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He didn’t re, but suddenly he was beside his bike, hunched over, waiting for his heart rate to return to so close to norhtened, dripping dog

When the kids started to turn, to come back and check on him, he waved them off After he pointed to his bike, they nodded and waved, then continued their ride They would assu With luck, they would never guess the truth

Asand powerful as the drive ithin him, he couldn’t do it That part of him, the pieces that made him whole, were shattered beyond repair None of the trophies sitting in boxes h ht He was a loser and a coward, and the hell of it was, he didn’t kno to make any of it better

SATURDAY AFTERNOON, CHARITY walked the short distance between the hotel and Marsha’s house Despite the weeks she’d been in town, she’d never been to her boss’s house before Not that she was visiting as Marsha’s erandmother for the first tie She couldn’t see of what she’d been told For the past couple of days she’d alternated between happiness and confusion She’d wanted to be a part of a fa, she couldn’t believe it had finally happened

She was also wrestling with anger,to do with Marsha, but she’d had no right to keep Charity from that relationship Especially after her death Why hadn’t she told her own daughter that she had other fa somewhere Yet she hadn’t bothered to leave a note, or even a hint

As Charity approached the house, she did her best to push away the annoyance she felt She didn’t want to start her afternoon with Marsha in a bad mood

She turned the corner and saw the white house Marsha had described It o stories, in a craftsman style typical of the area, probably built in the 1920s There were elements that were similar to the house Charity had fallen in love with The house Josh wanted to sell her at a discount Soht huo fro in a matter of a few days?

She walked up the three steps to the wide porch and knocked Marsha opened the door allad you’re here," the older woht, open living roo about the combination of colors, furniture placement and s made her want to sink into one of the overstuffed seats and never leave

"Thanks for havinga tiny bit aard

Marsha had replaced her usual well-tailored suits with jeans and a long-sleeved blouse Her white hair was more casual, soft waves rather than a bun She linked ar around the topic, I thought we’d face it head-on," she said, leading the way to the stairs "Let’s go look at Sandra’s rooet a sense of what her life was like before you were born"

"I’d like that," Charity told her

They cli

"The last door on the right," Marsha said, releasing Charity "Nothing has been changed, I’hter’s rooists would have plenty to say about that"

Her tone was easy, but Charity saw the flash of pain in her eyes

Not knohat to say, she walked toward the open door When she reached it, she turned and looked at the bedrooed to her mother

The whole room had been done in shades of lavender, her mother’s favorite color A full-sized bed was covered in a purple and lavender quilt Built-in bookcases flanked the bed The shelves were croith books, knick-knacks and pictures There were posters on the wall A very young Michael Jackson and a group Charity wouldn’t have known except for the word "Blondie" in script at the bottom

She stepped inside the bedroom and walked to the desk School books were still stacked A half-written essay on Julius Caesar was next to theold flower necklace on a thin chain lay carelessly across the paper

She moved to the shelves and studied the pictures Sandra was in nearly all of them Her mother with her friends, at a school dance The familiar smile made her chest ache, but other than that, she felt no connection with the room or the former occupant

"All she took were so else There wasn’t a note She never said goodbye"

"I’m sorry," Charity said, not sure how to ease Marsha’s pain "For what it’s worth, I don’t think her constanton was about you She loved new places We’d settle so about the next place and the next Where ere going was alwaysthan where ere"

Charity looked around at the room The pretty curtains, the small collection of worn stuffed ani like this was exactly what she’d dreaer A place to call her own Nothing fancy--just a regular kind of home Yet her mother had walked away from it and had never looked back

"I wish she’d told me about you," she said

"Me, too" Marsha’s eyes were sad again "I wish I’d been o away to college, but I always said she had to stay here I was such a fool Controlling and unyielding I had to be right In the end, being right costher off "She would have left anyway It’s what she wanted I don’t think there’s anything you could have done to change her"

"You can’t be sure about that"

"Yes, I can," Charity said, trying not to sound bitter "I knew her"

"Perhaps," Marsha said "I still have that album for you It’s downstairs"

Charity nodded and followed her back to the living rooh pictures of Sandra There were laughing photos of a toddler, then azed lovingly at each photo She told stories about when they were taken and what happened next Charity shifted uncomfortably on the sofa

"Is this why you hired hter?"

Marsha set to know you, I have devoted most of my life to this town I wouldn’t have risked the future of so many just to have you around When we hired the recruiter to fill your job, I gave her your nas about you, but that was all She wouldn’t have put you on the slate if you hadn’t been an excellent candidate"