Her Secret, His Child

"Our night together was so different, so special to you, that you've been loyal to it ever since.

"The thing is, Jamie," he continued, never more serious in his life. "You aren't sullied, as you seem to believe. You just had a series of unfortunate things happen to you, and you reacted to them in the only way you knew how."

Tears started to slide slowly down her cheeks as she sat there, silently watching him. Her eyes begged him to be right.

' 'Considering the complete lack of guidance you had growing up, I think you're the most remarkable person I've ever met. I don't know how you didn't end up in the streets, on drugs, robbing, stealing, hurting the world as much as you've been hurt."

' 'What good would it have done?''

"Bingo." Kyle did have to swallow back tears then.

"What?"

"That's you, Jamie—always looking for good. Don't you see, honey? An immoral person wouldn't have cared what good it would've done. People like that just automatically destroy. They don't even know good exists."

The tears poured from her eyes then, soaking

TARA TAYLOR QUINN

Kyle's shirt as he pulled her against him. He held on tight, absorbing her anguish, thanking the heavens that she'd finally found a way home.

'"Thank you," she whispered sometime later when she was spent.

"I didn't do anything." Gazing into her beautiful gray eyes, he knew that it was he who would be thanking her for the rest of his life. He'd been only half-alive before Jamie, too caught up in right and wrong to experience all the nuances of life.

"How can you say you've done nothing?" she asked. "You've just given me back the one thing I thought I'd lost forever."

He kissed the tip of her nose. "What's that?"

"My self-respect."

They talked for hours, long after it had fallen dark and the resort had settled down for the night. She told him about her past, things Karen had already told him and things she hadn't, but the telling was so much less painful with Kyle there, loving her more instead of less with every sordid detail.

"The greatest gift I ever had was Mother's Day," she said, snuggling into his side where they sat on the floor, leaning against the couch.

"What did you get?" He was nuzzling her temple.

"Mother's Day," she admitted. "That's it. The day."

"Why's that?"

She couldn't see his expression but was wanned by the genuine interest he showed in every single thing about her, every word she said.

HER SECRET, HIS CHILD

"The first Mother's Day after I'd become a mother was the first time I ever felt good about myself. How could I not with Ashley staring up at me, adoring me, while I nursed her?"

"I wish I could have seen that."

His words stopped her for a moment. Stopped them both. And then she continued. "Besides, I'd done something good, turned my life around. Shown myself I could be a good person. Mother's Day is like my real birthday. The day symbolizing my rebirth. I was finally free from hell."

"No mother is more deserving of the celebration," he told her. "So it's a darn good thing we have one hell of a party planned, eh?" He poked her in the side.

Jamie squirmed, as he'd meant her to do, though she knew she couldn't go to that party. Whether Kyle loved her or not, some things hadn't changed.

They talked some about Ashley. About how excited she was to spend the night at Karen's. And about Karen. How distraught her friend had been. And how happy Karen and Dennis were these days.

And then they discussed the future.