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"If you aren’t going to marry Lisa, then what?" Carol asked

"I don’t know"

With her eyes opened, Carol confronted hi him to tell her the truth "This isn’t the first ti whether I’ve fathered other kids, you’re wrong I’ve always been careful, but Lisa said…" He let the rest fade

"I meant this isn’t the first time you cheated on Ellie" Technically they were divorced, so it couldn’t really be considered adultery "That’s the reason she filed for divorce, isn’t it?"

Her brother looked up briefly and nodded

Rick stayed for an hour, and they talked while dinner went cold He was still in shock and, frankly, so was she Rick had always been her idol and in the space of a fewsteak sandwiches and coffee, and Rick left soon afterward for his hotel He definitely needed sleep, but he and Carol planned to talk again the next day

Doug returned home an hour later, thrilled that the Mariners had handily defeated the Yankees Carol told hi news

"It doesn’t surprise me," her husband told her They sat side by side on the sofa, Doug’s arm around her "Rick’s always been a ladies’ man"

Carol found it hard to believe her brother could be so rown up with and loved was a stranger "You knew and didn’t tell "

Carol felt sick to her sto around with one wo held her close for several seconds "The truth is, I’! How can you say such a thing?" Rick was the one who’d introduced her to her husband They’d been college friends and dorht about it, Carol realized Doug had never shown asRick as she did

"It’s true, honey The only good thing that ca you I’ve never liked his ethics"

Carol let his words sink in She was seeing her brother realistically for the very first tirow up She wondered how nized it before her

Later, as Carol snuggled close to her husband in bed, she couldn’t help thinking about life’s many injustices

"Why is it," she asked in a whisper, "that wonant have such an easy tireement "I wish I had an answer, sweetheart, but life just isn’t fair"

"No kidding," she ht

CHAPTER 25

ALIX TOWNSEND

A lix slept late on Fridayin bed while the last remnants of sleep faded away She ar her eyes closed, she let her er on the kiss she’d shared with Jordan Never in all her life had she realized a kiss could be so good

She’d been kissed plenty, and had lots of other experience, too Still, no kiss had affected her like that one The ent in their need to dominate She’d never known such sweet pleasure from a simple kiss But then, she reminded herself, this could all be tied up with a childhood drearade

Even now, more than a week later, she remembered every nuance of his kiss His hands had framed her face and his eyes had locked with hers She’d seen his look of surprise--and uncertainty They’d parted soon afterward, and it alet away from each other in order to assimilate what had happened

Alix hadn’t seen Jordan since, hadn’t talked to him, either She tried not to dwell on that Unsure what pro Alix had walked over to the Free Methodist church Jordan had mentioned She stood across the street and chain-sarettes while she watched people file in

Jordan was right about one thing: only a few of the older adults wore hats and gloves and dresses Various fa Bibles Alix had only ever owned one Bible and that had been so long ago, she didn’t knohere it had gone Staring at the churchgoers, she saw thatenough incentive to send her inside

She’d loitered on the corner, hoping, she guessed, that Jordan would notice her He obviously hadn’t; she didn’t see hiood, upbeat and lively--not what she remembered at all Alix had heard churchout of the Middle Ages, but it wasn’t that way now Once she’d even caught herself hu and quickly stopped

After about forty minutes, she’d walked away, hands buried deep in her pockets It wouldn’t have hurt to slip into the back pew and take a look, but fearher actions now, nearly a week later, Alix wasn’t sure what she’d been so afraid of The possibility of so to her, perhaps

Rather than brood on last week’s disappointment, Alix tossed back the sheets and cli in front of the television, an old model with a faded picture tube and tinfoil-wrapped rabbit ears Her roo," Alix nored her

"What’s your problem?" she asked irritably They were supposed to be friends, but Laurel rarely spoke to her any for weeks now