Lilac Lane (Chesapeake Shores #14)(73)
Connor had taken a notebook from his pocket as Bryan talked, searched until he found a pen and then jotted copious notes. “The detectives never found a trace?”
“The trail went cold in Baltimore,” Bryan acknowledged. “I moved there from New York, hoping that meant they might still be in the area, but it was a dead end. That was years ago.”
“Yet you continued to look?”
“I couldn’t give up. I can give you all the canceled checks and the reports from the various detectives,” Bryan said. “The last one was dated a month ago. This last one was very thorough. He explored every old lead and even followed up on a couple of new ones he thought he’d found online. He’ll tell you himself that it was as if they vanished. I had no idea how easily someone could do that.”
“Sounds like your wife must have changed her name,” Connor said.
“That’s what the detectives concluded, too.”
“What exactly do you want me to do?” Connor asked. “Are you looking for another investigator to take on the case?”
Bryan shook his head. “No. What I need to know is the legal status of my marriage. I have no idea how to find that out.”
“Given how long ago she left and everything you’ve told me about the way she vanished, I think we could go to court and make a case that she abandoned you and have the marriage declared invalid.”
“Would that be complicated?”
“I don’t think so under these circumstances, but I’ll find out.” Connor’s eyes sparkled. “I can’t help wondering about something.”
“If there’s anything you need to know, just ask.”
“You’ve gone for years, apparently content to just let things be. I assume this is suddenly so important to you for a reason.”
“It’s just time,” Bryan said, skirting any deeper reasons.
Connor gave him a knowing look. “In my capacity as your lawyer, I can accept that, if you say that’s all it is, but as your friend I have to wonder if Kiera is playing some role in this. Everyone in town is speculating about the two of you.”
“Thanks mostly to your grandmother,” Bryan said ruefully, avoiding a direct answer. “Nell has everybody fascinated with just about everything we do these days. I swear there are bets being placed at the bar. I think Mick’s keeping track of them. Unfortunately, I’m not entirely sure if people are betting on Kiera beating me in the cooking competition or on whether we’re going to end up together.”
“Truthfully, I think there are odds on both,” Connor told him, laughing. “My money’s on you winning the bet and Kiera winning you. I’m pretty sure my wife bet exactly the opposite. Just so you know, the odds are pretty even right now.”
Bryan sighed. “Good to know.” If he found that disconcerting, he could only imagine how Kiera was going to feel about it.
Connor grinned at him. “Surely you’ve been here long enough to know that my family and people in this town place bets on just about anything. If romance is so much as hinted at, the ante goes up. It’s just what we do. No offense is meant.”
“None taken, but it does add to the pressure, which is all the more reason to get this marriage situation resolved quickly. Can you help me to figure this out once and for all?”
“Of course,” Connor said, his expression sobering. “I’ll do a little reading and ask a few colleagues in my old office in Baltimore since I’ve not handled anything exactly like this before. We’ll come up with a solution to clarify your legal status.”
“Thanks, Connor.”
“Not a problem. It beats trying to get people out of traffic tickets. I love a good legal challenge. They’re in short supply in Chesapeake Shores, where most people aren’t inclined to sue each other over crazy little disputes.” He held Bryan’s gaze, his expression even more serious. “I assume the end result you’re after is to be free and clear to pursue something with Kiera, right?”
“That, and I’m hoping it will be one more step in helping me to let go of my past, something I should have done years ago.”
“Take it from me, a piece of paper doesn’t always accomplish that,” Connor said. “But I’ll do my part to get you to that point.”
“All I can ask,” Bryan said. The rest would be up to him.
*
Bryan’s text came while Kiera was sitting at the airport waiting for her flight home to Baltimore. After a whirlwind three days in San Francisco, she was surprisingly anxious to get back to Chesapeake Shores despite all the uncertainties awaiting her there.
Relieved that Luke was taking a walk with Kate, she studied the text. Saw Connor tonight. He’s looking into things. See you soon. Anxious to hear about the trip.
Kiera stared at the terse message and felt something shift inside her. If Bryan could, indeed, resolve his marital status once and for all, it would make moot all of those decisions she’d made, then rejected, then made again and again. He would be free and she would have to base her decision on her feelings, not on her perception of right and wrong. Feelings were much trickier than hard truths.
“You look awfully serious,” Luke said, sitting down next to her with a sleeping Kate in his arms. “I thought you’d be eager to get home and tell everybody about the trip.”