LITMIR.BIZ

       CHAPTER ONE

      Ten years later

      CALLEY GRAHAM paced across the second floor of the Double G ranch house, ignoring the chirp of the cell phone in her purse. She’d arrived early for her job interview at Finders Keepers—two hours early, as a matter of fact. Patience had never been one of her virtues.

      It had been three days since she’d seen their advertisement for a temporary private investigator in the classifieds section of the San Antonio Express-News. And it had only taken her about five seconds to decide this was her opportunity to escape. After a little planning, she’d made a furtive call for an interview.

      Her first step toward freedom.

      Calley had packed her suitcase this morning, leaving San Antonio before sunrise to avoid detection. Then she’d waited at a coffee shop until it was time to make the short drive to Trueblood, Texas. The housekeeper had let her in the front door and directed her to the offices located on the second floor of the sprawling ranch house.

      Finders Keepers was run by Dylan Garrett and his twin sister, Lily Garrett Bishop. With a little research, she’d learned that the ranch had apparently been in the Garrett family for generations. After careers in law enforcement, both Dylan and Lily had returned home to start an agency that specialized in finding missing persons.

      Calley closed her eyes, mentally reviewing her job pitch. Unfortunately, graduating from a home study course on private investigation didn’t sound very impressive. So she’d padded her résumé with a degree in criminal justice and listed several cases of freelance investigative work. Thankfully, the confidential nature of this business made it impossible for the Garretts to verify her work experience. She wanted this job too much to ruin her chances by telling the truth.

      The sound of a plaintive whine made her open her eyes. At her feet sat a full-grown Irish setter, its big brown eyes gazing dolefully up at her. He raised one paw and placed it on her knee.

      She laughed and knelt down, stroking the dog’s silky head. “Hello, sweetheart,” she murmured. “What’s your name?”

      The setter scooted closer to her, his eyelids drooping as Calley scratched behind his ears.

      “I used to have a dog just like you,” she said, a lump forming in the back of her throat as she thought of Trixie, her cuddly cocker spaniel. Trixie had been gone when Calley had returned from the hospital ten years ago. Her mother had sold Calley’s pet, fearing it might carry too many germs. She took a deep breath and swallowed hard, refusing to let the pain of the past overwhelm her. She needed to concentrate on her future. With a little luck, it would start today.

      “His name is Shiloh,” a voice said behind her.

      She stood and turned to see a young woman with chin-length auburn hair and sparkling green eyes.

      Calley stroked Shiloh’s head. “He’s a wonderful dog.”

      “And ornery,” the woman said, moving behind the wide oak desk. “He steals the pens off my desk and buries them in the south pasture.” She reached into a drawer and pulled out a box that made Shiloh trot up to her, his tail wagging furiously behind him.

      The woman dropped a dog biscuit into his mouth, then shooed him onto a braided rug near the bookcases along the wall. Brushing her hands together, she turned back to Calley. “I’m Carolyn Mulholland, the office assistant for Finders Keepers. Are you here about a case?”

      “Actually, I’m here to interview for the job. My name is Calley Graham.”

      Carolyn’s eyes widened. “Oh, I’m sorry. You’re early. And I guess I didn’t expect you to be so young.”

      “I’m twenty-five,” Calley said, then wished she’d bitten her tongue instead. What if the Garretts held her age against her? Maybe she should have added a couple more years to her already fictitious résumé.

      “May I get you a cup of coffee or a soda while you wait?” Carolyn motioned toward the minikitchen area behind her desk. “It may be a while yet.”

      “No, I’m fine,” Calley assured her. Then her purse began to chirp again.

      Carolyn furrowed her brow. “Is that your phone?”

      “Yes.” Calley reached reluctantly inside her purse and pulled out the small cellular.

      “I’ll give you some privacy,” Carolyn said, misreading Calley’s reticence and walking into one of the inner offices.

      With a resigned sigh, Calley opened the flip phone, hesitated a moment, then switched it off. She couldn’t deal with her mother right now. And she definitely couldn’t tell her about the impending job interview. Not when Liv Graham routinely sabotaged Calley’s bids for independence. All for her own good. Or at least, that’s how her mother saw it.

      It had started when she’d taken Calley out of high school after the heart condition had been diagnosed, claiming it would be easier and safer to home-school her. Then she’d scared away all of Calley’s friends, warning them that if they inadvertently infected Calley with a cold or the flu, they could kill her.

      But it was her mother’s fear that was contagious. It had torn her parents’ marriage apart. Her father was now remarried and living in Florida, leaving Calley alone to deal with her mother’s obsessive love. Liv Graham had been so afraid that her daughter would die that she hadn’t let her live.

      Now

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