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.At any rate, no doubt Dorothy would be impossible to convince.Proving Rachel correct, Dorothy charged on.“Think of all the things Guy Saxby’s done in his career.” She waved the release forms in the air.“He can talk about anything bird-related.Does he sound like somebody who had to steal someone else’s research to publish?”When neither of them answered, she answered for them.“No.Becker was jealous, that’s all.”“Maybe,” said Rachel.“Oh my, she has love blinders on.”Dorothy faltered.“It doesn’t matter.Guy has promised that we’ll be on camera tomorrow.We are going to win that money for Raptor House.You’ll see that you’re wrong about him.He is going to prove his mettle.” She handed Rachel two releases.“Here’s one for you, and one for Lark.Now we should all get to bed so we can be extra sharp tomorrow.”Cecilia scoffed.“Or so somebody can get her much-needed beauty sleep.”Chapter 12Rachel didn’t.She tried to sleep, but she tossed and turned, and then finally got up.The clock dial read eleven P.M.They had to be up in six hours.Lark snored softly in the next bed, so Rachel pulled on her shorts in a beam of moonlight, and then headed downstairs in search of hot chocolate.A small coffee bar had been tucked into a corner for guests, and Rachel helped herself to a packet of Swiss Miss.Three carafes labeled decaf, coffee, and water sat next to the tray of mugs.Dumping the chocolate into the mug, she pushed the pump on the water, and the carafe sputtered.She pushed again, and it spit a burble of water before it finally gave up.Darn.There was no clerk at the desk, so Rachel picked up the carafe and ducked her head into the bar.There was no bartender either.Who needed staff with all the birders in bed?The dining room was closed, but yellow light leaked out from beneath the swinging doors into the kitchen.Maybe she could find someone in there.Pushing open the swinging door, she stepped into a large room with metal counters and racks.A dishwasher crammed full of dinner dishes churned in the corner, its water spray visible.A woman’s voice screeched from deeper inside.“What the hell is wrong with you?”Rachel stopped in mid-stride.It sounded like Patricia Anderson.Was she talking to her?Rachel’s free hand flew to her chest, and she peered around the corner of the nearest dish rack.Patricia stood sideways, center aisle, her hands on her hips.A snarl marred her lips.“You are seventeen years old.”I’m in the clear.Rachel leaned farther around the dish rack.Katie Anderson stood facing her mother.Her black hair was pulled up in a ponytail, and she wore a thin, low-cut tank top, which pushed out in a small bump over her low-rise jeans.Her hands flew to her face, and she rubbed one of her eyes.The little-girl gesture in a woman’s body touched Rachel’s heart.There was something about the way the girl acted that reminded Rachel of herself not so long ago.There had been times, during her divorce, that she had felt so vulnerable she had wanted to curl up in the fetal position and die.Watching Katie, Rachel sensed the same despair.“How could you be so stupid?”Tears spilled over and tumbled down Katie’s face.She snatched up a tissue and blotted her eyes.“I’m not stupid.”“Wait until your father gets back from Brunswick and I tell him what you’ve been up to.What could you possibly think you’d achieve by visiting Sonja Becker? How could you possibly think she would welcome you and your bastard child with open arms?”Katie was pregnant? With Paul Becker’s child? Sonja Becker said her husband cheated, and that he liked them young.“This baby is entitled to a decent upbringing.I expected she might help us.It was worth a try.It’s better than I can expect from you.”“Why you little.” Patricia raised her hand as though to strike Katie, and then changed her mind, balling her hand into a fist by her side.“Your daddy and I plan to see this child placed in a loving home.In the meanttime, you better pray this land trade goes through so we have the money to pay for it.”Did that mean the developer had backed out?“I’m not giving up my baby.” Katie, the young woman-child, stood her ground.“That’s why I went to see Mrs.Becker.I figured she might understand.”The theme song from The Graduate started playing in Rachel’s head.Katie’s voice rose in timbre.“You and Daddy can’t tell me what to do with my baby [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]