This Heart Of Mine

Chapter 4

Kevin dropped back into the pocket. Sixty-five thousand screaming fans were on their feet, but a perfect stillness cocooned him. He didn't think about the fans, the TV cameras, about the Monday Night Football crew in the booth. He didn't think about anything except what he'd been born to do-play the game that had been invented just for him.

Leon Tippett, his favorite receiver, ran the pattern perfectly and broke free, ready for that sweet moment when Kevin would drill the ball into his hands.

Then, in an instant, the play turned to crap. Their safety came out of nowhere, ready to pick off the pass.

Adrenaline flooded Kevin's body. He was deep behind the line of scrimmage, and he needed another receiver, but Jamal was down, and Stubs had double coverage.

Briggs and Washington broke through the Stars' line and bore down. Those same fire-breathing monsters, disguised as Tampa Bay defensive ends, had dislocated his shoulder last year, but Kevin wasn't about to throw the ball away. With the recklessness that had been causing him so much trouble lately, he looked to the left… and then made a sharp, blind,insane cut to the right. He needed a hole in that wall of white jerseys. He willed it to be there. And found it.

With the agility that had become his trademark, he slipped through, leaving Briggs and Washington grabbing air. He spun and shook off a defender who outweighed him by eighty pounds.

Another cut. A jitterbug. Then he put on the steam.

Off the field he was a big man, six feet two and 193 pounds of muscle, but here in the Land of Mutant Giants he was small, graceful, and very fast. His feet conquered the artificial turf. The lights in the dome turned his gold helmet into a meteor, his aqua jersey into a banner woven from the heavens. Human poetry. God-kissed. Blessed among men. He carried the ball across the goal line into the end zone.

And when the official signaled the touchdown, Kevin was still standing.

The postgame party was at Kinney's house, and from the moment Kevin walked in the door, women started to grab him.

"Fabulous game, Kevin."

"Kevin, querido, over here!"

"You were awesome! I'm hoarse from screaming!"

"Were you excited when you took it in? God, I know you were excited, but how did it really feel?"

"¡Felicitación!"

"Kevin, chéri!"

Charm came easily to Kevin, and he flashed his smile while he untangled himself from all but two of the most persistent.

"You like your women beautiful and silent," his best friend's wife had said the last time they'd talked. "But most women aren't silent, so you home in on foreign babes with limited English. A classic case of intimacy avoidance."

Kevin remembered giving her a lazy once-over. "Is that so? Well, listen up, Dr. Jane Darlington Bonner. I'll be intimate with you anytime you want."

"Over my dead body," her husband, Cal, had responded from across the dinner table.

Even though Cal was his best friend, Kevin enjoyed giving him a hard time. It had been that way since the days he'd been the old man's resentful backup. Now, however, Cal was retired from football and beginning his residency in internal medicine at a hospital in North Carolina.

Kevin couldn't resist needling him. "It's a matter of principle, old man. I need to prove a point."

"Yeah, well, prove it with your own woman, and leave mine alone."

Jane had laughed, kissed her husband, given their daughter, Rosie, a napkin, and picked up their new son, Tyler. Kevin smiled as he remembered Cal's response when he'd asked about the Post-it notes he kept seeing on Ty's diapers.

"It's because I won't let her write on his legs anymore."

"Still at it, is she?"

"Arms, legs-the poor kid was turning into a walking scientific notebook. But it's gotten better since I started tucking Post-its in all her pockets."

Jane's habit of absentmindedly jotting down complex equations on unorthodox surfaces was well known, and Rosie Bonner piped up.

"Once she wrote on my foot. Didn't you, Mommy? And another time-"

Dr. Jane pushed a drumstick into her daughter's mouth.

Kevin smiled at the memory, only to be interrupted as the beautiful Frenchwoman on his right shouted over the music. "Tu es fatigué, chéri?"

Kevin had a facility with languages, but he'd learned to keep it hidden. "Thanks, but I don't want anything to eat right now. Hey, let me introduce you to Stubs Brady. I think you two might have a lot in common. And-Heather, is it?-my buddy Leon has been watching you with lascivious intent all evening."

"What kind of tent?"

Definitely time to shed a few females.

He'd never admit to Jane that she was right about his preference in women. But unlike some of his teammates, who paid lip service to the notion of giving all they had to the game, Kevin really did. Not only his body and mind but his heart as well, and you couldn't do that with a high-maintenance female in your life. Beautiful and undemanding, that's what he wanted, and foreign women fit the bill.

Playing for the Stars was everything that mattered to him, and he wouldn't let anybody get in the way of that. He loved wearing the aqua and gold uniform, taking the field in the Midwest Sports Dome, and most of all, working for Phoebe and Dan Calebow. Maybe it was the result of a childhood spent as a preacher's kid, but there was honor in being a Chicago Star, something that couldn't be said for every NFL team.

When you played for the Calebows, respect for the game was more important than the bottom line. The Stars weren't the team for thugs or prima donnas, and during the course of his career Kevin had seen some brilliant talent traded because those players hadn't measured up to Phoebe and Dan's standards of character. Kevin couldn't imagine playing for anyone else, and when he no longer got the job done for the Stars on the field, then he'd retire to coaching.

Coaching the Stars.

But two things had happened this season to jeopardize his dreams. One was his own fault-the crazy recklessness that had hit him right after training camp. He'd always had a reckless streak but, until now, he'd restricted it to off-season. The other was Daphne Somerville's midnight visit to his bedroom. That had done more to jeopardize his career than all the skydiving and dirt-bike racing in the world.

He was a sound sleeper, and it hadn't been the first time he'd awakened in the middle of making love, but up until then he'd always chosen his partners. Ironically, if it hadn't been for her family connections, he might have thought about choosing her. Maybe it was the appeal of forbidden fruit, but he'd had a great time with her. She'd kept him on his toes and made him laugh. Although he'd been careful not to let her see it, he'd found himself watching her. She moved with a rich girl's confidence he'd found sexy. Her body might not be flashy, but everything was in the right place, and he'd definitely noticed.

Even so, he'd kept his distance. She was the boss's sister, and he never fraternized with women connected with the team-no coaches' daughters, front-office secretaries, or even teammates' cousins. Despite that, look what had happened.

Just thinking about it made him angry all over again. Not even a hotshot quarterback was more important to the Calebows than family, and if they ever found out what had happened, he was the one they'd be coming after for explanations.

His conscience was going to force him to call her soon. Just once to make certain there hadn't been any consequences. There wouldn't be, he told himself, and he wasn't going to worry about it, especially now, when he couldn't afford any distractions. On Sunday, they were playing in the AFC Championship, and his game had to be flawless. Then his ultimate dream would come true. He'd be taking the Stars to the Super Bowl.

But six days later his dream was snatched away. And he had no one to blame but himself.

By working day and night, Molly finished Daphne Takes a Tumble and put it in the mail the same week the Stars lost the AFC Championship. With fifteen seconds left on the clock, Kevin Tucker had refused to play it safe and thrown into double coverage. His pass was intercepted, and the Stars had lost by a field goal.

Molly fixed herself a cup of tea to ward off the chill of the January evening and took it over to her worktable. She had an article due for Chik, but instead of turning on her laptop, she picked up the legal pad she'd left on the couch to jot down some ideas she had for a new book, Daphne Finds a Baby Rabbit.

The telephone rang just as she sat down. "Hello."

"Daphne? It's Kevin Tucker."

Tea splashed into the saucer, and the breath went out of her. Once she'd had a crush on this man. Now just the sound of his voice terrified her.

She forced in air. Since he was still calling her Daphne, he must not have talked to anyone about her. That was good. She didn't want him talking about her, didn't even want him to think of her. "How did you get my number?"

"I made you give it to me."

She'd managed to forget. "I, uh… What can I do for you?"

"With the season over, I'm getting ready to leave town for a while. I wanted to be sure there weren't any… unfortunate consequences from… what happened."

"No! No consequences at all. Of course not."

"That's good."

Beneath his chilly response, she heard relief. At the same time she saw a way to make things easier, and she jumped at it. "I'm coming, darling!" she called out to an imaginary person.

"I take it you're not alone."

"No, I'm not." Again the raised voice. "I'm on the phone, Benny! I'll be there in a moment, sweetheart." She winced. Couldn't she have thought of a better name?

Roo trotted in from the kitchen to see what was up. She clutched the receiver tighter. "I appreciate your call, Kevin, but there was no need."

"As long as everything's-"

"Everything's wonderful, but I have to go. Sorry about the game. And thanks for calling." Her hand was still trembling when she disconnected.

She had just talked with the father of her unborn baby.

Her palm settled over her flat abdomen. She still hadn't completely absorbed the fact that she was pregnant. When her period hadn't arrived on schedule, she'd convinced herself that stress was the cause. But her breasts had grown increasingly tender, she'd begun to feel nauseated, and two days ago, she'd finally bought a home pregnancy test. The result had left her so panic-stricken she'd rushed out and bought another one.

There was no mistake. She was going to have Kevin Tucker's baby.

But her first thoughts hadn't been of him. They'd been of Dan and Phoebe. Family was the center of their existence, and neither of them would be able to imagine raising a child without the other. This was going to devastate them.

When she'd finally considered Kevin, she'd known she had to make certain he never found out. He'd been her unwilling victim, and she would bear the consequences alone.

It wouldn't be all that difficult to keep him in the dark. With the season over, there was little chance she'd run into him, and she'd simply stay away from Stars headquarters when they started practice in the summer. Except for a few of Dan and Phoebe's team parties, she'd never socialized much with the players. Eventually Kevin might hear that she'd had a baby, but this morning's phone call would make him believe there had been another man in her life.

She gazed through the windows of her loft into the winter sky. Although it wasn't even six o'clock, it was already dark. She stretched out on the couch.

Until two days ago she'd never considered single motherhood. She hadn't thought much about motherhood at all. Now she couldn't think of anything else. The restlessness that had always seemed like a backbeat to her life had vanished, leaving her with the unfamiliar feeling that everything was exactly as it should be. She'd finally have a family of her own.

Roo licked the hand she was dangling over the side of the couch. She closed her eyes and wove the daydreams that had taken over her imagination now that her initial shock had worn off. A little boy? A girl? It didn't matter. She'd spent enough time with her nieces and nephew to know that she'd be a good mother regardless, and she'd love this baby enough for two parents.

Her baby. Her family.

Finally.

She stretched, content to the tips of her toes. This was what she'd been searching for all these years, a family of her very own. She couldn't remember ever feeling so peaceful. Even her hair was peaceful, no longer brutally short and back to its natural dark brown color. Just right for her.

Roo nudged her hand with his wet nose.

"Hungry, buddy?" She rose and was on her way to the kitchen to feed him when the phone rang again. Her pulse raced, but it was only Phoebe.

"Dan and I had a meeting in Lake Forest. We're on the Edens now, and he's hungry. Want to go to Yoshi's with us for dinner?"

"I'd love to."

"Great. See you in about half an hour."

As Molly hung up, the knowledge of how much she was going to hurt them hit hard. They wanted her to have exactly what they did-a deep, unconditional love that formed the foundation of both their lives. But most people weren't that lucky.

She slipped into her threadbare Dolce & Gabbana sweater and a skinny, ankle-length charcoal skirt she'd bought last spring for half off at Field's. Kevin's phone call had unsettled her, so she flipped on the television. Lately she'd gotten into the habit of watching reruns of Lace, Inc. The show was nostalgic for her, a link to one of the few pleasant parts of her childhood.

She still wondered about Kevin's connection to Lilly Sherman. Phoebe might know, but Molly was afraid to mention his name, even though Phoebe had no idea Molly had been with him at the Door County house.

"Lace is on the case, oh yeah… Lace can solve the case, oh yeah…"

Commercials followed the credits, and then Lilly Sherman as Ginger Hill bounced across the screen in a pair of tight white shorts, her breasts overflowing a bright green bikini top. Auburn hair billowed around her face, gold hoops brushed her cheekbones, and her seductive smile promised untold sensual delights.

The camera angle widened to show both detectives at the beach. In contrast to Ginger's skimpier apparel, Sable wore a high-cut maillot. Molly remembered there'd been an offscreen friendship between the two actresses.

The buzzer from the lobby sounded. She turned off the television and, a few minutes later, opened the door for her sister and brother-in-law.

Phoebe kissed her cheek. "You look pale. Are you all right?"

"It's January in Chicago. Everybody's pale." Molly squeezed her a moment longer than necessary. Celia the Hen, a motherly resident of Nightingale Woods who clucked over Daphne, had been created just for her sister.

"Hey, Miz Molly. We've missed you." Dan gave her his customary rib-crushing bear hug.

As she hugged him back, she thought how lucky she was to have them both. "It's only been two weeks since New Year's."

"And two weeks since you've been home. Phoebe gets cranky." He tossed his jacket over the back of the couch.

As Molly took Phoebe's coat, she smiled. Dan still considered their house Molly's real home. He didn't understand how she felt about her condo. "Dan, do you remember the first time we met? I tried to convince you Phoebe was beating me."

"Hard to forget something like that. I still remember what you told me. You said she wasn't entirely evil, just mildly twisted."

Phoebe laughed. "The good old days."

Molly gazed fondly at her sister. "I was such a little prig, it's a wonder you didn't beat me."

"Somerville girls had to find their own ways to survive."

One of us still does, Molly thought.

Roo adored Phoebe and pounced into her lap the moment she sat. "I'm so glad I got to see the illustrations for Daphne Takes a Tumble before you sent them off. The expression on Benny's face when his mountain bike slips in the rain puddle is priceless. Any ideas for a new book?"

She hesitated. "Still in the thinking stages."

"Hannah was delirious when Daphne bandaged Benny's paw. I don't think she expected Daphne to forgive him."

"Daphne is a very forgiving rabbit. Although she did use a pink lace ribbon for his bandage."

Phoebe laughed. "Benny needs to be more in touch with his feminine side. It's a wonderful book, Moll. You always manage to stick in one of life's important lessons and still be funny. I'm so glad you're writing."

"It's exactly what I always wanted to do. I just didn't know it."

"Speaking of that… Dan, did you remember-" Phoebe broke off as she realized Dan wasn't there. "He must have gone to the bathroom."

"I haven't cleaned in there for a couple of days. I hope it's not too-" Molly sucked in her breath and whirled around.

But it was too late. Dan was walking back in with the two empty boxes he'd seen in the wastebasket. The pregnancy test kits looked like loaded grenades in his big hands.

Molly bit her lip. She hadn't wanted to tell them yet. They were still dealing with the loss of the AFC Championship, and they didn't need another disappointment.

Phoebe couldn't see what her husband was holding until he dropped one of the boxes into her lap. She slowly picked it up. Her hand traveled to her cheek. "Molly?"

"I know you're twenty-seven years old," Dan said, "and we both try to respect your privacy, but I've got to ask about this."

He looked so upset that Molly couldn't bear it. He loved being a father, and he was going to have a harder time accepting this than Phoebe would.

Molly took the boxes and set them aside. "Why don't you sit down?"

He slowly folded his big body onto the couch next to his wife. Phoebe's hand instinctively crept into his. The two of them together against the world. Sometimes watching the love they had for each other made Molly feel lonely to the bottom of her soul.

She took the chair across from them and managed a shaky smile. "There's no easy way to tell you this. I'm going to have a baby."

Dan flinched, and Phoebe leaned against him.

"I know it's a shock, and I'm sorry for that. But I'm not sorry about the baby."

"Tell me there's going to be a wedding first."

Dan's lips had barely moved, and she was once again reminded of exactly how unbending he could be. If she didn't hold her ground now, he'd never give her any peace. "No wedding. And no daddy. That's not going to change, so you need to make peace with it."

Phoebe looked even more distressed. "I-I didn't know you were seeing anyone special. You usually tell me."

Molly couldn't let her probe too deeply. "I share a lot with you, Phoeb, but not everything."

A muscle had started to tic in Dan's jaw, definitely a bad sign. "Who is he?"

"I'm not going to tell you," she said quietly. "This was my doing, not his. I don't want him in my life."

"You damn well wanted him in your life long enough to get pregnant!"

"Dan, don't." Phoebe had never been intimidated by Dan's hot temper, and she looked far more concerned about Molly. "Don't make a decision too quickly, Moll. How far along are you?"

"Only six weeks. And I'm not going to change my mind. There'll be just the baby and me. And both of you, I hope."

Dan shot up and began to pace. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

She could have pointed out that thousands of single women had babies every year and that he was a bit old-fashioned in his outlook, but she knew him too well to waste her breath. Instead, she concentrated on practicalities.

"I can't stop either of you from worrying, but you need to remember that I'm better equipped than most single women to have a child. I'm nearly thirty, I love children, and I'm emotionally stable." For the first time in her life she felt as if that might be true.

"You're also broke most of the time." Dan's lips were tight.

"Daphne sales are going up slowly."

"Very slowly," he said.

"And I can do more freelancing. I won't even have to pay for child care because I work at home."

He regarded her stubbornly. "Children need a father."

She rose and walked to him. "They need a good man in their life, and I hope you'll be there for this baby because you're the best there is."

That got to him, and he hugged her. "We just want you to be happy."

"I know. That's why I love you both so much."

"I just want her to be happy," Dan repeated to Phoebe as the two of them drove home that night after a strained dinner.

"We both do. But she's an independent woman, and she's made up her mind." Her brow knit with worry. "I suppose all we can do now is support her."

"It happened sometime around the beginning of December." Dan's eyes narrowed. "I promise you one thing, Phoebe. I'm going to find the son of a bitch who did this to her, and then I'm going to take his head off."

But finding him was easier said than done, and as one week slipped into another, Dan came no closer to discovering the truth. He made up excuses to phone Molly's friends and shamelessly pumped them for information, but no one remembered her dating anyone at the time. He pumped his own children with no more success. Out of desperation he finally hired a detective, a fact he neglected to mention to his wife, who would have ordered him to mind his own business. All he ended up with was a big bill and nothing he didn't already know.

In mid-February Dan and Phoebe took the kids to the Door County house for a long weekend of snowmobiling. They invited Molly to come along, but she said she was on deadline for Chik and couldn't stop work. He knew the real reason was that she didn't want any more lectures from him.

On Saturday afternoon he'd just brought Andrew inside to warm up from snowmobiling when Phoebe found him in the mudroom where they were taking off their boots.

"Have fun, pookie?"

"Yes!"

Dan grinned as Andrew flew across the wet floor in his socks and threw himself into her arms, something he generally did when he was separated from either one of them for more than an hour.

"I'm glad." She buried her lips in his hair, then gave him a nudge toward the kitchen. "Get your snack. The cider's hot, so let Tess pour it for you."

As Andrew ran off, Dan decided Phoebe looked particularly delectable in a pair of gold jeans with a soft brown sweater. He was just starting to reach for her when she held out a yellow credit card receipt. "I found this upstairs."

He glanced at it and saw Molly's name.

"It's a receipt from the little drugstore in town," Phoebe said. "Look at the date at the top."

He found it, but he still didn't understand why she seemed upset. "So what?"

She sagged against the washer. "Dan, that's when Kevin stayed here."

Kevin left the sidewalk cafe and began walking along the Cairns Esplanade toward his hotel. Palm trees swayed in the sunny February breeze, and boats bobbed in the harbor. After spending five days diving in the Coral Sea with the sharks that swam near the North Horn site of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, it was nice being back in civilization.

The city of Cairns on the northeastern coast of Queensland was the diving expedition's home port. Since the town had good restaurants and a couple of five-star hotels, Kevin had decided to stay around for a while. The city was far enough from Chicago that he wasn't in much danger of running into a Stars fan who wanted to know why he threw into double coverage late in the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship. Instead of giving the Stars the victory that would have taken them to the Super Bowl, he'd let his teammates down, and even swimming with a school of hammerheads wasn't making him forget that.

An Aussie hottie in a halter top and tight white shorts gave him the twice-over, followed by an inviting smile. "Need a tour guide, Yank?"

"Thanks, not today."

She looked disappointed. He probably should take her up on her invitation, but he couldn't work up enough interest. He'd also ignored the seductive overtures of the sexy blond doctoral candidate who'd cooked on the dive boat, but that had been more understandable. She was one of the smart, high-maintenance women.

This was the heart of Queensland's monsoon season, and a splatter of raindrops hit him. He decided to work out at the hotel health club for a while, then head over to the casino for a few games of blackjack.

He'd just changed into his gym clothes when a sharp knock sounded at the door. He walked over and opened it. "Dan? What are you doing-"

That was as far as he got before Dan Calebow's fist came up to meet him.

Kevin staggered backward, caught the corner of the couch, and fell.

Adrenaline rushed through him, hot and fast. He shot back up, ready to take Dan apart. Then he hesitated, not because Dan was his boss but because the raw fury in his expression indicated that something was drastically wrong. Since Dan had been more understanding than Kevin had deserved about the game, Kevin knew it didn't have anything to do with that ill-advised pass.

It went against his grain not to fight back, but he forced himself to lower his fists. "You'd better have a good reason for that."

"You son of a bitch. Did you really think you were going to walk away?"

Seeing such contempt on the face of a man he respected made his gut clench. "Walk away from what?"

"It didn't mean anything to you, did it?" Dan sneered.

Kevin waited him out.

Dan came forward, his lip curled. "Why didn't you tell me you weren't alone when you stayed at my house in December?"

The hair on the back of Kevin's neck prickled. He chose his words carefully. "I didn't think it was up to me. I thought it was Daphne's business to tell you she'd been there."

"Daphne?"

Enough was enough, and Kevin's own temper snapped. "It wasn't my fault your nutcase of a sister-in-law showed up!"

"You don't even know her fucking name?"

Dan looked as if he was getting ready to spring again, and Kevin was angry enough to hope he would. "Stop right there! She told me her name was Daphne."

"Yeah, right," Dan scoffed. "Well, her name is Molly, you son of a bitch, and she's pregnant with your baby!"

Kevin felt as if he'd taken the sack of his life. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that I've had a stomachful of high-priced athletes who think they have a God-given right to scatter illegitimate kids around like so much trash."

Kevin felt sick. She'd told him there hadn't been any consequences when he'd called. She'd even had her boyfriend with her.

"You could at least have had the decency to use a goddamn rubber!"

His brain started working again, and there was no way he'd take the blame for this. "I talked to Daph-to your sister-in-law before I left Chicago, and she said everything was fine. Maybe you'd better have this conversation with her boyfriend."

"She's a little preoccupied to have a boyfriend right now."

"She's holding out on you," he said carefully. "You made this trip for nothing. She's going with a guy named Benny."

"Benny?"

"I don't know how long they've been together, but I'm guessing he's the one responsible for her current condition."

"Benny's not her boyfriend, you arrogant son of a bitch! He's a fricking badger!"

Kevin stared at him, then headed for the wet bar. "Maybe we'd better start over from the beginning."

Molly parked her Beetle behind Phoebe's BMW. As she got out of the car, she dodged a mound of dingy, ice-crusted snow. Northern Illinois was in the grip of a frigid spell that showed every sign of lingering, but she didn't mind. February was the best time of year for curling up with a warm computer and a sketchbook, or just for daydreaming.

Daphne couldn't wait until the baby rabbit was big enough to play with. They'd dress up in skirts with sparkly beads and say, "Oo-la-la! You look divine!" Then they'd drop water balloons on Benny and his friends.

Molly was glad her speech at the literacy luncheon was over and that Phoebe had come along for moral support. Although she loved visiting schools to read to children, giving speeches to adults made her nervous, especially with an unpredictable stomach.

A month had passed since she'd discovered she was pregnant, and every day the baby became more real to her. She hadn't been able to resist buying a tiny pair of unisex denim overalls, and she couldn't wait to start wearing maternity clothes, although, since she was only two and a half months along, that wasn't necessary yet.

She followed her sister inside the rambling stone farmhouse. It had been Dan's before he and Phoebe were married, and he hadn't uttered a word of complaint when Molly had moved in along with his new bride.

Roo raced out to growl hello, while his more mannerly sister, Kanga, trotted behind. Molly had left him here while she was at the luncheon, and as soon as she hung up her coat, she leaned over to greet both dogs. "Hey, Roo. Hello, Kanga, sweetie."

Both poodles rolled over to get their tummies scratched.

As Molly complied, she watched Phoebe slip the Hermes scarf she'd been wearing into the pocket of Andrew's jacket.

"What's with you?" Molly asked. "All afternoon you've been distracted."

"Distracted? What do you mean?"

Molly retrieved the scarf and held it out to her sister. "Andrew gave up cross-dressing when he turned four."

"Oh, dear. I guess-" She broke off as Dan appeared from the back of the house.

"What are you doing here?" Molly asked. "Phoebe told me you were traveling."

"I was." He kissed his wife. "Just got back."

"Did you sleep in those clothes? You look awful."

"It was a long flight. Come in the family room, will you, Molly?"

"Sure."

The dogs trailed behind her as she made her way toward the back of the house. The family room was part of the addition that had been built as the Calebow family had grown. It had lots of glass and comfortable seating areas, some with armchairs for reading, another with a table for doing homework or playing games. A state-of-the-art stereo system held everything from Raffi to Rachmaninoff.

"So where did you go anyway? I thought you were-" Molly's words died as she saw the large man with dark blond hair standing in the corner of the room. The green eyes she'd once found so alluring regarded her with undiluted hostility.

Her heart began to hammer. His clothes were as wrinkled as Dan's, and stubble covered his jaw. Although he had a fresh suntan, he didn't look like someone who'd come off a relaxing vacation. Instead, he looked dangerously wired and ready to detonate.

Molly remembered Phoebe's distraction that afternoon, her furtive expression when she'd slipped into the back of the room right after Molly's speech to take a call on her cell phone. There was nothing coincidental about this meeting. Somehow Phoebe and Dan had unearthed the truth.

Phoebe spoke with quiet determination. "Let's all sit down."

"I'll stand," Kevin said, his lips barely moving.

Molly felt sick and angry and panicked. "I don't know what's going on here, but I won't have any part of it." She spun around, only to have Kevin step forward and block her way.

"Don't even think about it."

"This has nothing to do with you."

"That's not what I hear." His cold eyes cut into hers like shards of green ice.

"You heard wrong."

"Molly, let's sit down so we can discuss this," Phoebe said. "Dan flew all the way to Australia to find Kevin, and the least you-"

Molly whirled toward her brother-in-law. "You flew to Australia?"

He gave her the same stubborn look she'd seen on his face when he'd refused to let her go to a co-ed sleepover after her high school prom. The same look she'd seen when he wouldn't let her postpone college to backpack through Europe. But she hadn't been a teenager for years, and something inside her snapped.

"You had no right!" Without planning it, she found herself hurtling across the room to get to him.

She wasn't a violent person. She wasn't even hot-tempered. She liked rabbits and fairy tale forests, china teapots and linen nightgowns. She'd never struck anyone, let alone someone she loved. Even so, she felt her hand curling into a fist and flying toward her brother-in-law.

"How could you?" She caught Dan in the chest.

"Molly!" her sister cried.

Dan's eyes widened in astonishment. Roo began to bark.

Guilt, anger, and fear coalesced into an ugly ball inside Molly. Dan backed away, but she went after him and landed another blow. "This isn't your business!"

"Molly, stop it!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"I'll never forgive you." She swung again.

"Molly!"

"It's my life!" she cried over Roo's frenzied barks and her sister's protests. "Why couldn't you stay out of it!"

A strong arm caught her around the waist before she could land another blow. Roo howled. Kevin drew her back against his chest. "Maybe you'd better calm down."

"Let me go!" She jabbed him with her elbow.

He grunted but didn't release her.

Roo clamped on to his ankle.

Kevin yelped, and Molly jabbed him again.

Kevin started to swear.

Dan joined in.

"Oh, for Pete's sake!" A shrill noise split the air.