LITMIR.BIZ

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should thank Miranda for instilling in him a drive to make something of himself. In a perverse way, her abandoning him as a baby had implanted the motivation to become independent and successful.

      “All right.” He stared at her a moment, then reached for her hand. He was both surprised and pleased when he realized she still wore his ring. He touched it, then watched the large, tear-shaped diamond sparkle in the light from the window. She drew her hand away, and he frowned. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

      Heather pressed her lips together as she followed him to the door. “No,” she said quickly, wanting to control their next meeting. “I have school and a meeting afterward. I’ll call you. Where will you be?”

      Reaching inside his jacket, he extracted a business card. “You know the office number. This has the number of my apartment, as well as my digital.”

      Heather studied the card as he opened the door. “All right, I’ll call you after school tomorrow.”

      Justin nodded, then stepped outside. He hesitated, then turned back toward her. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

      Heather watched him get into his Mercedes and drive away. As he disappeared from sight, she sagged against the door, her strength zapped.

      Justin’s visit had blindsided her. Even a tornado wouldn’t have caused such havoc in her life.

      Was she losing her mind? She’d actually told him she’d think about his proposition—that she’d consider giving their marriage another try.

      Did she really want to?

      A long time ago she’d loved Justin. Could she learn to love him again?

      Three

      “How did he look?” Kathryn Watson asked as soon as they had settled around the kitchen table to eat dinner.

      “Justin?” Heather asked needlessly. “The same. Too handsome for his own good.” She twirled a few strings of spaghetti around on her fork, then took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. There wasn’t a woman on earth who wouldn’t look twice at him if she passed him on the street.

      “Does he know about Timmy?”

      “No! Oh, my, Mom. That’s what I thought, too, when I saw him.” She explained that she’d stopped off at home for a few minutes to bring some things into the house and that Paul Dailey had shown up. Heather also told her of the altercation between her husband and Paul.

      Kathryn chuckled, and Heather shot her mother a glare. “It wasn’t funny.”

      “I wish I’d been there,” Kathryn said. “Justin’s always been very protective of you. I bet he was seething.”

      “He was overbearing and rude,” Heather retorted, taking another bite of her food.

      “Well, at least that problem’s solved. You’ve been discouraging him for months.”

      “Yes, well, Justin didn’t have to be so…blunt,” she said, for lack of a better word.

      “Funny, that’s one of his traits that I’ve always admired. Justin’s not a man of many words, but when he says something, he’s direct. What did he want?” she asked.

      Heather told her about Justin’s heritage and how he’d gone to Texas to meet his biological mother and twin sister.

      “Well, I couldn’t be happier for him. He’s always been so alone in the world, without family, growing up being passed from foster home to foster home.”

      Kathryn had always told Heather that she found Justin’s drive to be one of his greatest strengths. He’d majored in business, and after graduation he’d worked for a while in the steel industry, then started his own steel fabrication company. Trigon Steel was now a major player in a city where the competition was stiff and often brutal.

      “He had me. I was his family,” she reminded her mother, her eyes cloaked with sadness. “He walked away from what we had.”

      “He was hurting, as you were. Justin isn’t anything like your father, honey. Henry was manipulative and selfish. He never led me to believe there was anything wrong between us. If I’d known he was having an affair, I would have left him long before he left us.”

      “Dad didn’t care about you or me.” Heather’s eyes glistened, and she looked away.

      She had a tremendous amount of respect for her mother. Kathryn Watson was strong and independent. She’d raised her daughter alone, had worked overtime hours as a secretary to help her pay for college. Heather was fortunate to have her mother as her best friend and confidante.

      However, her father’s desertion remained with her throughout her life. Though her mother had dealt with his betrayal, Heather was never able to express the hurt and rejection that was always a part of her.

      Kathryn remained silent for a moment, then said quietly, “Not all men leave.”

      “Justin did.” Heather couldn’t forget that. His leaving had effectively reinforced the wall around her heart.

      Kathryn reached across the kitchen table and touched her daughter’s hand. “Everyone handles grief differently. Justin handled it the only way he knew. He threw himself into his work. He didn’t know how to relate what he was feeling.”

      “Mom, you’ve always championed Justin.” She wrinkled her brow, deepening her frown. “I know you’ve supported me, too, but why is it you feel the need to come to his defense?”

      “Because he’s never had anyone to do that for him,” Kathryn answered softly. “I can’t imagine what it must be like to grow up without any connection to the world. No family, no distant relatives, no one.”

      “Well, now he has an entire family, complete with a half brother and sister. Apparently, they’re extremely rich.” She shoved her plate away and sat back in the chair. “Mom, he wants me to go to Texas to meet his mother and he has this…this weird idea of us giving ourselves a month together to see if we can work things out between us.”

      Speechless, Kathryn stared blankly at her daughter. “A month? What did you tell him?”

      “That I needed to think about it. What else could I say?” Gauging her mother’s thoughtful expression, Heather asked, “What do you think?”

      “Marriages aren’t always easy, honey. The fact that Justin has come to you means a lot. He must still have feelings for you. And how would you feel if you gave up this chance? You have Timmy to think about, as well as yourself. You’re going to have to tell him about Timmy, Heather.”

      Heather saw the censure in her mother’s eyes. “I know. And I will. Just not yet.” She flushed as guilt ate at her. She had intended to tell Justin about the baby before now, really she had. It was ironic that he’d shown up and had effectively taken away her chance to come clean voluntarily. “I know Justin, and if he found out about his son, he’d insist on reconciling for that reason alone. I don’t want a marriage based on sacrifice.”

      Kathryn picked up Heather’s plate and took it to the sink. “Look, why don’t you think about going to Texas? You’ll be alone together, and it will be the perfect opportunity to see if you can salvage your marriage.”

      “I can’t just up and run off to Texas, Mom. I have responsibilities here. I have Timmy to take care of.”

      “Don’t use Timmy as an excuse,” Kathryn scolded. “I can keep him for you, and you know he’ll be safe with me.”

      Heat darkened Heather’s already flushed face. Her mother wasn’t easily fooled. Using Timmy was a quick and easy excuse she could hide behind. “All right, I know that.”

      “Then go home and think long and hard about what Justin has proposed.”

      Later at home, Heather could think of nothing else. Did she dare do as her mother encouraged?

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