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Ian nodded and kissed me on the head. I
walked away from my father and didn t even
give him a second look. I wanted peace. I
needed peace. But most of all, I wanted him
to know how much I hated him for abandon-
ing us. Peace in my life would never exist as
long as I carried that around with me. I told
Mandy that we were leaving and she fol-
lowed me outside. As we waited for Ian, I
figured I d better tell her what happened. So
I did. Ian came out a few moments later and
pulled the car around for us. As soon as I
climbed in, Ian grabbed my hand.
It s going to be okay, sweetheart. He s
coming over the day after tomorrow to talk.
I ll be with you the whole time.
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I didn t say anything. I just laid my head
on the window and went deep into thought.
We dropped Mandy off at home and Ian told
her that she didn t have to come to work to-
morrow, but she insisted that she was fine
and she wanted to. As we were driving home,
Ian softly pressed his lips against my hand.
Talk to me, sweetheart. Tell me what s
going on in that pretty little head of yours.
Confusion, sadness, uncertainty, anger,
all of the above.
Ian chuckled. You re adorable when
you re confused. He smiled.
We pulled up to the house and, as soon as
I walked through the door, I went upstairs
and got ready for bed. Ian did the same and
climbed in next to me.
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Come here, sweetheart. I don t want to
do anything but hold you. You re safe with
me, Rory, and I ll do anything to protect
you.
I know, Ian, I said as I snuggled against
him.
****
I was sitting at the dining room table,
drinking my coffee and waiting for Ian to
come and sit down. He was on a business call
with a company in Japan. I was nervous
about my lunch with Richard today. Ian told
me that I was being ridiculous and to enjoy
myself. But somehow, I had a feeling that it
wasn t going to be a pleasant lunch. As I was
in thought, Adalynn strolled in the room and
took a seat across from me.
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Good morning, darling. She smiled.
Good morning. Coffee? I asked as I held
up the carafe.
Thank you. Can you believe I m getting
married exactly one month from today?
No. I smiled. It s coming so fast.
Where s Ian? she asked.
He s on a business call with Japan.
Oh, what a big, important man he is.
She winked.
I heard that, Adalynn, Ian said as he
walked over and lightly kissed her cheek.
Of course you did, darling. How are
you?
I m good. Did Rory tell you she confron-
ted Jimmy last night?
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Her mouth dropped as she looked at me.
WHAT!
I picked up my coffee cup and took a sip
of coffee before responding to her. He told
me I looked like my mother. So he basically
confronted me.
Mandy walked over and handed Adalynn
a fruit cup. Thank you, darling. Wait,
Mandy, what the hell happened to your
face?
Mandy looked at Ian and then at me.
Some douchebag she was seeing thought it
was fun to hurt her. I kicked his ass last night
and told him never to come near her again.
Adalynn looked at Ian and raised an eye-
brow. Wow. Go you.
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Ian chuckled and Mandy smiled. Well,
I m glad for your sake that bad man is out of
your life. You deserve better, honey. Ada-
lynn smiled at her.
Mandy walked away and Adalynn turned
her attention back to me and my father. So,
go on. What else did he say?
Nothing much. He just said he wouldn t
discuss it there, so Ian told him to come here
tomorrow.
Here? Are you okay with that? Adalynn
asked me.
Yeah, I guess. At least here I can scream
and yell and maybe throw a thing or two at
him. I smiled.
True. Well, get the answers you need
and then move on. Speaking of moving on,
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she said as she looked at her watch. I have
to get to Prim. I ll see the both of you to-
night. Get your dancing shoes out, Rory.
We re going to tear up the dance floor.
I gave her a small smile as she got up
from the table and left. I really wasn t up to
going out tonight, but it was for Ian s birth-
day, so I had to go. I didn t want to disap-
point him, plus I didn t trust Andrew.
Ian and I finished breakfast and he left
for the office. Call me after you have lunch
with my dad and let me know how it went,
he said as he gave me a kiss goodbye.
I will, babe. Have a good day at the
office.
I wanted to go visit Stephen s grave, so I
texted Richard and asked him if I could meet
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him at the restaurant. He said it was fine and
to be there around noon. I took a shower, got
dressed, and drove my car to the cemetery
after stopping at the florist and picking up
some flowers. I parked along the curb, which
sat a few feet away from a large tree that
stood behind Stephen s grave. The black
marble headstone looked beautiful in the
sunlight. I knelt down and carefully placed
the flowers on his grave.
Guess what, Stephen. I met our dad last
night. He knows who I am. He told me that I
look just like Mom. The funny thing is that
you were the spitting image of him. He s
coming over tomorrow to explain to me why
he left. I m finally going to get the answers
I ve always wanted. I miss you, Stephen, but
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I know you re over the rainbow and that
you re happy now.
I wiped my eye and looked at my watch.
It was almost noon. I said goodbye to Steph-
en and drove to the restaurant to meet
Richard.
****
Richard got up from his seat and gave me
a light hug when I walked in. I sat down and
ordered a glass of red wine as I admired the
beauty of the Italian restaurant.
How are you, Rory? Richard asked.
I m okay. How are you?
He pursed his lips together and gave me a
small smile. I m sick, Rory, and I don t want
you telling Ian about this.
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I frowned at him and shook my head.
What do you mean, you re sick?
You need to promise me that you won t
mention any of this to Ian. I m not ready to
tell him.
Then why are you telling me, Richard?
Because you saw the paper from John
Hopkins.
I suspected something was wrong be-
cause of the way you reacted when I picked
up the paper.
You didn t say anything to Ian, did you?
No, I replied as I shook my head.
What s wrong with you?
He pick up his glass of scotch and took a
drink before answering me. I have
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pancreatic cancer, stage four, and it has
spread.
Instantly, that sickening feeling in my
stomach appeared. Richard, I said as I
placed my hand on his. My God, are you
sure?
Of course I m sure and so is every doctor
at John Hopkins.
You re getting treatments, though, so
you ll be fine, I said.
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