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Corrie didn’t, either, which was the main reason she hadn’t informed him

"I think it’s time ere honest with each other," she said

Her husband’s eyes flared "I’ve never been dishonest with you"

"Perhaps not openly, but it’s clear you were trying to get me out of the office this afternoon and I need to knohy"

Roy sighed deeply "Okay," he said with resignation "I wanted to make a few calls and find out what I could about our…other daughter"

"Without tellingto let you knohat I found out"

"Eventually," she said

He hesitated, then admitted it "Eventually," he echoed

"That’s what I thought But why? Do you think I’m emotionally unstable? Did you assume I couldn’t deal hatever information you unearthed?"

"No," he denied hotly "That’s ridiculous"

"Then what possible reason is there for keeping hter who’s thirty years old," he said thoughtfully "A daughter we know nothing about"

She stopped herself fro him that, until recently, they hadn’t even known their first child was feht of her--the baby--fro it I didn’t want to know--and yet I did We’d vowed never to ain but no she’s out there and she refuses to be ignored"

That was painfully obvious to Corrie, as well "You wanted to find her yourself Contact her and then bring me in on what you’d done"

"I need to find her," he corrected "I’ve gone into the adoption registries and entered our names"

"Why exclude me?" Corrie blurted out

"I’ll explain that in a moment Like I said, I went on the Internet"

Confession ti"

Her husband’s eyes connected with hers "She hasn’t registered"

Corrie knew that She didn’t understand it By whatever hter had been able to track theroups And yet…

"That’s why you’ve kept me out of it," Corrie murmured "Because you’re not sure of her motives"

Roy nodded "If she wanted us to find her, she would’ve registered, but she didn’t That tells ht seem She found me, but doesn’t want to be found herself She’s content toame to her, and for some reason she seems to have more of a problem with me than with you"

"I wonder why," Corrie ht" Her husband had always been cautious, and perhaps le of a situation, ued each detail The way he worked resaw puzzles, carefully studying every piece

"The adoption laws in California are different fro--"

"California?" Corrie broke in

Irined look--he’d said more than he’d meant to "Yes, California That’s where the final adoption took place"

Corrie hadn’t noticed where the baby’s honed her name Perhaps the attorney had told her, but if so, she had no recollection of it "I don’t suppose you happened to notice the date, did you?"

"No, why?"

She sed hard and shook her head "No reason"

"Corrie?"

She glanced down, forcing back e not to tell you everything I found out"

"You one about this investigation and left her out Yes, she was guilty of the saood reason Roy had claimed he didn’t want to know; he’d refused to discuss the subject, so she’d had to learn what she could on her own

"No I couldn’t find anything else I’ve hit a brick ith the California records Only Alabaon are ‘open records states’ The reason I was able to find out as h an old friend orks for the California state govern at Corrie, he narrowed his eyes "How did you discover we had a daughter?"

She gazed down at her folded hands "My mother’s diaries I have them and I looked up the year and month She knew She never said a word to hter"

"We’ll find her, sweetheart, and e do we’ll explain everything"

Corrie just hoped it was enough for this child to know she was loved and always had been, despite the fact that she’d sent her out of their lives