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A moment later, Rachel sed?" Linnette McAfee shouted over the phone

Mack knew this would shock his sister--just like it would shock his parents once he told thee, he decided Yes, strange And aard, too

In the short tied between Mack and Mary Jo, and not for the better Instead of drawing the two of theether, it seeht teeks ago, Mary Jo had gone out of her way to avoid him Mack didn’t understand it He’d accepted her stipulation Nonetheless she seemed to believe that Mack would treat her as badly as Rhodes had That told Mack she didn’t really know hih she claimed she did

Another equally unpleasant possibility was that she didn’t actually care for hiainst David Rhodes He was perfectly willing to play that role and had said as s for her--demanded that Mary Jo marry him for reasons other than fear

"I hadn’t even heard that you were dating anyone," Linnette said, breaking into his thoughts

"It’s Mary Jo Wyse and--"

"Isn’t she the woman who had the baby on Christmas Eve?"

"Yes I delivered Noelle and we’ve been--"

His sister cut hiain why you haven’t said anything to Mom and Dad?"

"It’s co, David Rhodes, Noelle’s birth father, is threatening to go for custody"

"He wouldn’t dare"

"He won’t now that I’m in the picture, that’s for sure"

"Just a -sister way "You don’t need to marry her to keep David Rhodes out of her life Obviously, there’sLinnette that he was engaged hadn’t been such a good idea, after all

"You love her, don’t you?"

"Yes…"

"But you aren’t a hundred percent convinced she returns your feelings?"

Apparently his sister possessed some form of psychic ability because she’d immediately homed in on the one subject Mack wanted to avoid

"Uh…"

"You’re afraid she’s using you to keep Noelle’s father at bay?"

When he didn’t answer, she continued "Mack…do you love her that htly against his ear He closed his eyes and whispered, "Yeah, I love her that much" It would be a whole lot easier if he didn’t

"Oh, Mack, you’ve got it bad"

One thing Mack didn’t as his sister’s sy on between him and Mary Jo And yet…he felt at such a loss to explain this new tension between theht Soement, Mary Jo had barely looked at him It used to be that she’d often invite hihts he wasn’t at the station In the past teeks he hadn’t been to her place even once

That wasn’t all Before they becaaether Froe, she’d treated him as if he had some communicable disease

"Okay, little brother, if you honestly feel that way, then why--"

"Can I say so?" he asked

"No," Linnette said "Answer reed to ement"

"Six months? Well, that’s not so bad"

"She also insisted there be no…physical contact between us"

"What?"

Mack was not repeating that infor the words out loud convinced him Mary Jo didn’t care the way he did He was a means to an end He would protect her and Noelle so Rhodes couldn’t threaten her And the worst of it was…he’d suggested it hi…physical for six et to know each other--or so she said," he gruht of the recent aardness between theroaned "I don’t ask you about your love life, do I?"

"No, but maybe you should"

Mack let her comment slide

"Remember," his sister said, "Mary Jo has some real trust issues I can’t blame her for that"

"You haven’t even met her," Mack reminded Linnette But what she’d said was true Mary Jo did have trust issues; she’d admitted it and the reasons were obvious That, however, didn’t explain the change in her attitude since she’d agreed to marry him

"For someone who’s about to become a husband and father, you don’t sound very happy"

"I’m not The fact is, I’m not sure why I told you No one else knows except Mary Jo’s brother"

"You toldsister and you want advice--only you won’t coht out and ask for it"

"Ahed All of this would be easier if he didn’t have such strong feelings for Mary Jo

"Does she know your real na called Mack frorade school He’d been narandfather, and while Mack had loved his grandpa Jerry, he wasn’t fond of the name

"Why don’t you want to tell Mom and Dad?" Linnette asked "They’d be thrilled"