Cranberry Point (Cedar Cove #4)(26)

"What should I do?" she asked.

"Look into his background," Will answered promptly.

"But..." Olivia's mind whirled. "Mom would find out if I started making inquiries about Ben and she'd be furious."

"Then hire someone."

Going behind her mother's back went against her sense of lightness and propriety. "I'd feel better if we discussed this whole thing with Mom first."

"No way." Her brother was adamant. "She'd accuse us of interfering in her life."

"Aren't we?" Olivia didn't think they should dismiss the obvious.

"Yes, but it's for her own good. Don't do it yourself. This investigation should be handled by a professional."

Olivia was of two minds on the matter. Instinct told her she could trust Ben, but at the same time her brother was right. They knew next to nothing about this man who'd become so important to their mother.

"Do you know a private investigator?" Will asked.

"I do. Roy McAfee is a retired Seattle detective. He's good."

"Hire him and don't put it off, Olivia. This could be important."

She sighed unhappily. "All right. I'll talk to Roy."

"Good." Her brother sounded as if a burden had been lifted from his shoulders. "So how's everyone in good ol' Cedar Cove these days?" he asked, the change in his mood immediate.

"Just fine."

"How's Grace?"

Funny he should ask about her friend. "She's fine, too."

"Do you still get together every week?"

"Wednesdays for aerobics class, but that's about it. I don't see her as much as I'd like."

"How come?"

Again Olivia wondered at his sudden interest in Grace. "She's pretty involved with the Dog and Bachelor Auction, which is happening next month. Why all the questions?"

"No reason. It's just that I know you're such good friends."

Funny he didn't ask about Justine and Seth or James and Selina. She would've savored the opportunity to brag about her grandchildren.

"We e-mailed each other for a while," Will confessed.

Grace had never mentioned that to Olivia. "Really?"

"It was no big deal—we're just friends."

The conversation stopped and started after that, with a few more questions about Grace, until finally he ended it. Olivia returned to her dinner plans. Not until she was putting the finishing touches on the grilled Pacific salmon, wild rice and steamed asparagus did it hit her. Her brother was obviously concerned about their mother's relationship with Ben and perhaps rightly so; that remained to be seen. But he had another agenda. And it had to do with Grace.

He seemed awfully curious about her, Olivia mused. More than once he'd drawn the conversation back to her friend, asking her what Grace was up to and whether she was seeing anyone. If they'd been e-mailing each other, then wouldn't he know how Grace was doing?

Just as she started to put a few ideas together—very tentatively—the back door opened and in walked Jack. "You're looking thoughtful," he observed, standing in the doorway off the kitchen.

"Jack!" Not hesitating, she flew into her husband's arms and spread eager kisses across his face.

Jack locked his hands at the small of her back, smiling down on her. "A husband could get accustomed to this sort of reception." He kissed her soundly in return.

Olivia rested her head against his shoulder and sighed, loving the comfort of Jack's arms around her. "I just had the most...disconcerting conversation with my brother."

"What about?"

Olivia told him but excluded the portion about Will's repeated questions regarding Grace.

"Are you going to contact Roy?" Jack asked when she'd finished.

"I suppose I should. Will was concerned and although I think he's overreacting, it can't hurt to know for sure. I guess there's always a chance that Ben's a con man. The clever ones usually have the most convincing aliases. But the truth of it is, I hate the thought of Mom finding out what we've done."

Jack didn't say anything for a long moment. "You can trust Roy not to let any of this out," he finally said.

"I realize that."

Jack shrugged. "Personally, I don't think having Ben investigated is all that necessary."

"Me neither," she concurred, but she'd decided to do it— if only to reassure her brother.

After dinner Olivia and Jack cuddled in front of the television for a repeat episode of Law & Order. Olivia had seen this particular show earlier in the year, although Jack hadn't. She didn't object to watching a rerun, but she found herself returning to the conversation with her brother.

Will had talked about e-mailing Grace. Then there was all his interest in what she was doing, whom she was seeing. Although he hadn't actually said anything, she'd sensed Will's disapproval of Grace's participation in the Dog and Bachelor Auction.

A few months ago, Grace had gotten involved in an Internet relationship with a married man. Her friend had been duped, lied to and strung along. Now, with a growing sense of horror, Olivia wondered if that man could have been her brother. Grace's heart was broken after the end of her romance with Cliff Harding, and that was when she'd told Olivia about the other relationship, accepting the blame for her role in this fiasco. Grace had never revealed the name of the married man. At the time Olivia had assumed it didn't matter, that she wouldn't have known who it was, anyway.