Her Mother's Shadow by Diane Chamberlain

he said. “Not by a long shot. I’m a tax attorney. I could run it by some of my friends, though, if that would help.”
    â€œOh, no, you don’t have to do that.” She suddenly felt guilty for asking.
    â€œHow did it happen exactly?” he asked. “Your mother.”
    Between bites of seafood, she told him about the battered women’s shelter and how her mother had saved the life of Zachary Pointer’s wife. Rick listened with rare attentiveness for a man, barely touching his food as she spoke.
    â€œIt’s heartbreaking,” he said. “She sounded very special. I’m so sorry.” He reached across the table for her hand, and she let him hold it. His touch felt friendly, brotherly. She thought he actually had tears in his eyes, but she wasn’t sure. One thing she was certain of was that she really was safe with this guy. Maybe he could be a friend. But she lether hand rest in his only a moment before gently withdrawing it.
    â€œWhat’s your goal?” he asked. “I mean, with the legal system. Do you want to punish him longer or do you want to keep him off the streets because you think he might hurt someone else?”
    â€œWell, we—my father and brother and I and all the people around here who loved my mother—we just feel that twelve years is not long enough. He’d be out, alive and healthy and free and getting on with his life, while my mother can never come back.”
    â€œI’m going to look into this for you,” he said with sudden determination. “I can check with people who know that part of the law better than I do.”
    â€œThat’s so nice of you.”
    â€œI have one important question for you first,” he said.
    She set her fork on the edge of her plate, waiting for him to continue.
    â€œI may be…I apologize, because this might not be fair of me to ask, but…have you thought about what pursuing this will cost you?”
    She opened her mouth to reply, but he stopped her.
    â€œI don’t mean financially,” he said. “I mean emotionally. It could be long and drawn out. You and your family need to really think this through. You need to be sure you’re up for going through the whole thing again.”
    â€œI think we have to do it,” she said.
    He moved a scallop around on his plate. “I’m just playing devil’s advocate here, all right?” he asked. “I can’t possibly know how this feels to you, how it feels to lose your mother…but have you thought of…just letting it go? Putting it behind you? Maybe even taking it one step further by forgiving the guy who did it?”
    He must have seen her stiffen, because he continued quickly.
    â€œMaybe not forgive him, exactly, although I have to tell you, I believe strongly in the power of forgiveness,” he said. “It brings peace to the person doing the forgiving. I understand that’s probably too much to ask. But you might consider not fighting his release. Not wasting your energy on him. As long as the parole board decides he’s not a danger to anyone else, as long as he’s truly been rehabilitated, can you just let it go?”
    She shook her head. “No,” she said.
    â€œLacey, I’m not talking about letting it go for his sake, but for yours,” he said, his dark eyes searching her face. “If you fight this, you’ll have to relive everything that happened.”
    â€œI’ll never stop reliving it,” she said, but she was frankly touched by what he had said. He was a kind man, and she knew there was wisdom in his words. “You sound like you’ve been through something like this.”
    He shook his head. “No,” he said. “Not really.” He pressed his napkin to his lips, then smiled at her again. “I haven’t known you long,” he said, his voice soft, “but just seeing you with customers at the studio, seeing