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"That’s low, even for hinized his stateoing to change right now" She reached for her purse and yanked out her cell phone, punching a single button

"Lori," he asked, "who are you phoning?"

"Who do you think?" she muttered

Linc stood and circled her waist with his ar her close "Tell "

SheDaddy And I’ it out with him"

Linc had seen that look in her eyes only once before and that, too, had been an instance involving her father

"Hello, Helen, this is Lori Wyse Is my father still in?"

He started to tell Lori that lance froet it She was furious--and deterot on the phone "Hi, Daddy," she said, all sweetness

"Hi, baby girl If you’re calling, I figure that means you’ve come to your senses and duh to hear Bellamy’s half of the conversation At his father-in-law’s comment, his back stiffened He released Lori, auto his fists

"No, Daddy, it’s the Bella Forin to your wishes No one too far this time You want to hurt the man I love, the man I married I won’t stand for that I won’t! In fact…I never want to hear your naain You have tried to manipulate me my entire life Well, I chose toin our lives Is that clear?"

Leonard Bella in an apart Linc and I will be out of here just as soon as we can find another place"

For once Bellamy didn’t seem quite so sure "Don’t be hasty…"

"No, just the opposite It’s takenyou can to ruin oing to ardless of what you say or what you do And as of this minute I am finished with this family"

"What about your mother?"

"She’ll have to make her own decision I’ve made ive you access to any part of ain, then so be it"

Bella big now But you’ll change your n of trouble"

"Will I, Dad? When’s the last ti? When’s the last time you convinced h

"Listen, Lori…"

"Goodbye, Daddy," she said softly, and disconnected With a hiccuping sigh, Lori dropped her cell phone back inside her purse Then, as if she’d suddenly realized he was right behind her, she walked into Linc’s eed her back "I wish you’d talked to me before you did that" Linc knehat it was like to be without parents He didn’t fully grasp how important a father and mother could be until he’d lost his own

"You’re the only family I need now"

"Oh, Lori…"

"We have to htened and rubbed her moist eyes

"Yes, well, that could be a problem," Linc felt compelled to tell her He’d known a move was imminent after his last dreadful confrontation with his father-in-law The probleh funds to make a security deposit, plus the first and last h-end wo store in Silverdale, they didn’t have the a close to it Her incoroceries and daily necessities And the apartest we find a new place when our bank account is hovering around zero?"

"What about ht of that earlier but he hated the idea of bringing his wife into the saer brothers He enjoyed his privacy and feared Mel and Ned would see Lori as another Mary Jo, expecting her to take care of the cooking and cleaning the way their sister had Not that he’d allow it to happen

"The coe jobs," Lori said

"You love your job," he reminded her

She nodded "I’d miss it, but I’ll do whatever I have to"