[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

saw was a dizzying blur of Matt and Annie together, the bond between them so strong, not even
Mommy could sever it.
How could she take Annie away from the only parent she'd ever known, a man who marked the
progress of her growth on a Giraffe Growth Chart, and who loved her as much as any parent could
possibly love a child. The fact was, Matt was just as much a victim of the crime as she was, and to
take Annie away from him would be as great an injustice as the one that took Beth from her. But there
was another aspect to this that Ruth found almost as troubling as having to take Annie away from
Matt. What if the preliminary DNA tests proved that Annie was not Beth?
Her initial goal to take Beth and flee was now further complicated by the fact that she was in love.
She hadn t intended it to happen, but when she'd let down her guard, it did. And she also hadn't
expected to take Annie into her heart and allow her to fill the void that Beth had left. Now, the thought
of life without Matt and Annie seemed almost as inconceivable as learning that Annie wasn't Beth,
and having to continue the search alone. Yet, depending on the results of the preliminary DNA tests,
she could be faced with that reality.
She'd been so caught up in proving to herself that Annie was Beth that she could have been looking
for things that weren't there. The scar might not be exactly where she remembered; Beth's could have
been a little lower. And Annie's hair was definitely darker than Beth's. Even Annie's eyes seemed
rounder, and her lashes darker, and her brows more arched. The idea that Annie might not be Beth
made her weary. Perhaps it was time to tell Matt everything. If Annie wasn't Beth, maybe Matt's father
and brothers could help with the search. But knowing Matt now, if Annie was Beth, surely he
wouldn't deny a mother her child...
Which agency?... Hell, I don't remember... I'd pull the cleverest disappearing act in history... Annie
and I could live well anywhere in the world...
Then on the other hand, maybe she'd wait until the tests were done. In the meantime, Bill wanted her
to try and find out more about why Matt wanted to home school Annie, saying that it might help her
case if it went to court later. And if he was open to talking about that, she might even broach the
subject of the adoption... the kind of questions anyone would ask. Ruth wasn't sure how best to
approach Matt about either, but she decided that an outing alone with him would be the best way to
get him to lower his guard. But it would not be down by the river. She knew precisely how that would
turn out if she and Matt found themselves at the swimming hole, with her in her bikini and Matt in his
cutoffs. But she did want to kiss him again. They'd had almost no contact since the incident at the
shooting range, and she was feeling depressed. Having Matt's arms around her would make things
right again.
***
Matt sat on a bench in the tack room, splicing a worn bridle while contemplating the previous night.
He had no idea what triggered Annie's nightmare, or why Annie s mother had been a part of the
dream whether that mother was Jody or Annie s biological mother. But the nightmare had definitely
triggered a response from Ruth. While he'd comforted Annie, he'd glanced up to see Ruth watching.
She'd had a strange look on her face, like a mask had fallen away, revealing a totally different
persona. Again, that niggling uncertainty, the elusive something that often moved into his conscious
awareness before slipping away....
But what concerned him most was what he'd recently learned from Edith... that she found Ruth in his
office. Edith tried to explain it away, but he knew that even Edith hadn't bought into Ruth's dubious
explanation. There's no way he would have shut the file with the adoption folder stuck in the drawer,
a folder he hadn t looked at in years. Ruth also asked him a lot of questions about Annie's biological
mother, and the questions had not come across as idle talk. He got the impression that they'd been
deliberate, with a specific goal in mind. If only he could remember what they'd been discussing just
before Ruth's sprint to the river. Whatever it was, she'd almost compromised her principles to keep
from discussing it.
He'd also come close to taking advantage of her. But Ruth wasn't like Lorinda, who'd slept with most
of the men in town, no regrets, no love lost. Ruth was a woman whose love would be deep, intense
and forever. The kind of woman a man takes as his wife. And that was his dilemma. He wanted Ruth
more than he'd wanted any woman before, but he had no intention of marrying to get her. She'd have to
meet him on his terms. Yet, his terms could destroy a woman like Ruth. He felt boxed in a corner, and
whenever he'd been boxed in a corner he'd come out fighting. But the last thing he wanted with Ruth [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]