"One raspberry white mocha for the lady," Nathan said with a grin, placing the mug in front of Elizabeth.
"Thank you," she said with a smile, lifting the mug to her lips and taking a sip. "Mmm, this is perfect!" She wrinkled her nose at him. "Let me guess. You got a black coffee."
He hid a smile. "No, actually, I shook things up a bit today."
Elizabeth's eyebrows shot up. "Oh, really? And what is your version of shaking things up?"
"I added a sugar."
"Oh, well, stop the presses!" Elizabeth said with playful dramatism. "Detective Nathan Grant has gone to the wild side!"
He chuckled. "You tease, but for me this is a giant leap." He took a sip, noting the difference in flavor from his normal plain coffee. "It's sweet."
Elizabeth leaned her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands. "That's not sweet," she said, tilting her head. Jutting her chin at her mug, she grinned. "A raspberry white mocha is sweet. A black coffee with one sugar? That's mud."
"Well, then, it's very good mud," Nathan said, taking a long swig. "Mmm."
Elizabeth laughed, shaking her head. "I never could understand how people enjoy their coffee like you do. Give me froo froo coffee any day!"
Nathan snorted. "That's not coffee. That's sugar and cream with a little side of coffee."
"And I wouldn't have it any other way," Elizabeth said with a grin. "It's positively delightful."
Nathan chuckled, pulling his phone from his jacket pocket as it buzzed. "It's Bill," he said. "I'll be right back."
"I'll be here," Elizabeth said, smiling sweetly at him.
Nathan headed for a quiet corner of the cafe. "Grant," he said, clicking his phone on.
"We might have a lead for you," Bill said, sounding unusually optimistic. "Coulter is on his way to the cafe to pick you up. He can explain on the way." With a brusque goodbye, he hung up.
Nathan stared at his phone for a moment, startled as always at Bill's abrupt exit from phone conversations. He should be used to it by now, but it always surprised him. He made his way back to the table.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave soon," Nathan said apologetically to Elizabeth as he sat down again. "Bill said he has a lead for us. I'm guessing it's about Steve." He placed the phone back in his jacket pocket, and as he did, his fingers brushed against the ring box hidden there. He kept it with him in case the opportune moment suddenly presented itself. When it did, he wanted to be ready.
They hadn't talked about marriage, and they hadn't been together long. But he knew he wanted to spend his life with the incredible woman sitting across from him. Watching her as she smiled and told him that was fine, he almost took the ring out of his pocket and got on one knee right there in the middle of the cafe. But his better judgement prevailed. He wanted the moment to be special.
Maybe he should get a feel for whether or not she was ready for a proposal. He wanted to ask her to marry him, but he didn't want to shock her. "Elizabeth, I was wondering if...if…" He stopped, suddenly at a loss for words.
"What?" she asked. He shook his head, unable to get the words out. Elizabeth grinned. "Cat got your tongue?"
Nathan laughed. "Maybe." He took a breath to fortify himself, then decided to plunge ahead. "What I was going to say was…"
"Nathan!"
Stopping mid sentence, Nathan looked up to see Lee standing next to their table, excitement on his face. "We need to go back to the rehab center in Kahawai. Right now. They said they might have some information that could be useful for us."
Nathan looked between Lee and Elizabeth, his mouth gaping.
Elizabeth looked amused. "It's fine, Nathan. Go on."
He stood, leaning across the table to give her a kiss. "Thank you, sweetheart. I'll make it up to you later." He smiled. "Dinner tonight?"
She nodded, placing a hand on his cheek. "I'll see you then. Be safe."
He smiled and nodded, then followed Lee out to the cruiser. "Do we have any more information than just they have something that might be helpful?" Nathan asked as Lee turned on his lights and started driving.
Lee shook his head. "No. But they still called. That gives me hope. Whatever it is, hopefully it gives us a lead."
"I hope so, too," Nathan said, looking out the window as the landscape whizzed by. His family needed answers. He needed answers.
Elizabeth wrapped her hands around her coffee mug, taking another sip. She felt comfortable sitting by herself in Faith's cafe, but she had to admit she already missed Nathan. She was glad they would be having dinner together this evening.
She silently prayed that Nathan would receive good news from the rehab center. It had been eating him that they couldn't figure out what happened to his brother-in-law. She knew he needed closure almost as much as Colleen and Allie.
Deep in thought, she didn't notice Faith and Carson until they were sitting next to her at the table. "Oh!" she exclaimed, a hand on her heart. "I didn't see you there!"
"We could tell," Faith said with a chuckle. "You looked like you were a million miles away."
"I was just thinking. Nathan and Lee are on their way to that rehab center. Apparently they have some new information."
"That's good, isn't it?" Carson asked. "It's something, at least."
"Hopefully it is good," Elizabeth replied with a nod. "This needs to be resolved. Nathan is so discouraged by all the dead ends."
"He'll find the truth," Carson said. "Nathan is a great detective. If anyone can find what happened, he can."
"And he isn't the type to give up," Faith said, chiming in. "If I've learned anything about Nathan, it's that he's determined. Justice will always win when he's pursuing it."
Elizabeth smiled. "You're both right. It'll be interesting to see what he finds today." She looked between Carson and Faith over the rim of her coffee cup. "So, how are my boss and my childhood friend faring in their newfound relationship?" she asked, grinning. They were too cute together, as evidenced by the fact that their faces both flushed slightly when they looked at each other in response to Elizabeth's question.
Carson smiled into Faith's eyes, then turned his attention to Elizabeth. "I asked her last night to be my girlfriend."
Elizabeth squealed, her hands on her face. "Oh my goodness, this is wonderful! You two are so perfect together!"
"I think so," Faith said dreamily, her eyes focused on Carson. Elizabeth bit back a smile. She didn't often see Faith so infatuated with someone, but it was clear she was well on her way to falling in love with Carson. Elizabeth was happy for Faith. Carson was a good man, and the two of them were good together. She hadn't seen anyone so compatible since Lee and Rosemary.
Carson's phone rang, and he excused himself from the table to answer it. Faith leaned forward, her eyes sparkling. "Who would have thought that you and I would find such wonderful men at the same time?"
"Well, we did dream about that when we were little girls," Elizabeth said. They laughed together, enjoying the bond they'd shared since they were children.
Faith took a sip of her coffee, then looked at Elizabeth with her head tilted. "In all the years that you've worked for Carson, did you ever see him as a potential suitor?"
"Goodness, no!" Elizabeth exclaimed immediately. "Carson and I have always had a good working relationship, and it eventually turned into a friendship, but we never saw each other as more than friends."
"I don't see why not," Faith said, smiling. "He's such a good man."
"True, but he's not the right man for me and I'm not the right woman for him." Elizabeth grinned. "I think everyone knows the two of you are right for each other."
Faith blushed prettily. "I never dreamed I would find such a man," she said with a sigh. "I can't believe no one snatched him up yet."
"I've been saying the same thing about you for years," Elizabeth teased. "Looks like you both snatched each other up."
Carson came back to the table. "Molly called in sick," he said. "I'm going to have to fill in for her until her sub can come in, Faith."
"No," Elizabeth said, waving her hand and draining her coffee. "Why don't I go in? I want to see the babies anyways, and I'm happy to help. Besides, I need something to pass the time until Nathan gets back. You two enjoy your time together."
"Are you sure?" Carson asked. "It won't be very long."
"Happy to help," Elizabeth said. Her smile turned cheeky. "Besides, I might hang out there for a bit even once Molly's sub comes in. Holding babies is my favorite thing in the world." She placed her mug in a bin and waved. "See you later!"
"Are you okay, Nathan?"
Nathan took a deep breath, closing his eyes and trying to calm himself. "I'm just so worried that this will be one more dead end. I'm trying not to get my hopes up."
"Keep breathing," Lee said. "We can stay here as long as you need."
After a minute, Nathan let his breath out in a rush and nodded. "Let's do this."
The two men walked into the building and went straight to the reception table. "Hi," Nathan said, flashing his badge. "We got a call from the director saying she might have some information for us."
"Of course," the receptionist said. "Just a moment." She picked up the phone and punched in some numbers. "Ms. Miller, they're here," she said, then nodded. "I will let them know."
Hanging up the phone, the receptionist pointed to the seating area. "If you wouldn't mind waiting right there, Ms. Miller will be out shortly."
"Thank you," Nathan said. He and Lee sat in the chairs. Nathan drummed his fingers absently against the armrest as they waited. He pushed down his fears that they wouldn't find anything.
Within a few minutes a young woman came into the waiting area. "Detective Grant?" she said, looking between Lee and Nathan. They stood, and Nathan held out his hand.
"I'm Detective Grant, and this is Officer Coulter," he said.
She shook both their hands. "Fiona Miller. I'm the director of this rehab center."
Nathan nodded. "Nice to meet you, ma'am. Our chief of police said you had some information for us."
She smiled, motioning for them to follow her. "I don't know how relevant it will be, Detective," she said. "It was more of a hunch."
"A hunch?" Nathan said, perplexed. They'd been brought here on a hunch?
Fiona punched a code into a door, and led them through it. "Our receptionist on the day you came in told the truth. We don't have any John Doe's or Steve Grant's. However, we do have one man who isn't exactly a John Doe, but we also don't know who he is. At least we haven't verified that he is who he says he is. Whether or not he's connected to the man you're looking for, I thought this might be something that your department could investigate."
They passed what looked like a gym. "This is our main physical rehab room," Fiona said, pushing the door open. Several people were engaged in various exercises. She walked past all the machines and opened another door that led to a large pool. There was one man in the pool, following directions from his trainer. Nathan squinted, but the man was a little too far away for him to make out any features.
"That is William Grant," Fiona said, stopping next to the pool. "The last name caught my attention when our receptionist told me about your visit. He came to us about five months ago, and he had no identification on him, but he did tell us his name. He must not be the man you are looking for, but the name was similar and his situation here is...unusual."
"How do you mean?" Lee asked.
Fiona went on, but Nathan couldn't hear her. The man had come closer, and Nathan's eyes widened. He was thinner and slightly haggard and he had a beard, but there was no doubting who he was.
"Steve," Nathan breathed, shock coursing through him at the sight of his lost brother-in-law. "Steve!"
Lee and Fiona stared. Steve came to the side of the pool, looking up at Nathan blankly. Nathan bent down so Steve could see him better. "Steve, it's me! It's Nathan."
"Who's Steve?" the man asked, staring at Nathan in bewilderment. "My name is William."
Nathan laughed. "You always were a jokester. We've been looking for you for months! How did you get here?"
Steve still had a blank look on his face, confusion in his eyes. "Who...who are you?"
