“Thank you. I’ll tell Emma you said that.”

“Please do. Shall we go and visit Chief?”

As they walked to the stable, Cord said, “Is it all right if I ask why you’re looking for your mother now? I mean, she’s been missing for thirty-some years.”

“Like I told you, it’s one of the reasons I’m back in Painted Pony Creek. You’re the other…” She hoped he’d assume she was talking exclusively about his business—and wasn’t sure exactly why she felt she needed to keep business and personal matters separate, at least for the moment.

“Your mother, Christine Fletcher, disappeared from the motel in the middle of the night when you were two. I kind of remember that. I mean I remember hearing about it from you when we were…twelve or so.”

“Yes. And as for why I’m doing this now, there are a few reasons. My divorce, which happened because my husband was unfaithful…” She paused, but thankfully he didn’t comment. “Also the fact that, aside from having absolutely no information about my father—he’s ‘unknown’ according to my birth certificate—I know next to nothing about her, either. I’ve made a real effort to find her on the internet, but no luck. So…this is the biggest gap in my life.”

“You might recall hearing that my mother basically abandoned me, too, but I was fortunate enough to end up here with my grandparents. Fortunate enough that they searched for me.”

“That’s something else we have in common,” Shallie told him, wondering if she was going too far. “Besides being brought to this town at a young age, going to the same school, growing up with relatives… Both our mothers disappearing from our lives.”

“True. And I know your situation was a lot harder than mine. Frankly, I’ve never been interested in looking for my mother.”

Shallie sighed. “I get it. But you probably learned more about her from your grandparents than I ever did about Christine. Plus, Bill and Mimi were a thousand percent better than Norm and Della. I certainly remember that!”

“I have a lot of faith in Eli and his connections. I’m sure you’ll learn something soon.”

Shallie smiled. “I keep hoping it won’t be bad news. Although at this point, I guess the only bad news would be no news.”

By then they’d reached Chief’s stall.

CARLY PULLED ON her brand-new jeans, courtesy of Tina and Cord, and another of Susan’s T-shirts, this one with a logo promoting The GateCrashers. She went to the trailer’s compact kitchen, where Mitch was just finishing his coffee.

Both he and Tina raved about her performance the previous night, praising her with extravagant descriptions. “So beautiful.”

“So emotional.”

“By far the best of the open mic singers.” They couldn’t seem to say enough good things.