He slows the car and I look out the window to see that we are already at the cemetery. “We’re here already.” My belly tightens with nerves.
Logan finds street parking and turns off the car. He leans forward and kisses me. “Her name is Elena Shaw, and she was sixty-six years old when she died.”
I nod. “Do we have any idea where she’s buried?”
Logan shakes his head. “Not exactly but the newer graves are on the western side. That narrows down our search considerably.”
My throat is so dry, I can hardly speak. We get out of the car and as we stroll to the entrance of the cemetery, Logan takes my hand. Having his big masculine hand around mine stops it from shaking. We walk through the graves, some with freshly laid flowers. We slow down when we got to the newer graves, reading every tombstone.
“Does this make you sad?” I ask Logan.
“Not really unless it’s a small child. That always makes me teary, especially at work. It’s sad when bad things happen to children,” he says. “But death is part of life. They go hand in hand and when you do the job I do, you have to accept that else you’ll be crying every day.”
“I should be tougher since I’m a nurse, but we rarely have bad news in midwifery. Plus, this is different, seeing these graves knowing that all these people are gone.” My voice is shaky.
Logan squeezes my hand. “I know what you mean.”
We keep walking and a few minutes later, I spot it and grind to a halt. “There it is.” We approach it slowly as if someone will jump out from behind one of the tombstones and demand to know what we are doing.
We edge closer and read the epitaph. The dates match my estimation. “I think it’s her.”
“I think so too. So, the next thing is to look at the surrounding graves and eliminate each unlikely person,” Logan says.
We circle the neighboring graves. One is a woman who died in her nineties. Another is a man, but his age doesn’t fit the profile I’ve come up with for my dad. East of Elena’s grave is the grave of a man whose name was Edgar Patterson. His age seems about right. My chest squeezes when I see that he was married and a father of three children and a grandfather of two. Nausea rises up my throat, but I tell myself it doesn’t mean anything.
Logan takes out a notebook and scribbles on it.
We find the grave of another man who fits the profile. His name is Stan Devon. He was married too and has two children and a grandson. Half an hour later, we have two more likely candidates and when we leave the cemetery, we’re pretty sure that if my father is indeed buried in this cemetery, it’s one of the four men whose names and details Logan has jotted down.
“You look exhausted,” Logan says when we get into the car.
“Yeah, but I’ll be fine.”
“We’ll figure it out. I have a friend who is a PI, and he owes me a favor.”
“Thanks,” I tell him. “Please let me know if I need to pay anything.”
“You won’t.”
We are both quiet on the way back to my office but it’s comfortable silence.
“Are you going to be okay driving to Lexi’s?” Logan asks me. “If you like, I can pick up Ivy for you.”
Gratitude fills me at the offer. I could do with a few more minutes alone. Eva has already left for the day, and I’ll be alone in the office. “I’d like that,” I tell him quietly. “I’ll text Lexi and tell her.”
“Take as much time as you want. I’ll mind Ivy,” Logan says.
“Thanks.”
Logan ferries the car seat from my car to his and then he gathers me into a tight hug. “Take care.”
“I will. Thanks again.”
I stand looking at his truck until it disappears from view. Then I trudge into my office. Being close to finding out who my father is has left me feeling raw and teary. It has also hit home that I’ll never meet him. I’ll never get a chance to know him and even ask him questions only he could have answered.
The first thing I do is to text Lexi and let her know that Logan is on the way to pick Ivy up. I make myself a cup of coffee and open my computer. Armed with the four names that Logan and I zeroed in on, I type each at a time into a web browser.
I’m hoping for pictures and maybe some resemblance. I see faces and their relations but an hour later, I’ve learned nothing except added on to my confusion. I turn off the computer, rinse out my coffee cup, and close the office.
Chapter 20
Logan
I’m excited as I pull up at Valerie and Morris’ home. I turn off the car and check to see that I have everything I need for my very first solo outing with Emma. We’re going to the park and despite Vanessa’s reassurance that I’ll be just fine, there’s a part of me that’s a little nervous.