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"I don't know. Mrs. Kenwood assumed you knew, and she
assumed you told me, which of course, you didn't."
"I never knew!" The anguish in his voice was now equal to the
anger. "Good Lord, what will I tell Liz? This will kill her. She's
had enough trouble trying to contend with Barbara Kenwood's
image and now this. It will devastate her." He sounded more like
her husband than her ex-husband.
"No offense, but my main concern right now is Destiny."
"Of course. Of course. I can't even think about what this will
mean to her. She's seemed so peaceful lately, especially after she
met her grandmother. Or the woman she thought was her
grandmother. I can't even think of it another mother. My God,
another father!"
"Please don't say anything to Destiny. I'm going to try to call her
as soon as we're done here, but in case I can't reach her, please
wait to talk to her."
"You're not honestly thinking of telling her now, are you?"
Suddenly, I was the target of his anger.  I am.
"Don't!" His tone was menacing.
"I have to."
"You can't! Haven't you done enough?"
"No," I said in a quiet, angry voice. "There will be no more
secrets! There's no point in them."
"I hope someday you can forgive yourself for what you're about
to do to my daughter," he retorted.
And then there was a dial tone.
Chapter 17
I didn't waste a second. My paranoia had reached new heights. I
I didn't waste a second. My paranoia had reached new heights. I
was afraid that in his angry state, Benjamin Greaves would call
Destiny and then whisk her off to some faraway land, safely out
of my reach.
I was never more grateful to hear someone's voice than I was
when Destiny said "Hello."
"Destiny, thank God you're home!"
"What's wrong, Kris, you sound terrible."
"I have to talk to you. Can I come over?"
"Sure, come right now if you want."
"I'm on my way."
"Are you sure you can drive? You sound really upset."
"I'm fine. I'll see you in a few minutes."
****
With every ounce of energy I had, I concentrated on my driving.
I knew Destiny thought something was wrong with me. I knew
she'd be preparing herself to comfort me. I knew her
misunderstanding would make it all the more difficult for me to
tell her what I needed to, but I couldn't have said anything more
on the phone.
I was still reeling from my whirlwind afternoon when I burst
through her door and perched myself on the edge of the couch.
"I've got some bad news  "
"What is it?" she interrupted me, her concern apparent.
"Please, Destiny, this is hard enough for me. Let me just spit it
out," I said, my voice cracking with emotion. "Today, I found out
you're adopted."
She started to smile, and she looked like she was going to
She started to smile, and she looked like she was going to
interrupt me again.
I put up a hand to silence her.
"Not by your parents, Liz and Benjamin Greaves. By the Ken-
woods. They weren't your natural parents. They adopted you
when you were a week old."
In her eyes, I read shock, disbelief, and finally anger.
"Very funny, Kris!"
"I'm not joking," I said wearily. "Everyone seems to think I have
a warped sense of humor today. I don't. I'm dead serious. Lydia
Barton let it slip this afternoon. I've been to your grandma's, and
she confirmed it. I'm sorry."
"No, no, no, no." She started sobbing.
I didn't know what to do, how to comfort her. I wanted to touch
her, to hold her, but I wasn't sure how to approach her. The
louder she cried, the more awkward I felt. As her breathing
became faster, I started to panic. Unable to do more, I finally
decided to sit down next to her. When I reached over to pat her
leg, she grabbed me, almost frantically, and hugged me.
It was almost an hour before she stopped crying and was able to
breathe normally again. The whole time, I held her, and the
physical touch felt good. I tried to will my strength into her body.
I lightly stroked her hair. I told her everything would be okay,
though I didn't have the faintest idea if it really would be. Mostly,
I listened to her grief filling the room and tried not to drown in it.
"Tell me exactly what they told you," she commanded when at
last she raised her head to look at me.
last she raised her head to look at me.
Still holding her hand, I told her all about my afternoon.
"I can't believe my father never knew!"
"Unless he's the world's greatest liar, he never knew. He was as
shocked as I was."
"He's a terrible liar."
"Then he never knew."
"I can't believe I sat at that woman's house for three hours and
she let me believe I was her granddaughter."
"You were, Destiny. You are. Nothing changes the years you
two spent together." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]