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  “I love you, Peter.” She watched his face. “I know what you’re saying, he’s a lost kid and all that, but I have to say that when I saw him with that gun, I was so terrified that he’d panic and shoot that my whole body was shaking.”

  “I had one or two of those moments myself. I’d think about the girls and what would happen to them if something—”

  “Don’t.” Edie kissed his mouth to stop the words. “Don’t even say it.” She swallowed. “Listen, Peter, and I mean this with every fiber of my being. As long as anyone, you or the girls, wants me to have a role in their lives, I’ll be there.”

  His arm tightened around her and they sat in silence for a moment. “Thank you. I can’t tell you what it means to hear you say that.”

  “I mean it.”

  “I know.”

  “Viv and I had a long talk after you left this morning. She helped clear up a lot of things in my mind. If she hadn’t, I’d have probably managed to convince myself that this whole thing—Mom’s accident, the kid with the gun—was all my fault because I’d tried to help Jessie. But I’ve thought it through and I really don’t blame myself. I’ve decided that my new mantra is, ‘You’re basically a good person, Edie.’”

  Peter grinned. “Basically?”

  “Well, I’m still working on it. This time next year, I’ll probably dump the qualifier. Might even add an adjective or two. ‘You’re an amazingly, miraculously good person, Edie.’”

  “I wouldn’t overdo it,” Peter said.

  She punched his shoulder. “Seriously though, I’m very happy. A little scared, but definitely happy. You think the girls will like me? I mean, I’m not expecting them to immediately fall head over heels or anything, but I don’t want them to think of me as a wicked stepmother and—”

  “Shut up, Edie.” He caught her hand, turned it over and kissed the palm. “The girls already like you and in time I have no doubt they’re going to love you. How could they not? I love you and they’re my daughters. Highly intelligent and intuitive about these things.”

  She considered this for a moment and smiled. “Which must mean I’m a good person, right?” She grabbed his hand. “Come on, let’s go and pick up the girls and take them to see Mom. And then we’ll tell her that sometime in the distant future, but probably in her lifetime, you intend to make an honest woman out of me. You think her heart can stand the shock?”

  “Oh, I think so,” Peter said. “Providing you don’t snap at her.”

  “Or slap my head.”

  “Did I ever tell you I think you’re wonderful?” Peter said.

  “Yeah, but you know what?” She turned to look at him. “I don’t think I could ever hear you say it too many times.”

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-3207-5

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  Copyright © 2004 by Janice Macdonald.

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