grace's hand rested on beau's head. "cliff and i have a question for you about the kids' christmas gift."

"they're each making a detailed list of toys they want grandma and grandpa claus to buy them."

"i'm sure they are." grace liked nothing better than spoiling her grandchildren. while they were baking cookies yesterday, katie and drake had made a point of telling her which toys they were interested in for christmas.

"what would you think if cliff and i got them a dog?" there, it was out. cliff didn't believe she'd do it, but she had and it wasn't nearly as difficult as she'd expected. beau would love the children and they'd love him just as much. watching them play with him on saturday had told her that.

"a dog, mom, or a puppy?"

"a puppy," she clarified. "i was thinking of letting them have beau."

"beau?" maryellen sounded shocked. "you'd give up beau?"

"of course. i never intended to keep him. you knew that." grace had certainly made her intentions clear to any and all who'd listen.

"well, yes, but, mom, he's your dog. he follows you everywhere. he's obviously decided you're his owner."

"he'll adjust," grace said, refusing to let her resolve waver.

"i suppose he will, but i'm not so sure about you."

"you're being ridiculous." grace didn't want to argue but found it annoying in the extreme that everyone insisted she wouldn't be able to give up beau when the time came. they were wrong. each and every one of them. "now, do you want him or not? because if you don't, then...then cliff and i will take him back to beth morehouse."

"in that case, sure, we'll take beau."

the lump in grace's throat thickened. "good. we'll deliver him on christmas eve."

cliff raised his hand, indicating that he wanted to say something.

"hold on a minute," grace said, covering the mouthpiece.

"why wait until christmas eve?" he asked. "tell maryellen we'll bring him over this afternoon. we're headed that way later, and it would be convenient to drop him off."

"no need to rush, is there?" grace muttered. "he's a christmas gift."

"mom?"

grace returned the phone to her ear. "yes?"

"i heard what cliff just said. it'd be great if you brought him today. he'll distract the kids from all the christmas madness and keep them occupied."

"today," grace repeated slowly. "all right... why not? we'll stop by this afternoon with beau and all his paraphernalia." she was astonished by how much stuff they'd managed to accumulate for one small puppy.

"wonderful. come anytime."

"okay. see you later." grace clicked off the phone and handed it back to cliff. "i hope you're happy," she lashed out.

he smiled, ignoring her waspish tone.

"wipe that grin off your face. you think i won't be able to give up beau? well, you're in for a surprise, cliff harding. let's go right this minute. the sooner this dog is out of my life, the better." she carefully set beau on the floor, then hurried from room to room, shoving his chew toys and stuffed animals into a big plastic bag.

cliff didn't help, which infuriated her. this was his brilliant idea, so the least he could do was gather up beau's food.

"you ready?" she snapped when she'd finished. she had his toys and his bed, plus the new bag of dry puppy food she'd picked up the day before. "oh, i don't want to forget his vaccination records," she said, retrieving them at the last minute.

beau climbed obediently into his carrying case. she'd taken him to the library with her a number of times now. the moment he saw the carrier, he knew it meant a trip, and he loved being with grace no matter where she was going.

grace zipped up the carrier, and beau lay down, resting his chin on his paws, perfectly content and trusting.

"we're taking you to a new home," she told him. "a home with children who'll run and play with you. remember katie and drake? they already love you and you can play with them and...and-"

"okay, let's go." cliff said, coat on and car keys in hand.

grace stood there, immobilized.

he waited at the door. "you coming?"

"yes." she forced herself to take one step and then another. each step required effort and determination. the carrier was still on the floor. she'd have to reach down and pick it up... .

"are you coming or not?" cliff asked.

"i said i was." bending down, looking at beau, with his dark eyes focused directly on her, she tried to reassure him and herself that this was for the best. "katie and drake are going to love you so much."

unblinking, beau stared up at her.

"grace." cliff's voice was gentle. "are you sure this is what you want to do?"

she started to assure him it was and then realized she couldn't. "no," she whispered. "this isn't what i want at all." just saying the words seemed to free her. "i do love beau."

"i know. you couldn't help yourself any more than i could." cliff came over and put his arms around her, hugging her. "does that mean we can keep him?"

"he isn't buttercup."

"no, he's not. he's beau. our beau."

"our beau," she agreed. she knelt down, opening the zipper to his carrier.

beau leaped right into her arms.

thirty-five

"i don't know about this," lori told linc as she set a tray of decorated sugar cookies on the coffee table. she rubbed her hands nervously together.

linc had his own reservations, but was unwilling to say so. "it'll be fine," he said confidently. "don't worry."

lori looked unconvinced. "if this is a disaster, then..."

"i'll accept full responsibility."

"no, you won't," she said, coming to stand at his side. "i went along with this idea of yours. so if everything goes down in flames, i'm going down with you."

his wife didn't seem to hold out much hope. linc, on the other hand, believed there was at least a chance this would all work out.

"dad might not even come," lori said, which was one objection she'd raised when linc had first suggested setting up a meeting between her parents. kate didn't know her husband would be there, otherwise she'd never have agreed to visit.

"he'll be here."

"but you only talked to him that once. you said it hadn't gone well."

"your father and i still have some ground to cover, but one thing came through loud and clear. he loves your mother."

"but mom's already filed for divorce."

"i'm fairly sure your father's heard about that." linc's biggest concern was that kate would be upset with lori. still, they'd deal with that if they had to.

"is the coffee ready?" lori asked, glancing into the kitchen.

"it's finished brewing." so far they hadn't done much entertaining, not counting mary jo, mack and noelle. they were family, though... . well, so were kate and leonard, but that was different. they were estranged family, which made everything a lot more tense.

lori had cleaned the duplex until linc thought she'd scrub the paint off the walls. the kitchen floor shone so brightly he could almost see his reflection, and the furniture had been polished until it gleamed. they'd put up their small christmas tree the day before and lori had spent hours decorating it. she'd done a lovely job, too. linc had tried to help but lori wanted to do it her way and he was just as glad to let her.

at precisely two o'clock the doorbell chimed. lori jumped as though it had caught her completely off guard. she grabbed linc's forearm. "you answer that, okay?"

he kissed her cheek. "relax," he whispered.

"easy for you to say," she muttered back.

linc went to the door. leonard stood on the other side, a frown darkening his face. "what's all this about?"

linc didn't reply as he opened the screen door. "i see you're right on time."

"i didn't get where i am in the world by showing up late."

"hi, daddy." lori stood in the middle of the room, clenching her hands. "welcome to our home."

leonard looked around and whether he approved or disapproved he didn't say.

"would you care to have a seat?" linc asked.

"no. you said kate would be here."

"she will be..." lori told him. "unless she recognizes your car and decides to leave."

bellamy's gaze shot directly to linc. "she doesn't know i'm coming?"

linc shook his head. "we figured it would be best not to tell her."

leonard walked over to the window and gazed out. "she had divorce papers served to me on friday."

"i know," lori said.

"she refuses to talk to me and then she has the gall to send a clerk from some seattle law office to serve me with papers."

"aren't you grateful for the chance to talk to mom?"

"damn straight i am. i'll give her a piece of my mind. we've been married all these years and she can't talk to me? her own husband?"

"daddy," lori interjected sweetly. "i don't think it'll do much good to yell at mom."

"i'm not yelling," he shouted.

lori winced and linc moved to her side. he'd learned a valuable lesson about his father-in-law this past week. bellamy barked loudly but rarely bit. however, when he did bite, he bit hard. linc had the teeth marks to prove it.

"mom doesn't like it when you yell."

"apparently your mother finds more than the tone of my voice objectionable," leonard said, lowering his voice.

"can i get you a cup of coffee?" linc asked.

"you don't have anything stronger?"

"no, daddy, we don't, especially this early in the afternoon."

"then i'll take the coffee." he sat down on the sofa and let his hands fall between his parted knees. "when should we expect your mother?" he glanced at his watch as he asked.

"any minute," linc said from the kitchen. ever the optimist he poured four cups. no sooner had he finished than the doorbell rang again.

lori answered it this time. linc remained in the kitchen and watched as bellamy got to his feet.

kate stepped inside, stopping abruptly when she saw her husband. "i didn't realize there'd be other guests," she said coldly. she stiffened as if to prepare for a confrontation. "i wondered if that was your car out there, but i didn't think it could be. i can't believe my own daughter would set me up like this."