The house was quiet when Jimmy's driver brought her home close to midnight. She had insisted that Jimmy did not make the trip to the country with her. The Sinclairs had always lived on Beacon Hill in an enormous Greek revival built by an ancestor in the early nineteenth century. Jimmy hadn't inherited the home, but his parents spent almost three quarters of the year at the family villa in Saint Croix.

Eliot had wanted an invitation to the island, but her uncle didn't run a bed-and-breakfast. In her youth, Shaun had visited as a companion for Jimmy. She was never a very good one, because she preferred reading by the pool to tennis and other sports. Her favorite part was horseback riding on the beach. The formal dinners were her least favorite.

If Jimmy was asked about his favorite childhood memory, it would be in Dover. Her cousin loved to visit and had a close relationship with his Uncle Grant. He took the loss as hard as the rest of them.

Shaun closed her eyes as she rested her back in the luxurious town car. On the ride into town, Jimmy kept asking how she was. "I'll pay him off. I know your father would want me to."

Shaun wanted to ask him to not mention her father. Mourning was a long process. Some moments she felt okay, but others she couldn't control the tears. Wearing mascara for the first time since the funeral, she didn't want the tears.

Alone and tired, a tear leaked out of her closed eyes. Would her father be proud of her for going out? Jimmy's comment about his uncle was accurate. If her father was alive, he would do whatever was in his power to help extract her from her marriage. A divorce wasn't worrying her; it was sharing Tansy.

She used her marriage as an excuse not to arrange a date with Joshua Roche. Eliot was sleeping with her former friend, so she could have had dinner with a former school friend. The bigger problem was the shy girl lurking under the surface was too nervous to sit with her old crush in public. What would they talk about? Her marriage? Her father? His girlfriend? Tansy? Joshua Roche would not be interested in talking about her daughter.

Courtney had been her friend, but she hadn't been interested in discussing child-rearing. She was more business and less maternal. A long sigh escaped from Shaun.

"Are you okay back there, Miss?"

Shaun smiled. Jimmy's chauffeur didn't work on the weekends. The driver probably assumed she was his discarded date.

"Fine. Thank you."

"Only about ten minutes longer."

She hadn't looked out the window to gauge their location. On her last ride in a hired car, Eliot sat beside her and held her hand. She hadn't paid attention to anything but her sorrow as they rode home from the cemetery. After a small luncheon, her father's lawyer gathered them into the atrium to read his will. It reminded her of a movie. It didn't surprise her when her father only left her one of his watches. He left his favorite to Jimmy, and although it had value, it was sentimental for his nephew. He left the rest to his wife, except for a painting for Stella. It was one she always loved.

Eliot took the watch and put it on immediately. Another tear dropped because it was meant for her. The following day, he left to go back to Seattle.

She woke without Tansy in her bed. It was after nine, which was late for her. She would have to ride Star later. She felt groggy as she shuffled to the kitchen.

"There she is! How was your evening?"

She smiled at her mother. "It was fine. Where's Tansy?"

"In the barn with Morgan."

"Not riding?" She didn't want her on a horse without her permission.

Sarah laughed. "No, mucking the stalls." Stella went to the store. "Tell me, did you dance?"

"With Jimmy. I, um... made a sizable donation. I hope you don't mind, but I saved my high school biology tutor from an old lady."

Sarah put her hands to her mouth. "You bought a man!"

"No. Technically yes, but he has a girlfriend, and I still have a husband."

"Pft. Hardly." Sarah frowned.

"You sound like Stella."

"Darling, I wish your father could see the day you are free of him."

The sting of her parents hating her husband had been replaced with a much more significant sting from him betraying her. She had no doubt it was because her father's unexpected death hadn't resulted in a windfall for them.

He had been home two days when Courtney called her, not as a friend who cared she was grieving. Her words shocked Shaun. "I can't believe you left poor Eliot."

After shutting her gaping mouth, she exclaimed, "I didn't. I'm staying with my mother for a few weeks. My father..." she sobbed. "It was so sudden." The pain of not being able to say goodbye to her father had still persisted in her chest.

"I'm sorry about your dad."

Shaun felt dread "I don't know what my husband told you, but I spoke to him yesterday. Thanks for calling."

When Shaun called Eliot to ask why her friend would think she left him, he admitted he told her.

"Why would you?"

"Because it was all it took."

"Took for what? You aren't making sense."

He sighed. "You'll find out, eventually. I never loved you. She's who I want."

Shock, anger, and betrayal morphed into an explosion. "Did you sleep with her?"

His affirmative answer and lame excuse were muted by her tears. Stella overheard. Thankfully, Tansy was watching the therapy sessions with her mother after a trip to the mailbox.

The pain cut deep six months later. She had used her mourning as an excuse to procrastinate. Other friends reported the couple socializing all over Seattle together. There was no doubt what Shaun needed to do. She needed a divorce.

"Darling, are you okay?"

She would be on the day she finally freed herself from him. "I think I'll check with the home-wrecker's ex to get the name of his lawyer."

Sarah smiled. "I'm proud of you."

Shaun was busy getting a cup of coffee when the screen door opened.

"Mommy." She felt the small body plow into her legs.

"Did you help Morgan?"

The teen answered. "She did. She is so sweet. I can ride Star."

"I'll ride later. Thank you."

Morgan frowned. "I always give Shadow extra love."

Shaun nodded and forced a smile. Even his horse missed Grant McManus.

"Bye." She waved as she turned and left.

Shaun had the urge to be young again. Not in high school. She hated those four years. She and her friend Holly still remember the years with little nostalgia. Her life hadn't been completely miserable as long as she was on the six acres she called home. Occasionally, Holly had come over to swim or watch a movie. Holly wasn't one for painting her toes and talking about secret crushes.

College had been better, as Shaun was determined to make a fresh start. No one knew if she was rich or poor or that her mother was in a wheelchair. She made friends and drank to fit in. When she felt overwhelmed, she hid in her room.

It was the fall of her senior year when she met Eliot. A drunk guy was trying to get her to talk. She wanted to get away, but he had boxed her in. She winced, smelling his breath.

He picked up a strand of her hair. "What do you like to do for fun?"

Trying to figure out a way to get away, she pushed on his shoulder. "Ride horses."

His crude smile caused prickles on her neck. "I bet you do." His hand reached for her and she pushed it away.

"No, I mean a real horse in my barn at home."

He leaned in. "Are you rich or something? I like the taste of rich girls."

"You aren't tasting me."

She kneed him where it counted and scrambled away, as he made a scene. "This rich bitch just assaulted me. I'll sue."

She ran right into another guy. "Are you okay? I saw what the perv did to you."

"Effing rich bitch!" The jerk wouldn't shut up.

"Don't worry, he won't sue. Are you really rich?"

She shook her head as he ushered her out of the crowded house. "My father. Not me."

Eliot's voice was gentle. "Breathe fresh air. Did he hurt you?"

"No, but I hurt him."

She began laughing and couldn't stop. He walked her home and showed up at her door the next morning with a coffee. First instincts were always right as well as hindsight. She resisted him at first, but eventually she fell in love with her rescuer. She had believed he fell in love with her, too. Maybe he lied, but falling in love was the best time of her life.

She turned to her daughter. Was she the by-product of love, or had Eliot really never loved her?