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hospital.”
    A worried look entered Gail’s eyes, and Abby hastened to reassure her. “No, there’s nothing wrong with me. Mr. Brewster had a heart attack, and a nurse at the hospital called and said he asked to see me.”
    “Oh.” Her mother leaned back. “I guess he wanted to give you some important details on his memoirs.”
    “No, it wasn’t about the memoirs.”
    “Then, why in the world would he want to see you in the middle of the night?”
    Abby fingered her cup. “Mom, do you ever remember hearing about Mr. Brewster having an affair?”
    “An affair?” Gail almost choked. “Good Lord, no. Who’d sleep with that old fool?”
    “Mr. Brewster’s not the most handsome man in the world, but he does have money, and I’m told that’s a great aphrodisiac.”
    Her mother rose and hurried to the sink. “Abigail, where do you get this nonsense? And what does it have to do with why you went to the hospital last night?”
    Abby drew a deep breath. “Mr. Brewster says he has a daughter.”
    Gail whirled around with a shocked look on her face. “A daughter?”
    “Yes, he says he had an affair with a Mexican girl that worked in his house over thirty years ago. The girl took the baby and went back to Mexico. Mostly, because he forced her to.”
    “What has this got to do with you?” her mother asked stiffly.
    Abby swallowed hard. “He wants to see her before he dies, and he wants me to go to Mexico to find her.”
    “You have to be joking.”
    Abby could hear the anger building in her mother’s voice. “Now, Mom, don’t get upset until you hear everything I have to say.”
    Gail folded her arms across her chest. “I’m not sure I want to hear it.”
    “Mom,” Abby implored, hoping for some understanding.
    “No, Abby.” Gail waved a hand through the air. “You’ve been on this crusade since your father died, and I know it has something to do with him. I just…just can’t take anymore.”
    “Mom.” Abby jumped up and put an arm around her. “Come, sit down and I’ll explain.”
    Gail sat, and Abby faced her. “Yes, it’s about Daddy.”
    Gail threw up both her hands. “I knew it.”
    “Listen to me,” Abby begged. “If I find his daughter, Mr. Brewster will tell me why he fired Dad.”
    “Abby, Abby.” Gail groaned in frustration.
    “Don’t you want to know?”
    Gail looked directly at her. “What good will it do? It won’t bring him back.”
    “We’ll know the truth, and no one can ever again say that Abe Duncan embezzled funds from Simon Brewster.”
    “No one cares about that, but you.”
    “Don’t you care?”
    “I want Abe to rest in peace.”
    “But he’s not. Can’t you see that? There’s a cloud over his grave, and I won’t stop until I clear his name.”
    Gail heaved a big sigh. “I refuse to let you do this.”
    “What?” Abby drew back in disbelief.
    “I will not allow you to go into Mexico to find this…this girl. It’s crazy and dangerous.”
    “I’m thirty years old and I don’t need your permission,” Abby told her, though it took all her strength to say those words. She didn’t want to hurt her mother, but this was Abby’s choice.
    Gail rose in a jerky movement. “This is how Simon Brewster has you talking to your mother.”
    “Mom, please try to understand.”
    “That’s what I’m asking of you, Abigail.”
    Abby took a long breath. “I know you’re worried and—”
    “That’s an understatement. Going to Mexico alone to find…to find—
    Abby broke in. “Mr. Brewster wants Jonas Parker to go with me.” Abby had no idea why she said that. It just seemed to slip out.
    “Jonas Parker!” Gail screeched so high, Abby feared the windowpanes were in danger of cracking.
    “What’s wrong with Jonas?”
    “If you have to ask that question, then you haven’t learned anything by living away from home.”
    “What’s wrong with Jonas?” she persisted, wanting to get everything out in the open.
    “He lived on the streets when he was a