Dark Legacy by Jen Talty (best non fiction books to read .TXT) 📕

little worried. Could I trouble you to just check on her or something? I don’t mind paying you.”

“I can do that,” he said, but the way he tilted his head indicated that he wasn’t buying the friend part.

Shit. She could get fired for that one.

“I’m just concerned, and I want to know she’s okay.”

“You just want me to get a visual? Or do you need me to contact her?”

Shannon looked at the sky for an answer. Deep down in the pit of her stomach, she knew that something wasn’t right with Belinda, and she couldn’t let it go. “Just a visual. Her name is Belinda Montgomery, and she—”

“Name is all I need. If I want more, I’ll call,” he said.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. And no need to pay me. Now, what’s the second?”

“This one is a little bit more detailed, and I’ll insist on compensating you for your time.” She reached for her pendant, running her finger up and down the feathered sides. Not a day went by that she didn’t wear the necklace. It drove her mother crazy, but only because of where it had come from and the fact that Shannon still had a relationship with her father’s second wife.

“If it makes you feel more comfortable, your case will be confidential. The only other person who will know the details, or your name, will be Katie, my partner.”

“I can’t say that makes me feel better. This is pretty personal and not easy for me.” But she wasn’t going to turn back now. She just needed a few deep breaths. In through the nose and out through the mouth. Slow and controlled. “I want to find the child I gave up for adoption.” Her fingers trembled over the silver jewelry dangling from her neck. Her gaze darted toward the parking area, focusing on Jackson’s shiny pickup truck. A diesel. It had rumbled many a late night, loud and proud. But it always calmed her nerves, even when it woke her up.

Jackson was one of the few men who always made her feel safe.

“You want me to find the kid you gave up?” Jackson’s tone had an edge she’d only heard when he got upset with the lawn guy for ruining his rose bush. Jackson hadn’t ever yelled at the groundskeeper, but the anger lacing his words was more terrifying than any screaming match could be.

Shannon swallowed the thick lump in her throat. This was turning out to be harder than she’d thought. Her fears over being judged ran wild, and she knew that she read too much into Jackson’s attitude. “This may sound odd, but I just want to know if she’s okay. That she was placed in a good home.”

He raked a hand through his long hair. “I’m sorry. I’m going to have to say no. I don’t do adoption cases under any circumstances.” He turned his back and leaned against the deck with his arms folded across his chest.

Closed-off. And the tension that filled the air nearly choked her. The therapist in her wanted to ask probing questions to tackle the problem at hand. To figure out why adoption cases were a trigger for him. But she reminded herself that he wasn’t her client, and this was about her finding her daughter and getting some closure for her past.

“Why not?” she asked. The thumping of her heart roared in her head. “I would think you’d get a lot of cases like this in your line of work.” She didn’t care what his issues were, only why he didn’t want to do her a favor.

Or at the very least, take her money.

“And I always turn them away. It’s nothing personal—”

“Like hell.” She took him by the shoulder and yanked until his body twisted. She caught his gaze and gasped at the judgment staring back at her. “This is very personal to me, and you’re not only saying no—which, okay, you have that right—but you’re also condemning me and my decision, and that’s not fair. You don’t know my history. Or anything about why I might have been completely incapable of raising a child at sixteen.”

He let out a long breath, nodding as if he understood. But he didn’t. How could he? “Please understand, I’m not judging what you did. I do, however, have a problem with what you’re asking me to do.”

“I think you owe me the reason why, at least,” she said under her breath. For years, she’d let her mother pretend that Shannon had never had a baby. She allowed the shame her mother felt to become hers. Not anymore. And she’d be damned if she would let Jackson—or anyone for that matter—make her feel shitty for one of the most difficult decisions she’d ever had to make.

“Do you want the truth?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder, his dark orbs conveying a resolve that could only mask a crushing pain. She saw it every day in the eyes of the patients she treated.

The same look stared back at her every morning.

And today, she could see it cut deep into Jackson’s psychological make-up. Her pulse steadied as she braced herself for his explanation. “I expect nothing less from you,” she said.

“You might not like what I have to say.”

“I don’t like what you’ve said so far, so I don’t think you’re going to make it worse. At least maybe I’ll understand and respect your decision.”

“I don’t think it’s right for birth parents to insert themselves into the lives of the children they gave up. Maybe if it were the other way around, and the child wanted to know… But even then, I’d still decline the case. I’ve seen what it can do to families.”

“But you’ll spy on a woman because her husband thinks she’s cheating.” She smoothed her hands down her slacks.

“You’re right. I will,” he said with a steely tone. “I’m not the only private investigator in town. I can recommend someone who will do an excellent job. In the meantime, I’m still happy to check in