Breath of Scandal(58)

"Ready to burp?" Jade tugged the nipple out of Graham's mouth. He put up a fuss, but it subsided when Jade patted his back until he belched expansively. "My goodness!" she exclaimed. "That was something!" He looked up at her and grinned. An infusion of love went through her body as potently as an intravenous narcotic. She ran her thumb across his lower lip, wiping off the marbleized mixture of milk and saliva. She sucked it off her thumb, then resettled him against her breast and gave him back his bottle.

Shaken and weak from expended emotion, she had left Georgie's house that day with renewed hope. If she ex-

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plained everything to Gary, as she should have done the night of the rape, he would understand. As kind and loving as he was, he would agree with her decision to keep the baby. They would leave Palmetto, marry, and pursue their shared dreams. Gary would rear her baby as his own, and no one would ever know otherwise. With those plans set in her mind, she had sped toward Gary's house.

But that was where her memory always begged to take a detour. The road to Gary's farm always led straight to the barn and the grisly sight that had awaited her there.

"If only you had trusted in me a little while longer." She leaned over and whispered the words against Graham's velvety cheek. "Why'd you do it, Gary?" She knew why of course. His faith in her had been destroyed. Those who, had destroyed it were going about their lives unscathedbut not forever.

God had been merciful in one respect. Graham bore no resemblance to any of her three attackers. None of his features hinted at his paternity. He had dark, wavy hair, like hers. His eyes were going to remain blue and be tilted up slightly at the outer comers. The only face that emerged fiDm his Plump, baby prettiness was Ronald Sperry's, which was a masculine version of her own. It pleased her that he favored her father.

From the day it had happened, Jade had realized that the accidental ruling on her father's death was dubious. Nevertheless, hearing the truth from her mother had been a brutal blow. Velta had always vehementl denied that her husy



band's fatal, self-inflicted wound was intentional. For heir to admit that it was, and to suggest that Jade was responsible, demonstrated to Jade the depth of her mother's antipathy.

Had she been so desperately unhappy living with her daughter that she would resort to running off with a slimy character like Harvey? It seemed so. Jade longed for one cherished memory of her mother that she could cling to. Unlike the treasured memories of her father, there were none of her mother.

After Graham finished feeding, she didn't return him to his crib but continued to hold him against her, as she often



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did when she needed the comfort of human contact. Now that the shock of Velta's desertion had lost some of its sting, the ramifications of how it affected her and Graham were beginning to sink in.

All Jade had with her was a change of clothing and about thirty dollars. That was barely enough money to get them back to Savannah. Once there, how could she possibly handle the move to Morgantown alone?

" She nuzzled her "What are we going to do, Graham? 3' to nose in his sweet-smelling neck. "What are we going do?"

The easiest option would be to return to Savannah and resume her job, promising herself that as soon as she had saved enough money she would continue her education.

But saving money would be doubly difficult now that she would have the additional expense of child care. One postponement would pile onto another; the dream of seeking retribution would move farther from her grasp-

No, she couldn,t let that happen.

There had to be a way. If a way wasn't provided9 she as would make one. She couldn't let this Opportunity P SShe had already sacrificed one scholarship and wasn't going to sacrifice another.

CHAPTER



Elem



The doorbell echoed through the interior of the house. It was a dignified home, built in the Georgian style. The red brick was trimmed in white and accented with glossy black shutters on all the windows. It was set well away from the street, on a lawn that was meticulously manicured - The grass



still glistened from its early morning watering by the automatic sprinkler system.

The obvious affluence made Jade feel self-conscious. She gave her skirt a critical glance, hoping the wrinkles didn't show too badly. She moistened her fingers with her tongue and wiped Graham's drooling mouth one final time, just as the front door was opened by a pretty, petite woman with ash-blond hair. Guessing, Jade placed her in her early fifties.

"Good morning." Her soft gray eyes were drawn immediately to Graham, then she graciously smiled at Jade. "May I help you?"

"Good morving. Are you Mrs. Hearon?" She nodded. "That's right."

"My name is Jade Sperry. I apologize for calling on you so early, but I wanted to catch Dean Hearon before he left for his office. " Taking Graham on campus with her had been Ia more discouraging prospect than bringing him to the dean s home. "Is he still here, by any chance?"

"He's having breakfast. Come in."

"I'd rather stay here on the porch," Jade said hesitantly. "What I have to see him about won't take long."