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“And how did you explain to Duane that the dog hadn’t been put to sleep?”

“We told hilad they hadn’t wasted the in with But to be fair, he was drunk all three nights this was going on”

There was no bitterness in her tone And he figured he knehy While Amelia had been unable to control rowing up, she’d taken control of her life, pieces at a ti And in doing so, by finding her oers, she’d found acceptance for what had been

If he were to be completely honest with himself, he didn’t really need to see her anymore to have peace of ht not live in a traditional ho wanted for hi to have one helluva fantastic mother

Chapter Thirteen

Amelia really enjoyed the ride that Sunday afternoon Evento her counselor so Her words weren’t going to hurt his feelings Their opinions didn’t need to coincide with the other’s desires

His cohts

And he was a good listener

And yet, she wasn’t paying him to listen to her Nor was he bound under any kind of laws or certification to withhold his own opinion, or to draw out hers

They just talked

And he listened because he chose to do so, not because it was his job Just as she did when he talked about Talley and the other things going on in his life—like hisup that summer He wanted to make it special for them but wasn’t able to land on what to do Or the partner as leaving his clinic to ood talk about the value of h, a few Sundays before They both wanted enough financial security to be able to do the things they wanted to do, but neither of them felt the need to live more lavishly than their current circu big enough to spend the night out on the ocean She wanted to be able to take her child ontrips around the world And to have season passes to Disneyland

He wanted a house full of kids and she couldn’t help thinking what a great dad he would , or at the most two She had a business to run and didn’t want to stretch herself so thin that she had to miss functions, not be available to help with homework or to just be present and sit and listen to her child regurgitate everything that had happened in her day

She didn’t want to miss any of the chatter

And as they fell silent and the conversation started to replay through herof sadness she felt at the realization that her own child wouldn’t get the benefit of having any dad, let alone Craig

As they pulled to a stop at a little shack with restroo machine and a couple of benches inside, she noticed that there wasn’t anyone else around They were often by themselves when they rode, but because they were on the paved exercise path, and because there’d been others out skating and jogging and riding with them, she was surprised to have the bathroo more prevalent these days She did her business and ca under the roof of the open portion of the shack