"Sometimes Ian goes to his room when he has to concentrate."

"It doesn't happen often," Ian said, without looking up from his paper. "I'm pretty smart."

Katherine rolled her eyes. "I can see we need to have another conversation about grace and humility."

He glanced up. His mouth twisted in what Dani had come to realize was a smile. "Hey," he said. "It's me. Isn't that enough?"

Dani grinned. Ian looked at her and winked.

Dani walked to where Trish was reading her book. When she looked up, Dani carefully signed, "You like your class?" At least that's what she hoped she signed. She wasn't totally sure.

Trish stared at her for a second, then smiled and nodded while making a fist with her hand and rocking it up and down.

"That means yes," Katherine said. "I didn't know you signed."

"I don't," Dani said hastily. "Please, don't quiz me. I'll fail. But I know Trish is deaf and I wanted to be able to communicate with her so I went online and looked up a few phrases. There's an online dictionary that has video clips, so you can see how the signs are supposed to be done. I had trouble figuring them out from reading the description."

Dani shrugged, suddenly feeling silly. "You probably knew that."

"We have a CD-ROM dictionary that shows the signs. I agree, it makes it easier to understand the directions, especially on the more complicated signs." She touched Trish's shoulder. "She's in a special program for deaf students where she's learning to read lips and vocalize, as well as sign. We want her to be comfortable in both the hearing and the deaf world."

"Makes sense," Dani said.

"It's complicated," Katherine admitted. "There's a big debate in the deaf world about keeping their culture strong, focusing on their language. I want to respect that, but I also want Trish to be able to be happy and successful. It's something I can get passionate about, as can the deaf community. It makes for interesting debates."

Oliver tugged on Dani's hand. When she looked down, he handed her a large picture book. "Read, peas."

"I would love to read you a story." Dani glanced at Katherine. "If that's all right?”

"Of course. I’ll start dinner."

Dani felt her eyes widen. "You cook? Oh. Sorry. That came out wrong. I'm sure you can, but when do you find time? You're so busy with your work and the children."

Katherine laughed. "Don't get excited. I rarely cook anything from scratch anymore. I have dinners delivered. They're prepared and ready to be grilled or popped in the oven. If it's a big party, I use a caterer. I still make soups and stews on weekends, when I have a free afternoon, which isn't often. Okay, there's a big overstuffed chair in the family room, assuming you don't mind cuddling while you read."

Dani smiled at Oliver. "I love cuddling."

She took the book and his hand and let him lead her to the family room. It was a huge open space with a big television at one end and seating for twenty. Oliver pointed at a dark blue chair with a large, squishy ottoman.

Dani settled down, then lifted Oliver onto her lap. He wiggled until he was wedged between her and the side of the chair, then he put his head on her chest and sighed. Sasha walked over and stood by them.

"I want a story, too," she said.

"Absolutely. You want to sit with me?"

Sasha nodded, then crawled over to Dani's other side.

"'Once upon a time there were two kitties named Callie and Jake. They were brother and sister and lived in a blue house with a green lawn. They liked to play in the sun and take long baths.' That is a green lawn. I wish my lawn looked that good."

Sasha giggled. "You need a gardener."

"I probably do."

Oliver, who was a few years older, but hampered by Down's syndrome, pointed at the book. "Kitty," he said.

Dani put an arm around each of them and continued reading. As she told the story of two cats welcoming a human baby into their home, she wondered at the heartbreak of having a child who would always have challenges. Would Bailey or Oliver ever get to live on their own, get married, grow old?

What about Quinn who looked like other children, but couldn't learn as quickly? Or Ian, who was brilliant, but trapped in a body he couldn't control?

The blessings of this family overwhelmed her, as did the potential for heartache.

When Dani finished the story, Oliver and Sasha ran off to play. Dani wandered into the kitchen to see if she could help.

"You were gracious enough to invite me to dinner," she said. "I'm prepared to earn my place at the table."

Katherine laughed. "Oh, but you work in a restaurant. How do I know you're not going to silently mock my skills?"

"Never. I'm in management. I don't do actual cooking."

Katherine wore wool slacks and a blouse that was probably silk. With her hair pulled back and tasteful pearl earrings, she looked as if she'd just stepped out of the pages of Town & Country. Yet when Sasha came running in the kitchen, Katherine caught her easily and pulled her close for a hug.

"I could be very good if I had a cookie," the little girl said.

"I'm sure you can be very good without a cookie. Dinner's in less than an hour."

Sasha sniffed. "That's a very long time and I'm very hungry."

"I suspect you'll survive."

Sasha glanced at Dani. "Do you want to give me a cookie?"

Dani shook her head.

Sasha sighed heavily and left.

Katherine picked up the knife she'd been using to slice broccoli. "She's in a 'very' stage right now. Everything is very something. She's so dramatic. I won't be surprised if she ends up on the stage." She glanced at Dani. "You know Sasha is HIV positive."

Dani nodded.

"You're not afraid to touch her? You had her on your lap while you were reading."

Dani had the sense of being tested. "No. I'm not concerned."

"People have a lot of misconceptions about HIV."

"Among other things," Dani said quietly. "You must deal with it all the time."

"I do. A lot of people think I chose these children I because they have problems. That's not true. I chose these children because they touched my heart."

Dani understood how that could happen. They were already making inroads into her heart.

She'd put off thinking about children when she and Hugh were first married. Taking care of him had been all she could handle. Eventually, he'd become more autonomous, so she'd explored different options, including in vitro fertilization. Then Hugh had said he wanted a divorce and it had all hit the fan. Now, for the first time in her life, Dani understood what people were talking about when they mentioned a biological clock. There was some serious ticking going on with hers.

"Alex mentioned the charity event to me," she said. "I'm sorry you have to deal with me in public."

"Don't be," Katherine told her. "We'll be fine."

"I've never done anything like that. Spoken in public, been to a fancy charity."

"It sounds worse than it is," Katherine said with a smile. "I'm thinking we'll go to a luncheon. It's more low-key. As for speaking, one of Mark's people will prepare a few remarks and go over them with you. We're talking ten minutes, tops."

Ten minutes sounded like a lifetime to Dani. "Great," she murmured, wondering what the headline would be when she projectile vomited halfway through her speech.

"You'll be fine. I'll help. When it gets closer we can talk about what you should wear and how to make sure you don't have anything in your teeth when you smile for pictures."

Dani felt both pleased and awkward. "You didn't have to do any of this. You could have thrown me out of your home. Instead you've made me feel welcome."

"You're Mark's daughter, Dani. That means something to me."

"You're an amazing woman."

Katherine laughed. "How I wish that were true. I'm just like everyone else, trying to get through the day."

Dani doubted that. Katherine was class. Dani didn't think she could have been as kind if the situations were reversed.

"Who knows," Katherine said as she scooped the broccoli into a steamer. "You may find you enjoy the charity work. Some women find it very satisfying. I do, as does Fiona. You met her, didn't you? Alex's wife."

Dani's insides went cold. "His wife? I thought…"

"They're divorced," Katherine admitted as she poured water into a pot. "I don't know what's going on. Honestly, Alex won't talk to me about specifics. Fiona is devastated. I've asked him to rethink his decision. I'm getting through to him, at least that's what I tell myself."

Dani didn't know what to say. When Fiona had gone on about being a member of the Canfield family, Dani had thought it was just cheap talk. Now she wasn't so sure.

But Alex had kissed her, Dani reminded herself. He wasn't the kind of man to play around, was he?

She swore silently. Not again, she told herself. She would not be played again. So how to be sure?

"Marriage is difficult," she murmured, because a reply seemed expected.

"I agree. I've told Alex it's important to take the time they both need to be sure. As it is, we're hopeful."

Hopeful. Fiona had used the same word. Did that mean anything? Was Dani looking for trouble where there wasn't any or was the truth staring her in the face? Was Alex too good to be true?


***

Gloria put her feet up on the coffee table and pointed the remote control at the television. "It's unrated. But as it is a political interview, I doubt we have to worry about graphic violence and sexual situations," she said as she pushed Play.

The video started.

Dani took a handful of popcorn from the large bowl between them. "If there is graphic sex involving my biological father, I'm so out of here. That's not an image I want planted in my brain."

"I doubt the junior senator from Washington interviewed naked. Although if he looked good in a thong, that could help his campaign."

Dani didn't know if she should laugh or be shocked. "Gloria Buchanan, I can't believe you said that."

"Why shouldn't I appreciate a handsome man in a thong? I'm not dead. At least not yet."

"Still, it's borderline icky."

"So I'm supposed to go blind as well as break my hip?"

"No, but let's not talk about thongs."

Gloria winked. "I'll only sin in my heart."

"A good place for it."

Dani ate the popcorn. Six months ago she never would have believed that she could have enjoyed living with Gloria. Six weeks ago it would have been a stretch. But here she was, in her house and feeling perfectly comfortable. It was a miracle.

"Our interview tonight is with Senator Mark Canfield. The senator is considering a run for president, although a recent revelation about an illegitimate child might present a challenge to the campaign."

Dani grabbed another handful of popcorn. "I never thought of myself as illegitimate. How Victorian."

"You have a father listed on your birth certificate." Gloria told her. "You're fine."

"So reality doesn't matter? It's all about perception?"

"Naturally. You should already know that."

Dani had a good sense of it. She turned her attention back to the interview.

Mark let the other man talk himself down, then began to calmly explain how a member of the media used a puppy to get a child with Down's syndrome to betray a family secret.

He was good, speaking slowly, conversationally, painting a vivid picture of a pretty little girl who could never really understand the harsh cruelty of the world. Mark made Alex's intervention sound like a knight riding to the rescue, and the discovery that Dani was his long-lost daughter a miracle.

"He's good," she said when she'd chewed and swallowed. "Better than good."

"He's a professional. What did you expect?"

Dani wasn't sure. "The smoothness is off-putting," she admitted. "Sometimes he doesn't seem fully human."

"Don't judge him because he's good at his job," Gloria told her.

"Why couldn't he be a plumber or a math teacher?"

"Life isn't that convenient."

"Whose decision was that?" Dani reached for more popcorn. "I can't figure Mark out. I can't figure any of them out. They're living in a world I don't understand.”

"Don't be sorry you met him," Gloria told her. "He's your father. It hasn't been very long. Give both of you a little more time. It will get easier."

"I hope you're right," Dani said. "Sometimes I think I should just disappear. That if I stay around, we're all headed for a massive disaster. What if I'm the reason he's not elected president?"