The Fountain of Infinite Wishes (Dare River Book 5) Read Free

picture of things. Let me tell you what my services include. As I said, I’ll use all the resources available to me to discover your father’s whereabouts. Obviously, the greater the difficulty, the more resources I’ll need to use, but I promise you, if you want me to, I will pursue every lead available. We won’t know whether it will be easy or difficult to locate him until we start the search.”
    They both nodded. He pushed off the desk and walked around to sit in his office chair.
    “Depending on how things go and what we find, we’ll be in constant communication. If you need to reach me, I’m pretty much available day or night. Lucky for me, I don’t need much sleep.”
    The thoughts that came into Shelby’s head had nothing to do with Vander working a case to find their daddy. She imagined showing up at his front door in nothing but a trench coat. Goodness gracious, she really needed to stop watching murder mystery romances on TV. When she came back to the conversation, Vander was looking at her with that quiet intensity of his. Her mouth parted, and for a moment, she could have sworn he’d read her mind. Then he shifted his attention back to Sadie.
    “And how much do you charge?” Sadie asked.
    “Two hundred dollars an hour, plus expenses if there are any,” he told them, handing them each a sheet of paper. “Here’s my fee schedule so we’re all on the same page.”
    His presentation was simple and flawless. Shelby felt Sadie waiting for her to make eye contact and knew her sister was worried about the money. Even though Sadie worked at a craft store and lived simply, she’d wanted to contribute to the cause. Shelby had agreed, but would be covering the lion’s share.
    “If you’d like to confer a moment,” Vander said, standing again. “I can give you a few minutes.”
    Shelby suppressed her surprise. He obviously didn’t have anything confidential in his office, or he’d never have offered to leave them alone here. Or maybe he had them pegged for trustworthy people. Most people assumed so, with their mama being a preacher and all. Then again, he might have a camera in his office. He was a P.I., after all. Gracious, she was overthinking things.
    “Thank you for the offer to confer,” Shelby said, knowing Sadie would do better if they chatted. “A moment would be lovely.”
    He gave them that killer smile of his, as if he’d enjoyed every drop of sugar she’d poured into her Southern drawl. “Ladies, would you like anything else to drink?”
    “No thank you, Vander,” Sadie said, smiling at him as he turned and left them alone.
    “I can handle his fees, Sadie,” Shelby told her the moment the door closed.  
    “I didn’t expect it to be so expensive,” her sister said. “I guess I should have if Gail and all those politicians and celebrities use him. He’s really nice, don’t you think? I didn’t expect that.”
    For some reason, Shelby hadn’t either. She’d known he was handsome and successful, but Vander Montgomery also knew how to listen and manage client relationships better than many of the professionals she worked with. It only made him more attractive in her eyes.
    “Do you think he can find Daddy?” Sadie asked.
    Shelby took in the restrained power emanating from the room and nodded. “If anyone can, he can. But I think we’re asking the wrong question. I rather hate admitting it, but Vander was right to press us about what we expect to find. Are we really prepared to learn things we’re better off not knowing? I got mad at him, but really I…just got mad, is all. I feel like I’m poking a stick in my own hornet’s nest, you know?”
    “I know exactly what you mean,” Sadie said softly. “I get angry, but it also makes me sad.”  
    Suddenly Shelby wasn’t sure what they should do. Vander had dredged up all the anger she’d shoved into a box a long time ago. Their daddy had abandoned their family. Their mama hadn’t really ever explained it