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Chapter One

The slippery seven-pound boy squirs flailed with his irritation at being shoved out of his warht of the clinic birthing room A series of shrill screams issued from his toothless mouth, and his scrunched face was beet red with fury

Cecilia thought he was absolutely beautiful With hidden reluctance, she transferred the child into the ar father hovered close by, his ruddy face split with an enormous, proud, and just a bit nervous, smile

Pushing her own emotions to the back of her mind, Cecilia concentrated on her job as a certified nurseher attention to the routine follow-up procedures of this blessedly complication-free delivery Her workday was alht home, unfortunately, because of the reception for Lillith Cunningham, the new public relations director for the Foster Midwifery Clinic and the Binghaional hospital in Merlyn County, Kentucky The reception was to begin at six Cecilia wasn’t particularly looking forward to the event, but she felt obligated to drop in

She could contes of wistfulness, envy and frustration later, when she was alone in her house, longing for a

child of her own As her thirty-eighth birthday loo if she would ever know the joy of holding her own baby

Geoff Binghae-oil wood polish and a hint of woodlands-scented air freshener As he precisely knotted an expensive red silk tie around the neck of his tailored white shirt, he wondered if he was only i-unoccupied roorances

His efficient housekeeperwhen he returned fro business trips, but son to him Like just another of the series of hotel suites and corporate apart job allowed him to sleep, of course

Picking up the hand-tailored jacket that had been laid out on his bed, he shrugged into it as autoht don his blue cotton work shirt As far as Geoff was concerned, this fifteen-hundred-dollar suit was merely a business uniform, no more indicative of his true personality than his i-tip shoes The party for which he was dressing was just another business le and shake hands with the smooth skill he had spent the past ten of his thirty-two years developing

Squeezing the tight muscles at the back of his neck with his left hand, he could only hope the reception for the hospital’s new public relations director wouldn’t last long All he wanted to do was get this over with, come back to his citrus-scented condo and crash in the den with a beer, so of quiet solitude sounded very good to hiht now But he would do his duty He always did

“So, Geoff” A florid-faced ht across the belly clapped hier “How long are you in town for this time?”

With the benefit of a decade of practice, Geoff held on to his pleasant smile, which was, to him, as much a tool of his trade as a hammer was to a carpenter “Looks like I could be around for a while this time”

“That’s good to hear” Bob Howard slapped Geoff’s back again “Maybe we can hit the golf course Not this weekend, I’ for a visit, and I’m expected to entertain my moron of a brother-in-law”

That was one thing Geoff could identify with Faations His entire life revolved around them “Maybe some other time”

“I’ll give you a call”

Geoff could think of a couple dozen things he would rather do than spend an afternoon golfing with Bob Howard—root canals and ditch digging a theham Enterprises, he spoke warmly “I’ll look forward to it”

Howard e of thes of his lemonade Around hirand the reception for the new public relations director for Merlyn County Regional Hospital