Page 36 of Heartbeat Harmony (Hearts in Hawthorne #2)

Chapter

Twenty-One

A s the end of August drew near, Eli couldn’t feel more content.

He and Autumn had settled into a routine, both at home and at work.

She had continued teaching him how to cook, and he often took on dinner for them these days.

Cooking had a soothing effect on him, and he was finding he had a talent for it.

They’d had West and Kelby over a few times for dinner, along with Autumn’s cousin.

Eli had met Sawyer Montgomery through Kelby, and the attorney was a pleasure to be around.

They’d also hosted Joe and Meg Sutherland for dinner, and Eli had grown more relaxed in their company, as well.

Today, Autumn was taking him to a Texas Rangers baseball game in Arlington.

They had already watched a few games together on TV, with her explaining each position and the structure of an inning.

West had also taken him in hand and explained the game of football.

While it seemed simple, with four tries to make it ten yards in order to earn a first down, Eli knew there was much more to it, else football wouldn’t be so popular across America and a billion-dollar business.

He’d gone to a couple of practices at the high school at West’s invitation and was getting to know the coaching staff and players.

Next Friday would be the first home game for the Hawthorne Hawks, and Eli would be on the sidelines, ready if either team needed medical attention.

He was already impressed with the team’s athletic trainer and his student assistants and would defer to them whenever possible.

He dressed in his new Rangers jersey. Autumn had gotten him one for every professional sport team in the area and said she would take him to games at each venue.

He looked forward to seeing hockey with the Dallas Stars and basketball with the Dallas Mavericks.

Since those seasons didn’t start for a couple of months, he still had time to bone up on the basics.

West had guaranteed them tickets to any Cowboys game they wanted to attend, and Eli had left it up to Autumn and Kelby as to which one the four of them would attend together.

West said while they could sit in a suite, it wasn’t the same as being in the stands.

Eli didn’t care where they sat. He simply enjoyed being with Autumn and her family and deepening the new friendships he was making.

As he finished tying his tennis shoe, she entered the bedroom.

“Ready for some ballpark hot dogs and nachos? Don’t ask me why, but a hot dog always tastes better at a game than ones you grill at home. They must have some super-secret special something they add at a stadium.”

“A hot dog sounds great, but Scott Watterman warned me off the nachos. He said they were like eating cardboard with fake cheese sauce poured on top.”

“When did Dr. Watterman become a nacho expert?”

“He said he had season tickets to the games in Kansas City when he lived there.”

“Each ballpark does its own spin on nachos. You at least have to try some today. And peanuts.” Autumn sighed.

“I do love to sit and shell peanuts while watching a game. At least we can actually attend a day game now without broiling in the sun. Building an indoor stadium was the smartest thing the Rangers and Cowboys ever did. Not only does it take weather out of the game as a factor, but it makes it ever so comfortable for the fans to watch in person and cheer.”

Knowing today was still going to be in triple digits, with the heat index adding another four or five degrees, Eli was thrilled they would watch the game in an air-conditioned stadium.

Autumn drove since she was familiar with the route and traffic.

On the way, she said, “We’re actually making a stop before the game. To talk to the PI.”

“What was his name again?”

“Mort Salinger. He’s got an office in Grand Prairie. That’s right next door to where we’re going.”

“Did he say if he’d found anything?” Eli asked casually, trying not to get his hopes up.

“No. He said we’d talk in person.”

They’d hired the investigator three weeks ago, giving him very little to go on regarding the identity of his brother after hours of scouring the internet. A certain amount of shame still filled him, not knowing the name of the younger brother he had cared for. Dressed. Fed. Played with.

And even hid.

Eli had been thinking more about his early years ever since he had shared with Autumn that he had a brother.

Too many fleeting images occurred, coming to him at odd moments, and he was trying to make more sense of his past. He had even dreamed of those days twice, awakening with a scream stuck in his throat.

He could recall the slap of his mother’s hand on his face.

Her punch to his gut. Stepping in front of Buddy so that Eli took the brunt of her drunken anger.

They had learned not to sleep anywhere in sight, hiding in the closet or even the bathtub to escape her wrath.

Yet through it all, Buddy’s true name never came to him.

Autumn took his hands in hers. “We go. We listen. We process whatever Salinger says. Then you can decide if you want to continue to pursue things.”

“There may not be anything to pursue,” he said, pessimism filling him.

“True. But don’t get ahead of yourself.”

They reached the investigator’s office, located in a strip center. Autumn gave their name to the receptionist, who told them Mr. Salinger was expecting them. She led them down a narrow hallway to an office.

Salinger rose. “Come in. Thank you for stopping by.”

“We were headed this way,” Autumn said. “I hope you have some good news for us.”

“I’m afraid not,” the older man said. “Please. Have a seat.”

Glumly, Eli took a chair next to Autumn and turned his attention to the investigator.

“I started with your mother’s death records and worked backward. Found the court case where her parental rights were stripped. Spoke with people at DFPS, the Department of Family and Protection Services. CPS—Child Protective Services—is a branch of that.”

Salinger shook his head. “Everything there is bound by legal red tape. Even if I have your permission to discuss your particular case, you nor I have the ability to access records related to any of your relatives, including your unnamed brother. A sympathetic social worker told me the only avenue to go down would be to hunt through birth records. Those are a part of vital records, and that can be done online. Most vital records websites won’t let a person view an actual birth certificate, but she gave me a list of a few where you could at least see a person’s name, date of birth, and either the city or county in which the birth occurred. ”

“But we don’t have Buddy’s real name,” Autumn said, sounding discouraged.

“I know,” Salinger said. He handed a list to them.

“The one I highlighted in yellow lets you browse by location or by time period. I know it’s the proverbial needle in a haystack, though.

You can search based on name, location, relationship, or life events.

I found your birth certificate, Dr. Carson.

You were born in Harris County.” He paused.

“Do you have any idea if your brother was also born there? If he was also listed as a Carson?”

Frustration filled him. “I couldn’t say.

We moved around a lot. I understand now my mother was trying to stay ahead of the landlord and prevent eviction.

Whether or not it was all in Harris County or not, I don’t know.

I was too young to understand much of anything back then.

When I was older, I did ask to see my placement file at CPS.

Every foster home I was placed in was in the Greater Houston area.

I would assume Buddy also went to a home in that area. ”

“I’m afraid you can’t assume anything,” the investigator said.

“With Harris County being the largest county in Texas, it would take months to comb through all birth records during a two-year or so period. Even then, if your little brother was adopted, many times the actual birth record is expunged, with a new one being created which reflects the names of the adoptee’s new mother and father.

So, in effect, it’s a crapshoot. We could look and find nothing because the original record may not even exist anymore. ”

Eli saw empathy in the older man’s eyes.

“I wish I had better news for you, Dr. Carson. My best advice to you is to join a few of those genealogy companies. Ancestry or 23andMe. Register and complete the kit. Get your DNA in their databases. See if any matches come up. If they don’t, try and be patient.

Maybe your brother will enroll in one of those programs someday.

Right now, I can’t take any more of your money or use any more of my time. It’s not productive for either of us.”

“I understand.” Eli came to his feet. “Thank you, Mr. Salinger. For trying. I know I gave you next to nothing to go on.”

“Memory is a tricky thing,” the investigator said. “It changes as we age. Our perception of events does, as well, with maturity and experience. I hope you find your little brother, Dr. Carson.”

They shook hands, and Eli and Autumn left the office, returning to her car. She stopped him before he opened the passenger’s door.

“I’m sorry, Eli. I wish you’d received better news.”

He shrugged. “It was always a shot in the dark. I will register with one of those services, though. Buddy could already have joined, looking for me. Or he may do so one day.”

His words sounded optimistic, but Eli knew his little brother might have no memory of his older brother.

He barely remembered Buddy, and he was probably two years older.

He doubted a boy that young would have anything more than a hazy impression about the older sibling who’d spent so much time keeping him safe.

Seeing the distressed look on Autumn’s face, he pulled her into his arms. “It’s okay. I’m okay. I have you, and that’s the greatest gift I have ever received. Let’s go stuff ourselves with nachos and watch the Rangers blanket the Yankees.”

Her lips turned up in a smile. “Blanket? It sounds as if West and Sawyer have been teaching you sports talk.”

“Oh, even better. They have me listening to a sports radio station in Dallas. The Ticket. The guys talk way more than sports, but I’ve started listening to them every morning on my run.

I am ready to dazzle you with my sports knowledge, Nurse Sutherland.

I can even throw out a few pitcher stats today to impress you.

Both starting pitchers today are vying to be the Cy Young winner this year.

She batted her lashes coyly. “My, a man who knows sports. You are my kinda guy, Dr. Carson.”

He kissed her, his troubles melting away. He might never find Buddy.

But Eli had found lasting love.