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want you to know that I’m here for you.”
    Taryn didn’t consider herself an overly emotional woman. Her parents had loved her and no matter how many times they tried to lead her down the prom queen path, she’d always been somewhat of a tomboy. The Navy only continued to lead her in that direction. She could handle anything thrown her way. One couldn’t change facts and that’s what she was faced with. It was either accept what she discovered about her family or ruminate in the unfairness of it all. She would just have to condition herself to look at things in black and white. She’d forced herself to be dispassionate about difficult details in cases before and now was no different.
    “I’m fine, Ethan.” Taryn looked around the neighborhood, automatically checking to make sure there wasn’t anything amiss. She brought her eyes back to him and found him studying her much like Crest had this morning. She didn’t want him to worry about her. He’d been spending too much of his private time with her and not enough at Masters or having a personal life. After this case was wrapped up, she swore to herself that she would see to it that her best friend concentrated on himself. “Whatever we find out, it’s already taken place. Nothing I do will change that. Let’s get to Texas, figure this out so that we can force Ryland’s hand, and get on with our lives.”
    “I thought I heard voices out here,” Mr. Chambers said, having opened the front door. Taryn hadn’t heard the catch of the latch, which made her suddenly uncomfortable. She couldn’t afford to be off of her game. She did her best to give Ethan a reassuring smile. “Come in, come in.”
    Mr. Chambers stepped back, inviting them into their home and Ethan placed a hand on Taryn’s lower back, allowing her to enter first. The comfort of his touch was becoming too familiar and although it had never bothered her before, Taryn chalked it up to that agitation he spoke of earlier. The smell of meatloaf enveloped her and she inhaled deeply, feeling the bunched up muscles in her shoulders relaxing for the first time today. She pushed everything out of her mind and allowed the comforts of a good home to surround her. She rose on her tiptoes and gave Mr. Chambers a kiss on the cheek, always liking that he flushed slightly red at the affection. She smiled and then proceeded into the kitchen where Mrs. Chambers was mixing a huge amount of butter into the mashed potatoes.
    “Hi. It smells delicious,” Taryn exclaimed, taking a seat at the island counter. She reached over and swiped a finger into the homemade spuds. She closed her eyes and hummed her appreciation. Mrs. Chambers chuckled and shook her head. “Is there anything that I can do to help?”
    “If you don’t want to lose any fingers, keep them out of the bowl, Missy,” Mrs. Chambers said good-naturedly as she motioned toward the cupboard behind her. “The table is all set, but if you could grab four glasses for the iced tea, I would appreciate it. How was your day, dear?”
    “Same as usual.”
    Taryn hopped back off of the stool and then walked around to do the chore she’d been assigned. She didn’t want Mrs. Chambers to worry about her. The older woman had been welcoming to Taryn from the first time they’d met years ago. She doted on Taryn like she was just another child under her roof in need of love. Who knew, maybe it was because Ethan was an only child and Mrs. Chambers liked to dote on a “daughter”. She tried to think about her own mother, who right now was too caught up within herself to call more than once a month. Taryn didn’t kid herself as to why she came over here every Sunday for dinner.
    “Ethan mentioned that you and he are heading back out on another assignment,” Mrs. Chambers called out from the kitchen. Their house was larger than it really needed to be and the rooms were cut off from one another in the old typical styled home. There was always a new piece of