Pushing Up Bluebonnets by Leann Sweeney

back to Aunt Caroline,'' Kate said. ''Nice to meet you two.''
      She started toward the corridor and I followed. ''Listen, I think Scott could be a help. Can you call me when Aunt Caroline's ready to be released and I'll head back to Methodist then?''
      ''Sure. But I need to get out of here. I don't like that deputy one bit.''
      ''Gee. Who would have known?'' I said.
      Her fair skin colored again. ''That obvious, huh?''
      ''He liked what he saw and was trying to be funny. You're gorgeous, after all. Men notice and that's normal.''
      She blinked several times and I could tell she was fighting tears. Kate needed to get over her last romantic debacle—and soon.
      ''I'll call.'' She turned, walked quickly toward the elevator and nearly slammed right into a man with steel gray hair who was coming at her at about the same swift pace.
      He then rushed by me and said, ''Have you got that doctor's pager number, Scott?''
      Uncle Elliott, I presumed.
      ''I saw her. She's hurt bad.'' Scott's eyes filled.
      Jeez. First Kate, now him.
      Wells stood and offered his hand to the new arrival. ''Greg Wells. Montgomery County Sheriff's Department.''
      ''Elliott Richter. I can't thank you enough for being here to protect my granddaughter. I'm arranging for security and private nurses to start as soon as possible.''
      Granddaughter, huh? So she was probably Katarina's child. I noticed Scott had his cell phone out, probably to page the doctor, but before you could say Verizon , a scrubs-clad medical person came out of the ICU and noticed the phone. ''No cell phones,'' she said sternly, then hurried down the corridor.
      Scott snapped the phone shut. ''I'll go to the lobby, make the page and wait for Dr. Vickers to answer.'' He still looked taken aback by seeing JoLynn and probably needed a break from this place.
      ''Thank you,'' Richter said.
      Meanwhile, I'd been quietly inching closer to Richter and now said, ''Abby Rose. I was the one who—''
      ''Yes,'' he said, looking a little surprised. ''Chief Boyd told me you discovered it was our JoLynn. Thank you so much, Ms. Rose. But why are you here?'' He was a handsome, distinguished man and I was betting his woven blue shirt cost as much as my entire wardrobe.
      ''Please, call me Abby. And I'm here because, well, after I saw JoLynn, I couldn't get her out of my head. I'm a PI specializing in adoption searches and she wrote to me last year asking for help.''
      Richter looked bewildered by this information. ''She wrote to you?'' he said.
      ''Yes. I recognized her handwriting from something she scribbled on my business card—the card found in her car. What is her adoption situation, by the way? She didn't elaborate in her letter.''
      He ignored my question, saying, ''Chief Boyd merely said you were an investigator who helped him. Anyway, I thank you for everything you've done and for your continued interest, but I think we can take care of JoLynn now.'' Richter turned back to Deputy Wells.
      I was being dismissed. But maybe not because this guy was an arrogant SOB. Nope. I've learned to read people pretty well since I started investigating, and I'd seen fear in Richter's intelligent blue eyes before he'd turned away.
      I cleared my throat. ''Um, Chief Boyd asked for my help and I've agreed. He's stretched pretty thin up there in Pineview.''
      ''I can hire someone, since you seem to specialize. I already have people lined up, so one more person won't be difficult to find.''
      ''Who will you hire? Will they care as much as my sister and I do?'' I said.
      ''Now I'm confused,'' he said.
      ''My sister, Kate, is a psychologist and she evaluates my clients. She could be a big help when your grand daughter wakes up—and from what Kate said after visiting JoLynn a few minutes ago, she's not in a very deep coma. She'll probably need psychological support to deal with the emotional and physical trauma when she regains