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She forced a smile No doubt her son would count down the minutes While she understood and appreciated his excite about this was sie and her own growing sense of having screwed up

But when the self-doubt threatened, she reminded herself that she had come back to tell him about Tyler Maybe the first effort hadn’t been much, but she’d handled the second one the best she could She even had proof that Ethan had rejected his son Proof that ht not be real

What kind of woh school, Rayanne had traveled with a pack of irls and Liz had been one of their favorite victihted in ht have been s in a bad part of town and she’d had a reputation

It didn’t uy until Ethan Not only had he been her first tih school was concerned, Liz Sutton had been a piece of ass who put out for anyone who asked Or paid

There had been plenty of guys who’d clai, the taunts No one cared that it wasn’t true No one questioned the rumors After all, her mother was a drunk and a whore--why not her?

She shook off the past, knowing it wouldn’t help her now She had to focus on as happening today Wasn’t that enough of a proble rooh the collection in the sht it to Liz

"It’s kind of a girl lanced at the Hannah Montana title, then ruffled his hair "Souess"

He would find out about girls being fun soon enough, she thought, watching hiht the portable DVD player he used when they traveled, along with headphones So the house would be quiet She couldn’t use noise as an excuse not to work

After booting up her laptop, she did a quick check of e-mail, then opened her Word docu cursor, she couldn’t think of a single thing to say

Everyone always talked about how great she had it That being a writer was so wonderful She could work anywhere, at anytime Which was, in theory, true But there was also no one else to do the hen she wasn’t in theto take her hts At this point she would happily return to her waitressing days rather than try to coes But that wasn’t an option She could only type and delete until so finally clicked or there was a ing the doorbell

Liz saved her pitiful three sentences and got up from the kitchen table When she opened the front door, she decided ht word

Denise Hendrix, Ethan’s mother, stood on her doorstep The woman ell dressed, fit, attractive and based on the fire spitting from her eyes, really, really upset

"May I co the shabby living roo her "We’ve never met, but I’m Ethan’s mother"

"I knoho you are"

"And why I’m here?" Denise demanded

As questions went, it wasn’t a difficult one She nodded

Denise looked around "Where is he?"

Liz assu adarkened her eyes, then faded as the other woman turned back to her "Probably for the best You and I need to talk"

"Ethan spoke to you" Liz made the words a state to have had his child A child who is now eleven years old A boy you’ve kept frolared at her "I told hiot along"

"Advice you’re choosing not to take?" Liz asked, feeling defensive and understanding at the same time Not exactly a comfortable combination of emotions

Denise shook her head "I should, but I can’t You’ve darabbed hold of her self-control with both hands She’d never thought to ask Ethan to keep the infor about her private life with very many people It didn’t occur to her that he would speak to his mother, and so quickly

But the Hendrix fa she’d envied when she’d been younger Now the war, supportive mother had been replaced by one who perceived one of her own had been wronged

"I ca there wasn’t actually any point in defending herself, but unable to stop "I’d been gone about two months I found him in bed with someone else"

Denise frowned "Which I’m sure was very painful, but not an excuse to keep that kind of inforht to know"

Liz drew in a breath "You’re right He did Which is why I cao to tell him He wasn’t ho and she promised to tell him Less than teeks later, I received a letter fro to do with me or Tyler That I should keep away froht and it will be here toive you a copy"

Liz reached for the door and pulled it open "So if you’ve only co a whore to tricking your precious son, then I’m done with this conversation"

"I have a lot more to say"

"This s toyou to leave"

Denise hesitated She had dark eyes like her son Like Tyler Eh thely "Ethan may not want to believe Rayanne lied to him, but it sounds exactly like her If there was a proble Ethan’s son would have been a big proble? Like it or not, this worandmother

Liz crossed to her laptop and hit a few keys, then she turned the computer so the screen faced Denise

The older woman’s mouth dropped open Color bled away and her eyes widened She stared greedily at the slide show Liz had started All the pictures were of Tyler

"He looks just like Ethan did when he was young Like all ht "His slanced at her, then back at the co"

Liz didn’t know if she meant the fact that they no about Tyler, or the fairly obvious proof he was a Hendrix "I know you don’t believe me, but I never wanted to keep Tyler from his father I did try to tell him The first tiht he knew"