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leaned against the wall, waiting to be hung. “Trying to. Not making much progress, I’m afraid.”
    “How’s the article coming?” He reached for the glass paperweight shaped like a frog that sat on the corner of her desk. Reed had given it to her for Mother’s Day last spring, during his frog stage. Resting an ankle on his opposite knee, Tom passed the paperweight from hand to hand.
    She ran her fingers over her hair, hoping to wipe away some of the tension coursing through her. It wasn’t the job leaving her stressed but being here in San Francisco. So close to the answers she was searching for, so far away from them at the same time. “ Geochemical Discrimination of Five Lava Dams on the Colorado River? It’s coming along.”
    “Sounds interesting. Can’t wait to read it.” His hazel eyes sparkled. In the afternoon sunlight, she could just make out a patch of gray hair, right at his temples.
    She couldn’t help but laugh. Only a couple of science nerds could enjoy something like that. But she sensed he wasn’t here because he questioned her work. He knew she was competent, that she knew the job inside out. Geology came to her like second nature. He was here because he was worried.
    Her lips pursed. “Stop looking at me like I’m going to fall apart. I’m fine, Tom.”
    “Are you?” His brow lifted. “I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I didn’t worry.”
    “I know. And I appreciate it. But I’m fine. We’re getting by. The place you loaned us in Moss Beach is perfect.”
    “I’m glad you like it. How’s Reed?”
    “Okay.” She thought about her four-year-old son. “He loves being near the ocean. But…it’s hard for him right now. He misses Jake.” She did too, although she hated to admit it. No matter what he’d kept from her, no matter how strained their relationship, she still had trouble believing he could have intentionally done anything to hurt her. There had to be a logical explanation for the secrets he’d kept hidden for so long.
    Which was why she’d called Tom and finally taken him up on his offer of a job here in San Francisco. Why she’d uprooted Reed clear across the country. She had to find the answers. She had to know what really happened.
    “I know there’s not a lot I can do,” he said. “And I know you won’t lean on me even if I offer.”
    A grin curled her lips. He knew her so well.
    “Regardless,” he went on, “I’m offering, Kate. I want to help.”
    “I appreciate it. Really. Just giving me a job was the best thing you could have ever done.”
    “That freelance work you were doing for the Dallas office wasn’t anywhere near your potential.”
    Her smile faded. Jake hadn’t wanted her to work. He’d wanted to her to stay home, to, as he put it, “get better”. She’d started writing freelance articles for a geology magazine based out of Dallas because she’d needed to do something to keep busy. But they both knew if Jake hadn’t died, she wouldn’t be here now.
    She forced a grin she didn’t feel. “If I need anything, you’ll be the first to know.”
    “Liar.” He reached into his pocket, drew out a slip of paper. “And because I know how stubborn you are, I’m going to give this to you before you ask. That’s the name of a lawyer here in town I’ve used before. I know you’re running into a dead end with that nursing home. Someone knows something. A lawyer might be able to apply some legal pressure, open some doors for you. No one likes a pushy lawyer.”
    “Thanks. I’ll give him a call later in the week.”
    He rose and set the paperweight back on her desk. “Do that. And zip me a copy of that article when it’s done.”
    “Hey,” she called, realizing she hadn’t even asked about his wife yet. “How’s Kari?”
    A silly grin crept up his face. “Fat and happy.”
    “When’s she due?”
    “Four more weeks.”
    His beaming face brought a warmth to her chest. After Kari’s bout with ovarian cancer, they’d never