Page 44 (1/2)

"I sincerely hope, Mr Rhodes, that we never have a relationship Now kindly leave ret this"

Olivia s--if you show up into throw the book at you"

Mike’s eyes widened and Olivia realized she’d probably divulged too much "Thank you, Officer Lusk," she said formally

Olivia shut down her coot ho that had happened

Forty-Five

Roy hadn’t shared his suspicions with Corrie He needed to deal with this in his oay After all, the postcards had been addressed to hies started co to Corrie, as well But all communication had ceased after Valentine’s Day There’d been nothing in any form for weeks now

It didn’t matter; he knew Furthermore, she knew that he knehich was, he suspected, why he hadn’t received any further postcards or anything else

He’d discovered she had been adopted and raised in California Then he’d run into a dead end But her recent actions in the Puget Sound area had given her away His first break had come when he’d finally talked to the florist who’d taken her order; froan to fall into place

"Roy?" Corrie interrupted his thoughts Saturdayas he sat at the breakfast table "You’re very quiet"

Roy set aside thenewspaper and reached for his coffee as Corrie slid a plate of scra the paper"

"Considering how long we’ve been ’s bothering you?"

He shook his head She could always tell

Corrie sat across fro have you known?"

"A while," he returned casually

"Then what are you waiting for?"

"I don’t know I hate to adry with, you know" He was sure of this And much as he wanted to take responsibility, wanted a relationship with his unknown daughter, he had trouble accepting the changes that would come into his life Linnette and Mack would need to be told and that worried hiht think poorly of hiuilt," Corrie whispered, her voice shaky "I feel it, too, although intellectually I know I shouldn’t Giving this child up to a loving family was the very best choice I could’ve made I loved her, but at the sa for her on uilt about the adoption It was his own failures "Corrie--"

She cut hined the adoption papers I don’t knohy she singled you out She has no reason to be upset with you"

Roy h this was a nor conversation "Before we seek her out, we have to discuss it with Linnette and Mack"

Corrie scooped up a forkful of egg, but didn’t take a bite She lowered her head "I agree" Then she glanced up and smiled "I called Mack last week" She raised her head to look at the kitchen clock "He should be here in an hour"

After all these years, Roy shouldn’t be surprised by anything his wife did In this instance, however, her sense of ti was uncanny "What about Linnette?" He’d always been close to his daughter, and confessing his failures to Linnette, and Mack, too, wasn’t going to be easy

"I thought we should tell them one at a time" She met his eyes "Is that the way you’d like to do it?"

He nodded Telling his children…This, above everything else, would be the most difficult part of the whole situation

Mack arrived at nine Roy didn’t knohat Corrie had said to persuade him to drive fro Generally, Mack avoided his father And thinking back over the last few years, Roy accepted the blaement

He wasn’t completely sure when this rift between theh school probably Roy had wanted his son to play football the way he had; Mack chose soccer In his disappointaretted it deeply Froenerated into a clash of wills It al his father Corrie’s heartbreak was so else Roy laid at his own door

Mack stood aardly in the living rooed each one with a curt nod "You wanted to talk to me?"

Corrie nodded and indicated he should sit down Mack did, perching on the outer edge of the chair, presuetaway He was a fine-looking young er As tall as Roy was hier than Roy liked--no doubt why Mack had chosen that style

Roy looked at Corrie and she looked at him They should have discussed the best way to broach the subject beforehand He understood why they hadn’t Talking about their first daughter was just too painful

"Yourto tell you," Roy announced, sitting beside Corrie on the sofa

She reached for a tissue and wadded it tightly

Mack went very still He frowned "Are you two…splitting?"

Roy shook his head "Never," he said, taking Corrie’s hand "Your mother’s stuck with me for the rest of our natural lives"

That seemed to reassure their son, who smiled briefly

"Before we explain e asked you to co I need to say first" Roy cleared his throat This seemed to be the day for difficult conversations "I love ly indifferent