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He turned on the oven "Vanni, are you leavingthe kids to Grants Pass I’ve already talked to yourto help me with thees," she said, speaking of little Matt’s biological grandparents "But frankly, I’ Hannah to Carol just now What I have to do is take Hannah to see her grandmother--I don’t kno sick she is What if she doesn’t have long to live? What if I miss a chance to ask her questions about Hannah’sto need to know" Vanni was ra more to herself than to Paul, it seemed "There doesn’t appear to be fa up I don’t dare waste a second I’ to pack tonight after the kids are in bed and leave right after breakfast"

Paul was really sorry he hadn’t had that beer It felt as if the ground wasso quickly He reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a bottled beer, popped the top and sat down at the kitchen table Vanni was trying to referee dinner, two kids in two high chairs with Matt pretty adept at getting the food fro the occasional spoonful there Her hands sure worked good, though

"Hannah took steps today, Paul All by herself Didn’t you, sweetheart?" she said to the baby "Such a big girl" Then to Paul, "Her first birthday is co up in just a ital ca, but I want a ital will do a two-h I don’t care what usually happens--the second child in this house isn’t going to have an invisible childhood just because I’m really busy Maybe I’ll pick one up on et so of beer Then he said, "Um, Vanni? I’m a little behind here, sweetheart"

She turned and looked at hi I’ve been thinking so hard today, about everything Hannah’s grand box full of memorabilia Pictures of Terri, her cup and spoon, her stuffed puppy…Terri’s whole life fit in a box and herHannah to see her right away"

"Jack said you were trying to find Rick today…?"

"Oh, that Uh-huh I had to find out froone since he was a baby He said he had his grandma to answer his questions about his mom and dad If I don’t find out as much as I can about Terri while her mother is able to tell me, I won’t be able to answer Hannah’s questions when she’s older"

"Oh," Paul said duand he said, not really--his grand he said--it would have been nice to have had a regular family A mom and a dad Paul, I want Hannah to have a et to work on that!"

Paul felt his eyes sting "We’re keeping her?" he asked softly

"As my friend Ellie would say, you’re daht burst into tears He took a drink of his beer and set it down He cleared his throat "I’ll take a couple of days off, take you to Grants Pass…"

She focused on Paul "Are you sure? I know you need to work You have soto have a houseful of kids, you’re going to have to "

"I’ll call Dan Brady," Paul said "He loves it when I leave hie I don’t want you to have to do this alone"

Vanni got a little teary "I looked through those pictures, Paul And I realized that if I didn’t act soon, a real important part of Hannah’s babyhood could be lost I don’t want her to have one month of her life without a mom and dad who adore her While we’re in Grants Pass, we should give Mr Hanson a call and tell hi Unless you have reservations"

He shook his head "No I’ood with the idea It’s all up to you"

"Well, I had a lot of things to consider But I thought about it just a little too long Hannah callsto lose another et on the road first thing in the "

He sed down his emotion "Sure Of course" Filled with relief, his heart bursting with pride in his wife, with respect for her generosity and coet up from his chair and put a soft kiss on her brow "Want ood," she said "And please, don’t forget the hard-to-get places--neck wrinkles, backs of ears, between toes Your hed a little eht how lucky he was to have a mom like that And now both Hannah and Matt would have one like that, too Fussy Coain Besides his age and current address the only thing Ellie could tell hirew up in Southern California Noah found nothing toanywhere In fact, his house ned by a wo it Noah even bit the bullet and plunked down a credit-card number to a couple of online-search coh, he could look hiet way too much information on a couple of relatively dull Presbyterianhe could find on Arnold Gunterson was his e to and divorce from Ellie Baldhich was less than two years old He wasn’t even pulling up Arnie’s current address or place of eave the bios for the board of directors, but only the na so eerie and sinister about those locks on the outside of the door, about the way he’d followed the there was a lot , there was in fact less information than he expected

But--as the principal of a private elementary school, there would have to be information available to the parents of prospective students, not to , which was required in almost all states He would have a résumé; he would list his credentials and the universities frorees on the walls and a packet of information for prospective students and their parents that outlined policies Clearly, Arnold would not happily give any information to someone like Noah or Brie Nor could Mel or Jack, Jo or Nick, or anyone who Arnold ht have seen before visit the school and inquire

Noah knew he needed et a few chores done to keep his hands busy while he was thinking That old faded blue pickup he drove had beena bit lately, so he went outside and got under the hood Before long he found hi off the battery, adding water to the radiator

Jack wandered out of the bar and, asa hand While this was going on, Noah was thinking out loud, co about the lack of information he had on Arnold Gunterson and his inability to think of a way to get more

"Wait a minute," Jack finally said "I know someone Arnold hasn’t seen before, and they happen to have an eleed son"

Before the afternoon was over Jack and Noah were talking to John and Paige Middleton about visiting a private school in Redway to discuss enrolling their son, Christopher And to see what they could learn about the school and its director

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