She swiveled her head. The window in front of the sink provided a clear view of where she’d just been standing with Nick.
Crap, crap, crap! They must’ve seen the whole thing.
Cornered, Shelby shrugged and tried her best to stave off the blush she feared was creeping up her neck. “Nick still isn’t feeling well. Just wanted to keep the peace.” Scooping Emily up, Shelby made a run for it. “Let’s go write a book, Monkey-Brains.”
***
Nick was about to do so something he thought he’d never do. Ask his father for a favor. He’d been thinking about Shelby and the fire ever since she’d spent the night with him a few days ago. That, and he’d decided to delete the data he’d gathered from Shelby and try to help his sister some other way.
He owed Shelby whether she knew it yet or not. If that meant involving his father then he’d suck it up and get it done.
He walked into his father’s opulent suite of offices located in the trendiest part of town, and the receptionist told him to go straight in. The cost of the furniture and paintings on the walls in the lobby alone would buy his mother a new car.
When he opened his father’s office door, his dad stood. “Hi, Nick. This is a pleasant surprise.”
Nick closed the door behind him and forced his feet to move forward. His father held out his hand so Nick reluctantly shook it. After all, he was the one asking for a favor.
Was it the lingering fever, or was it overly hot in his dad’s office? Nick loosened his tie a little. It was hard to breath.
After he sat down, his father surprised him by rounding his desk and sitting in the chair beside him. “I’m glad you stopped by. I wanted to talk to you at your mom’s yesterday, but you left too quickly. I should have made my intentions clear the other night at the auction rather than taken you by surprise. But Mom said you guys had fun at the game?”
His father had called three times, but he hadn’t bothered to return them. Lori made a good point about how the country club set didn’t care about being good parents. Maybe he had jumped to the wrong conclusion. A sliver of guilt crept into his gut. “Yeah, it turned out to be a fun night. Emily enjoyed it as well, so . . . thanks.”
His father smiled. “Good. It’s nice to see Emily smiling again since her father died. Mom says you’ve really stepped in and helped, so thank you for that.”
“It’s no trouble. Em’s a great kid.”
“She is. Mom and I worry about Lori though, and wish she’d try to get out more. She’s really taking Joe’s death hard. I can’t blame her for it, but all she does is work and take care of Emily. And she won’t take a nickel from us. Your mother even offered to buy her a house and told her she could live there for whatever rent she could afford until she was back on her feet. But Lori wouldn’t do it.”
Nick blinked in confusion. “I offered that too, but how could Mom afford to buy Lori a house?”
His father frowned. “Your mother makes exactly what I do a year, Nick. Half of my earnings go to her. They always have and always will. Just because I screwed up doesn’t make me any less responsible for my family.”
Half? No respectable divorce lawyer would let himself get screwed like that. It didn’t make sense. His father’s billings had to be a million a year or more. “Mom lives in the same house she always has, drives a ten-year-old Camry, cleans out her own gutters, and you’re telling me she makes six figures a year?”
“Yes. Your mother just doesn’t choose to spend her money like I do. You should see her portfolio. It’d make you look like a pauper, Nick. And I know you’ve done very well for yourself.”
So his father hadn’t left his mother to hang out to dry like he’d always assumed? She was just being frugal? Whatever. It still didn’t excuse his infidelity and asking his kid to lie for him. “I’m glad to know mom’s taken care of. One less worry for me.”
“She’s not your responsibility Nick, she’s mine. And I hope you’ll let your mother and I worry about Lori and Emily. Mom tells me you have enough on your plate right now with the women in your life?”
“Mom and Lori are a pain in the ass sometimes, especially when it comes to butting into my personal business.”
“I’m afraid that’s not something you can change, either. Better to just grin and bear it. Now, what can I do for you? You mentioned you needed help with something?”
Nick hated asking for anything from his dad, but it was probably the quickest way to solve Shelby’s mystery. “When Shelby was a child, her family’s home caught fire. I know you have private investigators and friends at the police station. Do you think you could find a report that states the origin of the fire?”