A few seconds later, Dana appeared at the door. Willow masked her irritation. The woman meant well. “You didn’t have to come.”

Dana dropped her designer bag in a chair and frowned. She shrugged out of her sparkly jean jacket and stepped closer. “You didn’t think I’d let you go through this alone, did you?”

“It’s late. Don’t you have a husband or something?” Willow forced warmth into her voice and then a half smile slid onto her lips. She was glad to see Dana after all. The woman knew what Willow needed. No wonder JT had leaned on Dana all these years.

“Stan is fine. On his laptop and watching television. He won’t miss me.” Dana leaned over the desk to look at the certificate. “Besides, he wanted me to make sure you were alright.”

She slowly slipped the certificate from Willow’s hands and studied it. “Are you sure you’re ready to go through his things here? I can do this for you.”

Willow covered her eyes. “I thought I’d accepted he was gone, but seeing his death certificate . . . it’s so final.”

“Oh, honey. I know it’s hard.” Dana rushed around the desk. After offering a comforting squeeze, she handed Willow a tissue, then snatched another from the box.

Willow wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “It’s okay. I’m okay. I have to do this.”

“I wish I hadn’t told you about Mrs. Mason’s call. But it was the only case he was actively working. You really don’t have to get back to business so soon after your grandfather’s death.”

“I appreciate your concern.” Willow touched Dana’s arm. The woman had held her hand over the last two weeks—through the tragic news of JT’s death, selecting a casket, and seeing him buried. In her fifties, Dana was more like an older sister or a best friend than a mother figure despite being two decades older than Willow. She was practically part of the family, though she had one of her own—a doting husband, two grown children, and four grandchildren who kept her busy outside of work.

Willow tossed the tissue into the wastebasket. “Decisions have to be made, and I’m the one to make them now. I need to call Mrs. Mason back and tell her that JT’s gone. But I have to know what the case is about first. Maybe I can finish it up for him.” If Mrs. Mason would allow her, and if Willow had the required skills.

Her grandfather was the talent behind their consulting business. Willow didn’t want to ruin the reputation he’d garnered. She hadn’t mentioned it to Dana yet, but she was seriously thinking about closing up Anderson Consulting.