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"I don’t think it would hurt to hear him out," Olivia said "He’s had a shock"

Yes, he has, Grace mused For the first time in his life, Stan Lockhart couldn’t manipulate Olivia! "Do you want me to phone you after he leaves?" she asked

Olivia hesitated "Not particularly Stan’s out of my life, and frankly I don’t care what he says"

Grace marveled at her friend If their positions had been reversed, she’d be sitting by the phone waiting for a report She’d want to hear all about her ex-husband’s regrets

Fifteendecidedly unhappy

"Co open the screen for hi room Buttercup wandered over to sniff hi wandered back to the chair where Grace nor to drink?" she asked Stan, only to be polite

"Do you have any Scotch?"

Yeah, right Even if she did, she wouldn’t offer it to hi, thanks"

She gestured for him to sit dohich he did on the sofa across fro to do it, isn’t she?" he muttered

"If you e to hold the reception at their restaurant, following a private cereazebo in the waterfront park

"Ja in, she said"

"Olivia asked if they would" Grace didn’t mean to make him feel worse, but it was iht she’d have one of the other judges perform the ceremony," he said "But apparently not Who’s this pastor friend of hers, anyway?"

"Dave Fle He’s at the Methodist church"

"Oh"

Grace was about to ask if there was a point to his visit when Stan glanced up "This is what I deserve, you know?"

Despite what she knew about Stan, Grace felt sorry for hiement shouldn’t have corets about Olivia would be permanent There’d be no further chance to rets They were so she’d lived with for quite so mistake myself recently," she told him

"You?" He sounded skeptical

Grace nodded "I hurt so back"

"I feel the same way I was such a fool When Jordan drowned…" He paused and stared down at the carpet "I went out to the cerave" He drew a hand along the side of his jaw "It’s funny It’s been--what, sixteen years? I don’t think I’ll ever get over it I still can’t believe ether, his eyes closed in pain

"It was as if I self-destructed after we lost Jordan," he continued, opening his eyes "I did the best I could with the e, but it was never a good e, and we both knew it"

Grace’s heart softened Although she’d been furious with Stan for what he’d done to Olivia and his two surviving children, she remembered that he’d been a decent father

"To tell you the truth, I wasn’t surprised when Marge decided she wanted out In a lot of ways, I think she did us both a favor My first thought when she asked for the divorce was that I’d uy"

Stan frowned "I just don’t see the two of theave her a half sht"

"What now?" Grace asked

Stan shook his head "I’d been thinking I ht come back to Cedar Cove But under the present circumstances, I’m not so sure that would be wise"

Grace kneas referring to Olivia’s co defeat

"Still, Justine and Seth are here and so is Leif," he added as though thinking aloud "I never thought I’d enjoy being a grandfather as rowing up, I want to enjoy every second I can with randkids"

"I knohat you aze went past her to the fireplace randchildren "I can certainly see you in the girl"

"Thank you" Grace stared at Katie’s picture and was unable to squelch a sreater compliment

"I never did tell you how sorry I was to hear about Dan"