Kitabı oxu: «Child of Her Heart»
“You sure are a pretty little thing, Anna. Your mama will have to chase the boys off with a stick.”
Anna’s expression crinkled into a beaming toothless smile, and Justin chuckled.
An ache yawned in Meredith’s chest, a sad yearning for the father she hadn’t thought important only a year ago. She’d planned this baby, known she was going to raise her alone and had been prepared to be the only parent her child needed.
But that had been before. Before she’d seen Justin with his children…and with Anna in his arms.
“What’s a frown doing on that pretty face?” Justin asked as he reached out and touched her between her brows. Her skin warmed like a schoolgirl’s.
Meredith looked into his face, a face so darkly handsome and intriguingly expressive, and admitted a monumental truth to herself—she was attracted to this man. It was strong and exhilarating. And physical.
She was completely out of her comfort zone.
It felt…incredible.
CHERYL ST.JOHN
A peacemaker, a romantic, an idealist and a discouraged perfectionist are the terms that Cheryl uses to describe herself. The award-winning author of both historical and contemporary novels says that knowing her stories bring hope and pleasure to readers is one of the best parts of being a writer. The other wonderful part is being able to set her own schedule and have time to work around her growing family.
Cheryl loves to hear from readers! E-mail her at: SaintJohn@aol.com.
Child of Her Heart
Cheryl St.John
Be a part of
Because birthright has its privileges and family ties run deep.
After a sperm-bank mix-up, single mom Meredith Malone got the shock of a lifetime….
Meredith Malone: She survived breast cancer and a fiancé’s desertion. Now the birth of her baby caused a scandal in the community. Meredith had to protect her child, so she fled to a vacation spot…and fell in love. Could she learn to trust again?
Justin Weber: A hotshot attorney determined to protect the Children’s Connection, Justin wanted to learn more about Meredith and her baby. As he spent time with her, he began to see his future in her eyes….
Nurse Nancy Allen: A devoted health-care worker, nurse Nancy went to the authorities with suspicions about a baby ring operating out of the clinic. But could her speaking out have been a fatal mistake?
Special thanks to the following for their assistance with factual details: RaeAnne Thayne, who shared her timely family vacation to Cannon Beach in vivid detail; Bonnie Blythe, who described the beaches and recommended informational links; and to the Johns Hopkins Breast Cancer Center experts for answering medical questions.
Thanks to Susan Mallery, Pamela Toth, Laurie Paige, Victoria Pade, Marie Ferrarella, Karen Rose Smith, RaeAnne Thayne, Gina Wilkins, Elizabeth Bevarly, Christie Ridgway and Anne Marie Winston, who worked hard to pull together the continuity threads and strengthen the series, and to Allison Lyons, who quickly and patiently answered questions and found solutions.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Epilogue
Prologue
“If the press gets wind of the mistake, the clinic’s reputation is shot.” Standing, Oliver Pearson leaned forward, one age-speckled hand on the polished mahogany table, and addressed the board of directors in his resonating deep voice. “I say we make a decision today. That baby was born nearly three months ago, and out of fear we’ve tabled the discussion long enough.”
Dianna March straightened her already rigid spine in her leather chair, the overhead fluorescents highlighting her elegant silver pageboy. “We had to give the woman some time, Oliver, for goodness’ sake! She gave birth to an African-American infant when she was expecting a child who looks like herself. How insensitive would we look if we rushed right into her hospital room and asked her to sign waivers of release?”
Albert Squires, a balding, paunchy, retired executive, joined the discussion. “Miss Malone has had time. Her lawyer is calling and threatening to sue. The Children’s Connection needs to offer compensation.”
It was a generous offer coming from a man who’d worn the same burgundy suit to board meetings since 1995.
“A payoff is an admission of wrongdoing,” Miles Remington, the youngest member of the board, disagreed. “Are we admitting responsibility?”
“The clinic is responsible,” Dianna replied. “Someone mixed up the sperm from the donors and fertilized her eggs with sperm from an African-American.”
“How do we know for certain that Miss Malone intends to sue?” John G. Reynolds asked, joining the conversation for the first time.
“Her mother’s lawyer is asking for compensation,” Oliver replied.
“The mother can’t sue without the daughter,” the man replied. “Perhaps this is a lot of blustering to see how much they can bleed us for without going public.”
Terrence Logan, retired CEO of Logan Corporation, stood and walked to a table laden with a silver coffee urn and assorted pastries. He poured himself a steaming cup and returned to again fold his six-foot frame into his chair. “We’ve kept tabs through her doctor and her counselor at the clinic. What we need is someone to talk to the woman directly. Check her out, see where she stands on the issues and discover whether or not she’s amenable to compensation.”
“Justin’s the man.” Miles emphasized his words by jabbing his doughnut in the air. “Why isn’t he here, anyway?”
Miles was referring to Justin Weber, the Logans’ close family friend and corporate attorney for Children’s Connection, one of the premier fertility clinics in the country.
“He’s flying back from Chicago this afternoon,” Terrence replied. “Late yesterday he settled with the insurance company over that fire incident.”
“Send him to evaluate the Malone woman,” Garnet Kearn said. She was a small woman with thin, wispy hair dyed a mousy brown and badly permed, making her head look like a large coconut. “That’s his job.”
“I don’t think that’s wise,” Terrence said. “He’s scheduled for his vacation, and I can’t ask him to postpone it again. He’s promised to take his boys to Cannon Beach.”
He was referring to the company-owned suites in an elegant inn on the coast of Oregon where their executives, board members and corporate attorney shared privileges.
“When does he leave?” Albert asked.
Terrence took a sip of coffee. “He should have returned this morning, but he stayed over to wind up this Chicago deal.”
Silence fell over the room. The clock on the wall ticked off the minutes like a time bomb.
Wayne Thorpe sat forward, his chair complaining beneath his considerable weight. The other board members looked to him with interest. He didn’t speak often, but when he did, his words were usually worthy of listening. His nose and cheeks were florid from his nightly appointment with a bourbon bottle, and he wore heavy gold signet rings on both pinkies. “Things are probably tense for Meredith Malone,” he said. “We need to consider her feelings in the matter. The board might be wise to give her more time to think over her situation and her choices.”
No one said a word, digesting the suggestion, wondering where he was taking it.
Dianna March nodded her agreement.
“I’m sure there’s an available suite at the Lighthouse Inn,” Thorpe added. “It’s February, after all, off-season.”
Terrence looked decidedly uncomfortable.
Dianna’s eyebrows rose.
As the implication sunk in, Thorpe’s proposal was met with nods and sidelong glances. Send Meredith Malone to the same inn where their attorney would be vacationing.
“It would keep her away from the media awhile longer,” Albert agreed.
“And give her some private time with her baby,” Garnet said. “The clinic is all about families.”
Terrence shook his head, but every person in the room, including him, knew something had to be done.
“Who will make the offer?” Miles asked.
“The chairman?” Wayne Thorpe suggested.
“Excellent idea.” Oliver slapped the table as if banging a gavel. Murmurs of agreement echoed.
Dianna March was the chairwoman this term. Fitting that a woman should make the offer. As she tucked her hair behind one ear, diamonds glittered on her slender hand. “I’ll see to it this afternoon.”
One
Leaving Portland, Meredith Malone drove west along the Sunset Highway. Sweeping wheat fields bordered by verdant hills and towering mountains soon gave way to orchards, which gave way to forests of spruce, alder, cedar and hemlock. In places the highway cut in so deeply that the bases of the huge trees were eye level on both sides of the car, giving the feeling that she was an infinitesimal part of the endless forest. She drove in the shaded wilderness for an hour before seeing sunlight and sky again.
Here, an occasional gift shop dotted the sides of the road, joined by deserted fruit stands that would be busy in later months. During the summer even antique dealers displayed goods along this stretch of road, and tourists with RVs, towing ATVs or with bike and surfboard carriers slowed traffic considerably. This time of year, however, hers was one of only a few cars, so she made good time.
She descended the last hill from Saddle Mountain, pleased that she’d planned the drive for after her three-month-old daughter had been fed and was ready to sleep most of the morning.
She drove through a small river valley and climbed through the dense foliage along the coast. She hadn’t been to the coast for years, and as she started the last descent toward Cannon Beach junction, the Pacific Ocean appeared, vast and surprisingly familiar. Ahead was a fleeting distant view of Haystack Rock, projecting a couple of hundred feet out of the water. From almost untouched countryside, she drove the steep loop down to Cannon Beach and into the small town.
From her car seat in the rear, Anna woke and let Meredith know she was hungry with tiny rooting sounds and a long wail of complaint.
“We’re there, sweetie. Mommy just has to find the address.”
She glanced at the piece of paper on the seat beside her and followed directions through the quaint little community to a multicolored brick inn near the beach. White shutters made the windows look welcoming, and each guest suite sported a sunny balcony. Shrubs bordered the building and lined the drive and the walk.
Meredith unfastened the carrier, grabbed Anna’s bag and her purse, and carried the seat holding her baby. She would come back later for the rest of her belongings. Traveling with an infant was an enormous task. She had packed diapers and clothing and blankets and toys, and still she’d wondered if she’d remembered everything she would need for her stay. Once again she said a prayer of thanks for the blessing and ability to breast-feed. At least she didn’t have to worry about bottles and formula.
It may have been a perfectly natural thing to a million women, but for her it was a gift she never took for granted.
Anna was red-faced and wailing by the time Meredith entered the lobby, set the carrier on the carpeted floor and checked in.
“Sorry,” she said above the crying to the woman at the counter. “She’s hungry.”
The woman nodded. “Can I help you carry your things to your room? Maybe she’ll settle down if you take her out and hold her.”
“You’re probably right.” Meredith leaned over, unbuckled Anna’s restraints and picked her up. Anna immediately quieted as she peered at her new surroundings and blinked at her mother.
“You’ve been cooped up in that seat for a while, haven’t you, sweetie?” Meredith smiled and turned back for the room key.
The clerk was staring at Anna.
Pain stabbed in Meredith’s chest. Anna was a beautiful child with black hair, near-black eyes and velvety skin the color of coffee with cream. Meredith, on the other hand, was as fair-skinned as could be.
Would she ever get used to people staring at the two of them? She waited for a question—people often blurted the first thing on their minds. But this woman displayed a modicum of tact and said nothing.
With a cheerful smile pasted on her face, she came around the wall from the little room she’d been standing in and picked up the carrier and Meredith’s bag. “I’ll show you to your room.”
Not “what a pretty baby” or “what is her name?” Meredith tamped down the hurt as the woman walked her down a hallway and led her to a set of double doors. Meredith used the plastic key card and let herself in. The hotel employee set her belongings just inside. “Have a nice stay.”
“Thank you.” Meredith closed the door and locked it. Her first impression was that the suite was as large as her apartment at home, but far more elegantly furnished.
Anna was fussing again, so without taking time to investigate the rooms, she hurried into the bedroom, placed the baby on the king-sized bed and changed her diaper. Then Meredith unbuttoned her shirt, settled in a comfortable overstuffed chair and placed Anna at her breast.
Dark eyes looked at her trustingly, smooth dark skin and lips a vivid contrast against Meredith’s scarred white breast. She touched her baby’s face and smiled. The drive had been beautiful and relaxing, but she was tired from packing and planning and following directions. She kicked off her shoes and propped her feet on a matching ottoman.
The past few months had been tension-filled and emotionally draining. No, the past couple of years had been tension-filled and emotionally draining. But the recent months had been worse, rife with her mother’s constant disapproval and pressuring. Every time Meredith thought about her mother’s reactions, renewed hurt knifed through her heart. Breathing deeply, she worked to fight back her anger before her tension seeped through to the baby in her arms.
Meredith’s mother had wanted her to give up Anna for adoption. Meredith wouldn’t hear of it. She’d loved her baby from conception. She’d adored her on sight and cherished her more every day since.
But Veronica was embarrassed. She’d been mortified when her daughter gave birth to an African-American child. She wanted the world to know Anna’s birth was not by choice or by natural means and she threatened at every opportunity to feed the information about the mistake made by Children’s Connection to the media in hopes of having the public’s sympathy.
Veronica’s obvious shame hurt Meredith more than she could say. She’d been surprised when she’d seen her baby, yes, of course. But ashamed? Certainly not. She was tired of fighting her mother on every front and constantly heading off her confrontations and insistence that Meredith sue Children’s Connection. This was her mother! She should accept Meredith’s decisions and love her grandchild.
Tears stung her eyelids and she determinedly blinked them away. She needed this time away from everything—especially from Veronica. She craved privacy. She was looking forward to peace and quiet, time alone with Anna without pressure or censure.
For a few blessed weeks, she wouldn’t have to cook or clean; she’d have attendants to help tote and carry. She could see the local sights at her leisure and return here whenever she wanted to put her feet up and do nothing.
She glanced around the elegantly appointed room. This was just the getaway she needed.
Two
The morning news had predicted temperatures in the sixties and Meredith was glad for the unusual warmth. Shortly after her arrival the day before she had discovered a place nearby to rent all types of beach equipment, and she was eager to try out her canvas chair and umbrella.
The sand was deliciously warm from the sun, and though she knew the water was freezing cold, a few die-hard surfers in wet suits rode the waves onto the beach.
Anna slept peacefully on a thick blanket under the umbrella, and by late morning Meredith was a third of the way through a mystery novel she’d been wanting to read. She poured herself hot decaf coffee from the thermos, sipped leisurely and her eyes grew heavy.
“I think her baby’s sleeping.”
“She’s sleeping, too, Lamond. Don’t bother them.”
“I’m not bothering them, I’m just lookin’.”
The soft voices brought her out of her restful state, and she opened her eyes to find two handsome young black boys in jeans and T-shirts peering at Anna.
“Hi,” she said.
The oldest boy glanced at her with eyes widened in surprise, but the younger one gave her a friendly smile. “Hi. That your baby?”
“Yes. Her name’s Anna. I’m Meredith.”
“I’m Lamond and I’m four.” He held up the appropriate number of fingers. “This is my big brother, Jonah.” He’s seven.
“Nice to meet you both.”
“Can your baby swim?”
With a smile, Meredith shook her head. “Not yet.”
“I saw babies on TV what could swim,” Lamond said matter-of-factly. “The moms and dads just put ’em in. They had a camera underneath the water so you could see ’em with their little faces all scrunched up.” He demonstrated and giggled. “It was cool.”
“It sounds cool,” she replied. “I’ve heard of teaching infants to swim.”
Taking a step back, he pointed toward the ocean. “Maybe you could put her in the water and see if she can do it,” he suggested.
“I’m pretty sure you’d have to teach a baby in a heated pool,” she replied with a grin. “The ocean’s too cold.”
“It’s too cold for me,” Jonah said with a shudder.
“Not for me,” Lamond said, puffing his chest out. “I’m tough. My dad says so.”
“I’ll bet you are.”
“Your baby’s real pretty,” he said. “Can I look at her up close?”
“Sure.” Meredith got out of her chair and knelt beside the baby, peeling back the blanket that protected her cheek from the elements.
Anna’s rosy lips puckered and she made an instinctive little sucking motion.
“Aw.” Lamond chuckled. “That’s so cute.”
Meredith smiled at the child who had captured her heart in record time. She thought everything Anna did was darling, too.
“D’you live around here?” Jonah asked.
“No, we’re vacationing.”
“Us, too,” he replied. “We’re staying at the Lighthouse Inn, but the only lighthouse is on the sign.”
“There’s a painting in the foyer,” she told him. “We’re staying there, too.”
“We’re going to see a real lighthouse,” Lamond added.
“That sounds like fun.”
“Are you boys bothering the lady?” The rich timbre of a male voice interrupted their discussion.
Both boys turned toward the tall man who had approached and bent to peer under the umbrella.
“We’re not bothering her, Dad,” Lamond said. “This is Meredith. We was just lookin’ at her baby, Anna. Isn’t she cute?”
Khaki trousers and a pale yellow shirt contrasted with the man’s dark skin. The hands he placed on his knees as he bent forward were large, his nails blunt and pink. “She’s a beauty all right,” he replied with a grin. He had an energy and masculine presence that Meredith could almost feel. When he directed his attention to her, his gaze was like a physical touch.
She waited for censure in his expression…a question….
“Are these guys driving you crazy?” It wasn’t the question she’d been anticipating.
His voice melted her senses like hot fudge on ice cream. “Not at all. I was glad for someone to talk to. Anna is a joy, but she doesn’t have much to say.”
He grinned. “Give her a couple of years and you won’t be able to get a thought in edgewise.”
“The voice of experience, I take it?”
He nodded good-naturedly.
“They’re staying at the Lighthouse Inn, too, Dad,” Lamond said.
“I guess we’re neighbors, then. Temporarily anyway. Justin Weber,” he introduced himself politely, “father to these two rascals.”
She raised a hand and he shook it, his fingers warm, his grip firm, but gentle. The simple handshake shouldn’t have given her butterflies in the pit of her stomach, but it did. “Nice to meet you.”
He released her hand. Immediately, she wondered if there was a Mrs. Justin Weber, but she didn’t ask because she didn’t want to answer questions posed to her.
“Where’s your dad?” Lamond asked.
Meredith blinked, but understood momentarily.
“Her husband you mean,” Jonah corrected.
“I don’t have a husband,” she replied. It was a relief to be asked an easy question for a change, one she didn’t mind answering. Most people asked probing questions about Anna’s parentage, and Meredith found them offensive and rude.
“Did he die?” Lamond’s young face took on a sad expression. “Our mom died.”
The answer to her wondering was a disturbingly sad one and her heart extended even further to the motherless boys. “No, honey,” she said, her voice soft with sympathy. “I never had a husband. I’m sorry about your mom.”
Her gaze was drawn to the man’s, but his dark one didn’t reveal emotion.
“We have a nanny,” Jonah said. “She’s sort of like a mom.”
Not knowing what to say, Meredith simply listened.
“Her name’s Mauli,” Lamond supplied. “It’s Hawaiian. She knows how to do cartwheels.”
Jonah nodded. “And she can multiply and divide in her head. Without a calculator.”
“And she makes macaroni and cheese without a box.” Jonah looked up at his dad. “Doesn’t she, Dad?”
Justin nodded.
Meredith smiled at their exuberant praise of their nanny. “She sounds like a prize.”
“Couldn’t get along without her,” the man said.
“Is she traveling with you?”
“Oh, yes.” Justin glanced in the direction of the road that led away from the beach. “She’s shopping. She gets plenty of time to herself while we’re on vacation. Trips are one of her job perks.”
“That’s nice for her.”
He nodded. “Well, boys, we’d better leave Miss…Meredith to her book and finish our walk. It was nice to meet you.”
“You, too.”
“We’re going to see the lighthouse now,” Lamond said.
“Have a good time.”
“You could come with us,” Lamond added, in the innocent fashion of a child. “It’ll be really cool.”
Again she met their father’s eyes, but the man seemed a little uncomfortable this time.
She smiled. “Thank you, but I’ve planned to rest today. Anna and I are enjoying the beach. You have a good time.”
“When we see you, we’ll tell you all about it.”
His innocent assumption that she would just naturally be interested in his account of their sight-seeing trip was endearing. “I’ll look forward to it.”
They said their goodbyes, and Justin straightened to walk away. Lamond tugged on his arm, and he swept the boy up onto his shoulders.
Meredith watched the small family as they strolled away on the tawny sand, and couldn’t help noticing Justin Weber’s fine form—broad shoulders, narrow hips and long legs. Sad that they’d lost their wife and mother. Nice that they were all the same color.
Whoa! Where that thought had come from, she didn’t know, but she’d surprised herself with it.
Anna made tiny waking noises, and Meredith glanced at her watch. She’d planned to stay on the beach for another couple of hours, so she changed Anna and nursed her.
Occasionally someone on the beach nodded a hello, but she enjoyed the tranquility of the crashing waves and the solitude. She’d left her cell phone in her room because she didn’t want Veronica to reach her and ask where she was.
Finally getting hungry, she packed up her belongings, slid Anna into the sling she wore to carry her and made her way back to the inn. As she kicked off her shoes and shook out sand at the entrance, a young male employee hurried to help her and store her beach rentals.
Meredith went to her room where she locked the door and placed Anna in the crib the inn had provided. There were four messages on her cell phone, all from Veronica, all pleading with her to call and listen to reason. Meredith deleted them, turned off her phone and took a nap.
Waking rested, she fed Anna, took a quick shower and dressed in trousers and a silky blouse. She carried Anna out to the car and glanced at the food and entertainment guide she’d discovered in a rack inside the inn. They all looked good and the addresses were meaningless, so she headed down a main street.
The first restaurant she found was a seafood place with weathered clapboard siding, a wooden walk-way with posts and rope strung between them to mimic a wharf, and a shark’s jawbone over the door. Meredith liked the authentic look and it had a good rating in the guidebook, so she parked and entered.
A hostess asked her seating preferences just as a young voice called, “Miss Meredith! Miss Meredith!”
She turned to discover Lamond Weber racing across the foyer toward her. She shifted Anna’s seat to her other hand. “Well, hello.”
Dressed in a fresh white sport shirt, Justin walked forward and greeted her with a warm smile. “We were just being shown to a table. Will you join us?”
Meredith glanced from Justin to Lamond to the hostess and couldn’t think of a single reason not to accept his offer. “Thank you. I’d love to.”
“Great. We’ll need another chair, miss,” he said. “And one of those bases to put the car seat on.”
“What’s that?” Meredith asked.
He stepped beside her and touched his hand to the small of her back to guide her through the tables. She was keenly aware of his warm touch through her clothing.
“They have high chairs that flip over so you can fasten your infant seat on top,” Justin explained. “Some places have an aluminum or wooden frame for the same purpose. Gets the baby up on your level, and you don’t have to leave her in her seat on the floor or try to hold her while you eat.”
The hostess appeared then with just such an invention and showed Meredith how to safely place Anna’s carrier into the base.
“Isn’t that ingenious?” Feeling like the novice she was, Meredith smiled and thanked the young woman.
In a gentlemanly gesture, Justin held Meredith’s chair, then helped Lamond get settled on a booster seat.
“I take it you haven’t been out to eat much since Anna’s arrival,” he said with a good-natured smile.
“If you don’t count carryout or drive through, this is my first dinner out.” She picked up a menu and glanced at the selections. The list of grilled salmon, albacore tuna and fresh salads made her mouth water.
“What’s Anna going to eat?” Lamond asked.
“She won’t be hungry for a while,” Meredith replied. “I fed her right before we came here.”
“Oh. Read me the kids’ food, Dad. Please?”
Justin opened his menu and read the selection of children’s dinners.
“I want the tuna melt. Can I have two?”
Justin raised an ebony brow at his son. “You’re going to be growing out of all your clothes again, you keep eating so much.”
Lamond giggled.
Jonah opened a backpack he’d carried in and took out two coloring books and a box of crayons. The boys settled down to color brightly hued racing cars.
Meredith thanked the waitress who set glasses of water before them. She took a sip. “What a good idea to bring along something to entertain them.”
Justin had a nice smile that revealed even white teeth and disturbed her comfort level. He had a manner of looking at her that made her feel he was thinking more than he was saying. “It’s either that or constantly be nagging them not to play with the silverware and the condiments. Mauli’s great about picking up things to amuse them. She seems to know just what they like.”
“Where is Mauli tonight?”
“Taking in a movie with a girlfriend she met yesterday.”
Studying the menu, Meredith intuitively sensed stares from a nearby table and glanced in that direction. A couple with three children were seated at a round table. The youngest of the children played with an action figure on the tabletop, but the other two, a boy and girl of about seven and nine, stared at Jonah and Lamond, then at Anna in her seat and gave Meredith and Justin inquiring looks.
Their mother caught their attention and whispered something Meredith could only partially hear, but they reluctantly turned away. Meredith locked gazes with the woman momentarily, and seeming embarrassed, the young mother looked away quickly.
It was all those two children could do not to turn their heads and stare again. The woman had taken hold of the younger boy’s wrist on the tabletop as though warning him.
Discomfort at being the center of attention flooded Meredith, and warmth rose in her cheeks. Her stomach dipped nervously. She glanced around to see how many other people were looking at them, but didn’t notice anything unusual.
Returning her gaze to the menu but not able to concentrate, she glanced up and found Justin studying her solemnly.
Justin had seen the children’s curious gazes and hadn’t thought much of it. People probably saw them and assumed they were a family. His boys were quite dark-skinned, but if an onlooker thought Meredith was his wife, then they would just quite naturally think Anna was their child together.
He didn’t really care much what people thought, but it was apparent that Meredith did. The expression on her face and the tilt of her chin clearly showed a defensiveness that surprised him.
She was obviously uncomfortable with the attention that her child—and probably Justin’s company—drew. He didn’t need any complications in his life, in fact had vowed not to take on any, but for some reason he had the feeling that this young woman could use a friend.
Pulsuz fraqment bitdi.
