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“That’s convenient.”

Violet might not have a hotline to the universe, but she couldsense rising tension. Apparently Dragon felt it, too. Before she could draw Bethaway, he wrapped his arm around his mother’s waist.

“Are you up for a walk?” he asked. “I want to see that park youtold me about.”

“I would love that.”

She smiled at Beth, then turned and left.

Beth watched them go. “I really do like her but sometimes shecan be a little too much.”

“She does jump in the middle of things,” Violet said.

“How did her vegan class go?”

“You saw the crowd, so that was good. The question is, willthey come a second time?”

“We can only hope,” Beth said brightly.

* * *

“She’s in everything,” Beth told Marshall that nightover cocktails. “Since she arrived, I have yet to show up in Jenna’s storewithout finding her there, or having her walk in five minutes later. I can’t geta second alone with my own daughter. Plus, the whole thing about the universe.She receives private messages, then shares them with everyone else. Aren’t wethe lucky ones?”

She sipped her vodka tonic. “Serenity is trying to take overJenna’s life. I don’t know how to stop her. Did I tell you one of her sons is intown?”

“You mentioned it.”

“It’s Dragon. He’s actually fairly nice and a corporate lawyer,so he knows what life is like in the real world, as opposed to the planet whereSerenity lives. But still. She has two children of her own. She needs to leavemy daughter alone.”

Marshall looked at her. He didn’t say anything, he justlooked.

“I know,” she snapped. “You warned me not to get involved.Well, you were right but that doesn’t change the situation. Does you being rightmean I can’t talk about it?”

“Of course not.”

“I don’t want to dislike her, but she’s making it difficult.”She took another drink. “I’m the one who encouraged Jenna to welcome them intoher life. Can you believe it? I did this to myself.”

The rational side of her brain knew she had nothing to worryabout. That her daughter would always love her. But she felt both frantic andscared. It was one thing to be annoyed with Serenity, but the fear was much,much worse. Jenna was all she had. Two months ago she would have been confidentthat her relationship with her daughter was untouchable. Now, she wasn’t assure. Telling herself to snap out of it wasn’t helping.

“What if she doesn’t love me anymore?” she whispered.

Marshall set down his drink and crossed to her. After puttingher glass on the living room table, he pulled her to her feet and held her inhis strong arms.

“Nothing is going to change,” he said. “Have a littlefaith.”

“Faith isn’t the problem. You can’t know everything is going tobe all right.”

“I can. There’s nothing they can do to take her away, Beth. Youwere right to encourage her to get to know her birth parents. This is all new.She’s adjusting. In time things will settle down. You’ll see.”

“What if you’re wrong?”

“I’m not.”

She didn’t say anything else. But the truth was, he couldn’tknow. Which left Beth wondering, for the first time in thirty-two years, if shewas going to lose her daughter.

Thirteen

“You sure this is all right?” Ellingtonasked as he unpacked the lunch bags and set the contents on a picnic table.“It’s the middle of your work day.”

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