Return to Sender by Fern Michaels Page B

“What could I have told Will at that point, today of all days?”
    “In the back of your mind you had to know this day would come. Or did you think the perfect life you created for Will wouldn’t change? I know, I know he doesn’t know about Nick, but the chance has always been there that he’d find out. He’s bound to ask questions about his father, that fictional father who just happened to die in an accident. Besides, you can’t haul those damned letters around forever.”
    Tears filled Lin’s eyes when she realized the mess she’d made. Her intention had been to protect Will. “I’m going to burn those letters tonight, as soon as I get out of the tub. There’s a giant ashtray in the sitting area, and several books of matches. I am going to watch as they burn, Sally. I swear. I don’t want Will to find them. Ever. If they’re gone, then every trace of my relationship with Nick will be wiped off the face of the earth.”
    “I’m not so sure I’d get rid of those letters. You never know. Someday you might need them.”
    Lin blotted her eyes with a damp washcloth. “I can’t imagine why, unless I want to continue to torture myself. They’re so juvenile, Sally. I swear, I can’t believe I stooped that low. I practically begged the guy to come and rescue Will and me.”
    “You did what any young girl in your shoes would’ve done. You were seventeen! Cut yourself some slack, Lin.”
    “That’s easy for you to say. You haven’t read the letters.”
    “I wouldn’t, either, Lin. Those are your private words and thoughts. Quit beating yourself up. You said yourself that Nicholas didn’t recognize you. I would forget it ever happened.”
    Lin sniffed, then dabbed at her eyes with the hem of a bath towel hanging next to the tub. “I guess you’re right. If he remembered me, surely he would’ve said something. I just can’t help but think something tragic is going to happen. It’s like seeing Nick has opened a can of worms. I don’t like the feeling, either. What if something happens to Will while he’s in the city? I would never forgive myself, Sally. I’d be better off dead. I wouldn’t have a life if it weren’t for Will. Hell, that son of a bitch father of mine would’ve killed me, too, if I hadn’t escaped. Well, that’s not quite true—he tossed me out. It’s just easier for me to think I escaped on my own. I thank God I was pregnant.” It had always been Lin’s belief that her father had shoved her mother down those steep basement steps. Her mother’s death was too timely, too convenient. There were times when she was sorry she hadn’t had the death investigated. And all those times she’d convinced herself that Will was more important.
    “Stop it! You can’t let this get to you. Nick is not going to find out about Will.”
    “I can only hope.”
    “What if he does? Would that truly be the end of the world?” Sally asked.
    Lin heard the car door slam. Sally was home. They’d talked the entire drive.
    “It isn’t Nick’s feelings I’m concerned with. It’s Will’s. I’ve always taught him to tell the truth, no matter what. What kind of mother teaches a child to be honest when her own life is nothing but a lie?”
    “Knowing Will, he’d understand. Oh, he might be pissed for a while, but in time I think he’d get over it. You’ve been good to him, Lin. Hell, you’ve been just as good to me and Lizzie. I would’ve left Dalton a long time ago if not for you. You gave me a reason to stay.”
    “I did?” Lin questioned.
    “Hell, yes! You’re like a sister to me. You gave me the best job ever. You pay me way more than I’m worth. And don’t say it’s not true, because we both know it is.”
    “You’re worth every cent, and you know it.”
    “I am, aren’t I?”
    They both laughed.
    “I don’t know what I would’ve done all these years without you, Jack, and Irma. Ya’ll are my real family.” Lin’s Southern accent was much more pronounced when she was