Forever After Read Free Page A

the soda bottle to pour.  "Don't underestimate yourself.  You're a strong woman.  And you have Jenna.  She makes all the difference in the world."
    Marsha looked Darcy squarely in the eyes.  "Did you ever think of adopting?"
    "I've thought about it.  But I'm so involved at the garage.  The business is important to me and harder than ever to keep on its feet.  I don't know if I have what it takes to be a single parent."
    Marsha picked up the tray with hot dogs and pushed the door open.  "You were willing to do it once."
    "Because I had no choice.  Gary told me more than once children wouldn't fit into his plans for years, if ever.  I should have suspected then he wasn't the right man for me.  I should have seen how calculating and selfish he was."
    "Love gives us blinders.  How well I know.  I'm trying to see clearly with Chuck.  And if there's hope for me, there's hope for you.  You're only twenty-eight.  You could still meet someone special, someone who likes a small tourist town and wants to spend his life here, someone who wants children and a family."
    Thinking about Gary, her poor judgment where he was concerned, and her miscarriage, still brought Darcy sadness.  Too inexperienced to see the warning signals, she'd loved him and dreamt about having a future with him.  But he'd never had any intention of staying in Hershey or taking her with him to New York.  If she'd told him their birth control had failed and she was pregnant, it wouldn't have made a difference.  He'd never loved her.  The day he told her he was leaving, he'd made that perfectly clear.
    While Marsha went to the pool to call Chuck and Jenna, a face flickered in front of Darcy's eyes.  As if she'd asked herself a question, she silently answered it.  No.  Seth Hallaran was not that special man either.  For one thing, he was out of her league.  For another, he was on the opposing side.  Case closed.
    ***
    Sunday afternoon, Seth sat in his study, reading Brad Winston's file.  The man claimed his ex-wife was neglecting her daughter.  She had a lover.  The neglect Brad claimed was a different matter.  He'd said Marsha left Jenna with a babysitter more nights than she was home with her.  He'd said she left her daughter in the house unattended.  He'd said Marsha forgot about her daughter often.  Case in point.  Jenna had called Brad from school upset and in tears because nobody had arrived to pick her up.  He'd claimed Jenna's clothes were worn and inadequate.  And he couldn't understand why since he was paying child support.
    Added together and if all of it was true...
    Aah.  Seth could remember a time when he automatically believed the man.  His crusade was simpler in those days.  He thought he'd left these cases behind.  He had for the most part.  This was the only custody matter he was handling, or was thinking about handling.
    Seth rubbed his hand over his face and closed down the file on his laptop.  Instead of being cloistered in an air conditioned condo, he should be outside appreciating the fine weather.  The heat had abated to a balmy eighty and he knew exactly where he'd like to be and what he'd like to be doing.
    He'd found an ideal spot for a picnic when he was exploring the back roads--a grassy area with trees and a stream.  He imagined Darcy sitting there with him on a blanket.  The sun would turn her hair to fire and her amazing eyes would absorb him like a blue-green sea.
    Pushing his chair away from his desk with his heels, he stood.  Why couldn't he stop thinking about her?  Granted, he wasn't used to having his overtures rejected.  But it was more than that.  She was different.  Different from women he knew.  Yes, they were independent and polished.  But Darcy...
    There was innocence there, somehow maintained with the independence.  Maybe because she'd lived in a smaller town all her life.  The reason didn't matter.  The innocence was there.  He wanted to get close to it and experience