our databases and look up their social media accounts. You’d be amazed how much people put out there, and in some cases we’ve had more luck using Facebook and the like than our databases. Of course, you’d have to decide if it’s worth reaching out to them directly to see what they know. Not everyone wants to go that route.”  
    “Just because your mother doesn’t know where your father is doesn’t mean his family doesn’t,” Charlie told them, interjecting herself into the conversation for the first time.
    Her words arrowed right into Sadie’s heart. Would Daddy really have stayed in touch with the family he’d grown up with but not them, the family he’d made himself?
    “So we might have to make contact with them,” Shelby repeated in a soft tone.
    “Goodness, that would be something, wouldn’t it, Shelby?” Sadie said, wondering what his kin were like. Mama had always said they were mean, but maybe they’d changed. People did. Maybe they had another whole family waiting to embrace them.
    “What do you know about your father’s family?” Vander asked, studying them intently.
    “His people are from Memphis,” Shelby said, bouncing her knee, a clear sign she was anxious. “That’s about all we were told. Mama never had any contact with them that we know of.”
    “They went to the wedding,” Sadie offered. “I’ve seen the photos.”
    Shelby nodded. “Right. I don’t know why they never came around after that. I remember Mama saying his family was unkind to the core.”
    “Mean as rattlesnakes,” Sadie interjected.  
    “Of course, we might not find anything,” Charlie said, “but those are the best bets.”
    “You don’t think he’s dead, do you?” Sadie made herself say.
    “We can’t be one hundred percent sure,” Vander said, “but there’s no death certificate with his name on it in our databases. I wish I could offer you more assurances than that, Sadie, but right now I can’t.”
    Sadie didn’t like thinking her daddy might be dead—even if he had up and left them.
    “We also can’t be certain he’s not incarcerated,” Charlie added, and that