Mia gaped at Jarvis. “He what?”
“I spotted tracks at the warming hut and didn’t see the sense in alarming you.” He bore up under the hard glare, lifting her hand to his lips. “It’s the last secret I’ll keep from you.”
She and Ainsley traded a skeptical glance. “This calls for champagne,” Ainsley said brightly. “Four glasses?”
“I’ll have to take a rain check,” Spencer replied. “I can’t stay.”
“That’s a shame,” Ainsley said. “Join us for the toast at least. Have you heard anything more about Ace’s situation?”
Jarvis had heard bits and pieces of the accusations that the former Colton Oil CEO had been switched at birth with another baby at Mustang Valley General. Spencer hadn’t discussed every detail of the investigation with him, but his cousins had started opening up since he’d shared the contents of Herman’s box with Asher.
“I have a working theory,” Spencer said. “It’s taking time to come together.”
The four of them settled around a heavy ironwork table and Ainsley filled three champagne glasses and poured water for Spencer. They toasted to newfound family.
“I’m tracking down verification,” Spencer continued. “Everything in my gut says Micheline Anderson is Luella Smith, the other mother at the hospital the night Ace was born. I’m sure she switched the babies.”
Ainsley studied the bubbles in her glass. “If you’re righ
t, where is the real Ace Colton?”
“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Spencer shook his head. “Micheline’s Affirmation Alliance Group feels like a cult to me. She swears it isn’t and I can’t prove it, yet, but the woman might not be as benign as we thought.”
“How will you be sure one way or another?” Mia asked.
“Time,” he said again. “I’ll keep asking questions and we’ll follow every thread until we have the facts.”
“You’re not the only one with a gut instinct,” Ainsley said. “I have a terrible feeling that Micheline is our Ace’s biological mother.” She sipped her champagne. “This is such a complicated mess.”
“It is,” Spencer agreed. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to the station.”
“Don’t worry.” Jarvis lifted his chin toward the car as his brother drove away. “With Spencer on the case and all of us invested in finding the truth, he’ll figure it out.”
“Maybe,” Ainsley said, thoughtfully.
Jarvis knew Ainsley by reputation more than personal experience, but he couldn’t help worrying that she might do something rash in an effort to find something to help her family.
His family, too.
Fortunately Katrina, Bella and Holden, Bella’s fiancé, arrived, followed by Asher and Willow. It was a fabulous evening of good food and laughter, and the relaxed kind of family dinner he’d never expected to enjoy quite so much.
On the way home, he voiced his concerns about Ainsley to Mia. It was amazing to have someone to talk with about anything and everything. She listened attentively, assuring Jarvis that his rapidly expanding family would find a way to work together to get to the bottom of the Ace Colton mystery and all the other recent troubles.
After kissing Silas goodnight, they retired to their bedroom and, in the luxury of their king-size bed, Jarvis made up for all those nights when he hadn’t done anything more than kiss her. When they were both sated, he pulled her close, as he’d done night after night on that narrow bunk, and reveled in the bliss of having a family of his own.
* * *