Della gave her brother full marks for the effort it must have taken for him to gently ease the spoon into the bowl. It was only because she’d come to know him so well that she saw the telltale whitening at the angle of his jaw.

“You found a match?”

“His name’s Cody. He’s twenty-six, from Denver, and he works for the city, fixing potholes.” And because Arlo looked as if he was about to ask for Cody’s criminal history, she rushed to reassure him. “It’s fine, Arlo. We’ve been chatting, and he seems really nice.”

“And does this Cody have a last name?”

Della rolled her eyes and gave him a rueful smile. “So you can run him through a database or two?”

He shrugged. “Just a precaution.”

“Arlo.”

“Okay.” Her brother stood, placing the cobbler on the low table between their chairs. He ran a hand over his buzz cut—he did that a lot when he was thinking. “Let me make some calls, shuffle some things around. I’m sure I’ll be able to rearrange Friday so I can take you.”

“No, Arlo.” Della also stood and placed her cobbler down. “I’ll be fine. It’s just a date.”

“I know.” He nodded. “But…I can be moral support. Everyone needs some of that for a first date.”

Della somehow doubted big-tough-guy cops needed moral support, and the last thing she needed was Arlo lurking outside the windows in a full metal jacket, scaring the crap out of Cody.

“No.” She shook her head. “You have a job to do. You can’t keep rearranging your life because of me.”

“You know that’s not a problem. I told you when you first came to live with me that I’d make up for not being there for you.”

“Arlo…you didn’t even know I existed.”

“But I should have.”

The guilt in his voice slayed her every time. Did he really think she held him responsible for what had happened to her? A long-lost brother who hadn’t even heard of her until three years ago? How could she blame him for a life that was not of his—or her, for that matter—making? Arlo hadn’t known he had a sister until his father’s death, and he’d set out to find her right away. He’d had no way of knowing what he’d stumble across.

He had to stop with the guilt.

“Okay, I’ll go with Tucker.” It was a snap decision, not particularly well thought through, but she didn’t want things to fall on Arlo again. His shoulders were big, but even he must need a break from carrying all that responsibility. “He can be my moral support.”