Fair Catch
Page 29
“No.” Her voice quivered as the constant worry she felt bubbled to the surface. “The man I hired to find Daddy changed his email address and his phone number once I sent him more money.”
“You should’ve asked me before you issued additional funds. I could’ve advised you to never send anyone more money until you have some kind of results from the first payout.”
Sophie bit back another biting reply. Lashing out at Peter wouldn’t help anything. “Probably,” she said, glancing out the passenger window.
“So, now what happens?” he asked, reaching over and taking her hand.
“I need to decide what I should do next.” A decision she would make once she heard back from her friend Camille.
“If I have time this week, maybe I can do a little research and find someone else to search for your father.” He gave her fingers a gentle squeeze before releasing them. “Someone a little more reputable, like a private investigator.”
Sophie had hired a private investigator. Peter must have forgotten that little tidbit. Sometimes it seemed like he never listened to anything she said.
“That’s not necessary, Peter. I’ll figure something out.”
“But I want—” His words were cut off when Peter’s phone beeped an incoming call. “I need to get this.” He didn’t wait for her to respond before answering the call with his Bluetooth earpiece.
While Peter was deep into his conversation with one of his clients, Sophie leaned her head against the back of the seat and closed her eyes. She didn’t need to hire another private investigator. What she needed to do was go to Costa Rica and look for her father herself. A plan she had already set in motion. A plan she knew Peter would never support. So Sophie had simply decided not to tell him. Yet.
She had already requested the time off for the end of the month and was just awaiting the contact information for the guide she hoped to hire.
Sophie recalled the telephone conversation she’d had with her best friend, Camille Campbell, two weeks ago.
“I have a brilliant idea!” Camille said, her voice bubbling with excitement. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of it earlier.”
Sophie had just finished with a four hour surgery and she desperately hoped Camille’s idea involved chocolate. “What is it?”
“Did I ever tell you about Jack Mathison?”
“No,” Sophie said, pulling off her scrub cap. “Who is he?”
Camille went on to explain that when she was in high school her older brother Tyson had just graduated from college and had gone on a youth service mission trip with their church to Central America. He lived in Costa Rica for four months, and Jack Mathison, another volunteer, had been one of his roommates.
“I had the wildest crush on the guy,” Camille said on a sigh. “He came home with Tyson and stayed with us for a week and then burst my seventeen-year-old fantasy bubble when he introduced me to his fiancée.”
“Okay,” Sophie asked, glancing at the clock. She had an hour break before she needed to get to her office to see patients. “But how does this all amount to a brilliant idea?”
“I’m getting there. Anyway, the twins were taking a nap this morning so I decided to watch TV while I folded laundry. The first channel I turned to was that movie Dragonfly with Kevin Costner. He plays the part of a doctor who goes into the Amazon jungle to the place where his wife died. I totally got sucked into it when all of the sudden it reminded me of Jack!”
Sophie rubbed her eyes, wondering where Camille was going with this. “Jack looks like Kevin Costner?”
“No. Jack was way better looking.”
“Camille, you have totally lost me.”
“That’s because you won’t let me finish.” Camille blew out a big breath. “Anyway, Tyson and Jack had lost contact with one another, but about eight years ago Tyson had run into one of the other guys who had also gone on the mission trip. He told Tyson that Jack had never married and had permanently relocated to Costa Rica. The last he’d heard Jack took medical outreach groups deep into the Costa Rica jungle so they can provide medical services for the natives in some of the remote villages.”
A spark of interest ignited in Sophie as she finally got what Camille might be trying to say. If this Jack Mathison still did that, it would be the perfect setup. Sophie could search for her father while doing humanitarian work.
“You could go look for your father while at the same time be doing your doctor stuff and Jack can be your guide!” Camille said, confirming they were on the same page.
Sophie sat down on a chair, her mind going a million miles an hour. The logistics of her traveling to Costa Rica seemed insurmountable, but the warmth inside her chest confirmed this was exactly what she was supposed to do.
“Sophie, you still there?” Camille asked.
“Yes. It is a brilliant idea.”
“I know, right!”
Camille’s enthusiasm made Sophie smile. “Does your brother know how I can get a hold of Mr. Mathison?”
“I’m not sure. Tyson and his wife just left for a Caribbean cruise. I’ve emailed him, but I have no idea when he’ll get the message, or what he can do until he comes back.”
A chime alerted Sophie of an incoming text, bringing her back to the present. Peter was still engrossed in his conversation, and she hoped the text wasn’t the hospital calling her in for an emergency. He wouldn’t be very happy about turning around and taking her back right now.
Reaching down to get her purse, she slipped her phone from the outside pocket. A tiny smile curved her lips when she read the message from Camille.
Houston, we are go for launch. Call me ASAP.
Before Sophie could reply, Camille sent her another text. This one made Sophie want to roll her eyes at her friend’s impertinence.
FYI: JM is still single!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
SAMPLE CHAPTER: “DISCOVERING SOPHIE”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
TWENTY-THREE
TWENTY-FOUR
TWENTY-FIVE
TWENTY-SIX
TWENTY-SEVEN
EPILOGUE