by Rita Herron
For a moment Dorothy’s face flushed with irritation, then hurt. “Of course, I’m certain. He was the only man I was ever with.” She paused, wrinkling her forehead. “If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you a copy of your birth certificate.”
Stella hesitated. Dorothy had no reason to lie to her. But Sutton had—he’d wanted to cover his tracks.
“You kept it?”
“Of course.” She hurried inside to a desk drawer and removed an envelope, then took out several pictures of her as a newborn, then as she’d grown. Stella’s heart raced at the sight of her birth certificate.
“I can’t believe you saved all those photos.”
“Of course I did.” Her voice cracked. “I…waited for years in Savannah, hoping they’d find you. Every day I’d look out the window and pretend you were coming home to me, But finally…” More tears rained down her face, and she choked. “Finally I gave up after that cop showed up. I had to move away. The agony of not knowing, of walking through the park every day and searching for you was killing me.”
Stella heard the sincerity in her mother’s voice and realized they had both been victims.
That her memory of her mother crying out for her was real…
That Sutton had lied to her about everything.
“I’ve been looking for you for a long time,” Stella whispered thickly.
Her mother swiped at her tears as her gaze traveled over Stella. “I can’t believe you’re here now. I’ve missed so much time with you.” A note of anger and bitterness hardened her voice. Then she brushed Stella’s hair from her cheek as if she were a little girl. “You have to tell me where you’ve been. What happened. Have you been happy? Did someone adopt you? Did they give you a nice home?” Her voice broke again. “Oh, I hope they did, Stella. I…so worried about you being happy. I felt so helpless.”
Stella glanced at Luke, the silent question fluttering between them. But she knew the answer. Her mother had obviously suffered enough already. She wouldn’t inflict any more pain on her now.
Her life was so full of love there was no more room for bitterness or blame.
“I’ll tell you everything later, Mom. Just not now.” she said. “I just want to get to know you.”
Tears overflowed from Dorothy’s eyes again as she nodded. “Oh, honey, I’m so glad you’re back. I was so angry that you were taken….”
Stella hugged her, savoring her warm welcome again, letting it wash away the fears and bad memories. Finally, when they pulled away, she remembered Luke.
“Mom, there’s someone very special I want you to meet. My husband, Luke Devlin.”
“Luke Devlin, what a nice name.” Her mother tittered. “And what a handsome man.”
“Luke’s an FBI agent. He helped me search for you.”
Her mother hugged Luke, wiping at her tears. “Thank you so much. I…never married, never had more children. I didn’t think I could stand to lose anyone else I loved again.”
“You won’t,” Stella whispered as she hooked her arm though her mother’s. “In fact, we’ll all be a family together.”
HER REUNION was one of the most emotional moments of her life. She and Luke and her mother went inside for tea and laughed and talked. Finally Luke stood.
“I hate to cut this reunion short, but we have to go. I have a surprise for Stella.”
Stella’s mother smiled. “I think you’ve found a special man, Stella.”
“You’re welcome to come with us,” Luke said. “In fact, I think you’d enjoy it.”
Dorothy’s hand trembled as she reached for Stella’s. “Do you want me to come along, Stella?”
“Yes, please, Mom. I’m not ready to leave you again.”
“Don’t worry,” her mother said. “I might have missed out on being your mother all these years, but I’m not going to miss anything about my grandbaby’s life, or the rest of yours.”
They laughed and followed Luke to the car. A half hour later, he parked at Detective Black’s house.
Stella searched her husband’s face, constantly amazed at him. “What’s going on, Luke?”
He winked. “Come on, your surprise is inside.”
She accepted his hand, trusting him more than she’d ever thought possible. When the door opened, Adam Black’s wife, Sarah, greeted them. A chorus of “Surprise!” erupted around the room. All her new friends from Luke’s office and the Savannah police department, were jammed inside, along with J.T.’s wife and son.
Stella gaped at the colorful balloons, streamers and the banner above the mantel congratulating her and Luke on the baby. Brightly wrapped presents were stacked on one table beside a cake decorated with pink-and-blue icing. A baby carriage sat in the corner with a big, yellow bow on the hood.
“This is wonderful,” Stella whispered. “The best day of my life.” She turned and kissed Luke. “Next to marrying you, of course.”
He caressed her cheek, then ushered her inside. Stella hugged Sarah, then introduced her mother and the three of them went inside to enjoy the baby shower together, just as they would enjoy being together the rest of their lives.
Stella patted her growing tummy. Her world was finally complete. All the lies and pain and secrets were part of a past she was leaving behind.
Now she was sailing into a bright and beautiful future, complete with her mother, a wonderful husband who loved her, and a son to spoil and protect….
ISBN: 978-1-4268-7865-7
VOWS OF VENGEANCE
Copyright © 2006 by Rita B. Herron
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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†Nighthawk Island
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Epilogue