His voice was softer than she’d expected when he spoke next. “If it were just that, then you wouldn’t be here with me. So let’s start from the beginning and with the truth.”
“I just want to find my mother.” No matter how hard she tried to look him straight in the eyes, she couldn’t. She looked down at her hands that were clasped in front of her. “Okay. I need to find her. There are questions that I can’t answer, and I’m hoping she can.”
Once, again he watched her. Hiding anything from him was going to be difficult if not impossible.
“It’s personal, Mr. St—”
“Bennett.”
“Bennett, can’t you just take the job as is without asking why?”
“I could. But I won’t. Knowing why is the only reason I may take it. It sounds as though you need a private investigator instead of me.”
“I want you.” She reached out a hand and grabbed hold of his forearm. Zoey couldn’t believe how desperate she sounded.
He looked down at her hand, then back into her eyes, and said, “So let’s get back to the truth.”
Zoey let out a deep breath of defeat. Her options had run out. Going home would only mean she’d have to ask her brothers for help. And they’d want to take full control. She was almost thirty-four and didn’t need anyone pulling more control away from her than she’d already lost. Why had her brothers decided it was their role to be her personal protector? She needed them when their father was alive, but now, when no protection was needed, they were worse than ever.
“I met with a specialist, and they’re asking for family medical history.”
“Because?”
“I’m having a few medical issues right now, and this is going to be important for them to help pinpoint what it is I... may have.”
“You’re sick, and you don’t want to tell Logan? Isn’t he a world-renowned physician?”
“Yes, a neurosurgeon. But I don’t want any of my brothers knowing yet. Once I have some facts, I’ll work out who I’ll share the information with.”
“I might be overstepping here, but you do know your brothers love you and would want to be there for you?”
“They’d argue about what’s best for me and browbeat me until I did it their way. It’s like having six fathers telling me what to do. I love them, but this is my life, and right now I need to do this for me. Can you understand that?” She could feel her hand tremble on his arm. It wasn’t just the fear of him ratting her out to her family, but it was also what the results may be.
“What exactly are we looking at health wise?”
“Does it matter?”
“To me, yes.”
She didn’t want to say it out loud. Doing so was only making it all feel more real than it already did. They’d done various blood tests to eliminate what it wasn’t, but still no answer to what it was. Her brothers had used Bennett in various ways for over the last few years. She knew he would be meticulous and would leave no stone unturned when working for them. She trusted him, but she never let people into her personal life. Surely knowing personal medical information shouldn’t be required to find her mother. This was going to take a certain level of trust on her part. She never let anyone into her personal life, not even her brothers. Yet Bennett was the one person she believed could pull off what no one else had. Although her brothers didn’t say they had tried to find their mother, she knew they had. “I have some lymph nodes which have become enlarged in my right axillary armpit. Also, my right kidney is not functioning fully. I continue to have reoccurring kidney infections. The ultrasound, X-ray, and CT scan don’t show anything, yet I have continual pain on that side.”
“And a family history will help narrow down the diagnosis?”
“Exactly. So you understand why this is so important to me?”
“I do. What puzzles me is why you want to do this alone?”
“I’m not. I’m doing this with you. That is if you’re taking the job.” Bennett shook his head, and she instantly panicked, thinking he was going to say no. “Please, Bennett. I need you to do this for me. I can’t trust anyone else.”
“I take it you’ve checked your birth certificate? And your brothers’ as well?”
She nodded. “No one listed under mother.”
“And hospital records? Records of birth filed with the city and state?”
“Blank as well. No city or state listed. I’m surprised we even have a date of birth, because every other detail is missing except my father’s information. It’s like a fairy tale where a stork delivered us.” If it wasn’t such a painful subject she might find telling this story humorous. But nothing about her childhood was funny. She pulled a paper from her purse and handed it to him. “Here is mine. My brothers’ look similar.”
She sat quietly as he looked over the copy of her birth certificate. Although his expression didn’t change much, she noticed his jaw twitch ever so slightly. Guess he’s never seen such a thing either. Maybe now he’ll understand why I need him.