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Georgia accepted her words and sipped at her tea. It was hot but not too hot, with the perfect splash of cream and sugar like the cup she’d had at Sutton’s estate. How had everything in her life fallen apart since that day? She’d fallen in love, had a breakthrough with Sutton and was really getting somewhere with Misty, and the hospital project was coming along so well. Now she was single, motherless and unemployed.
“Do you have any plans while you’re in Detroit?”
“Not really. I fled here before I really had a game plan. I just knew I had to get out of Chicago. But now that I’m here, I’m starting to wonder if I should go back at all.”
“Why would you say that?”
“There’s nothing for me there. I can unload my loft pretty easily and have my things shipped here. I don’t have a job or friends there. My whole life was about my work. A fresh start in Detroit might be just what I need.”
Sheila didn’t bother to mask her frown. “You’re talking nonsense, honey. For the work you do, Chicago is where you need to be. You love your apartment. You don’t need a car like you would here. You may think there isn’t much for you in Chicago, but there’s certainly more than there is here. All you have in Detroit are bad memories.”
“That’s not true,” Georgia said. “Misty said that I have a brother and sister here in Detroit that she gave up for adoption. I thought I might be able to track them down. Do you think you could help me do that?”
“That’s a tricky thing to do. It depends a lot on how the adoption was done. They might not even know they were adopted if their parents didn’t tell them. I’ll do what I can within the limits of my job, but you might not find what you’re looking for with them, either.”
“What am I looking for?” Georgia asked.
“A family. You didn’t get what you wanted with your mother, and I don’t think it will pan out with your siblings, either. I’ve been doing this work for a long time, and there aren’t a lot of happy endings. If I were you, instead of working so hard and focusing on the past, I’d focus on your future and having a family of your own.”
A family of her own?
Honestly, that was something that had never really taken root in her mind. Her fleeting time with Carson, such as it was, was the closest thing she’d had to a serious relationship. The idea of marriage and commitment was an alien concept, and after her breakup with Carson, it seemed to be that much further away. She didn’t seem to have good judgment when it came to men. Perhaps steering clear for a while was the best idea.
And while the occasional thought of one day when I have kids would pop up from time to time, that day never seemed to arrive. She still had plenty of childbearing years ahead of her, but it already seemed like a lost cause unless she got brave enough to buy sperm and go it alone. That would be a terrible decision. She’d never had a mother, so how would she know how to be one? The last thing she wanted to do was fail at something that important the way her mother had.
“I don’t need a family of my own,” Georgia argued. “I have you.”
Sheila set her tea down on the coffee table and moved over to the couch beside Georgia. She put her arm around her shoulder and hugged her close. “Yes, you do. But you don’t have to be in Detroit for that. You’ll have me wherever you are, Georgia. I know you’ve had a lot of bad things happen all at once, but you can’t just give up on everything you’ve worked for. You could always take the job at Elite Industries, couldn’t you?”
That offer was technically still on the table. If she accepted the position, it would be minus the mistress part, of course. But even if she did feel like she’d had some kind of breakthrough with Sutton, he wouldn’t be around long. She didn’t know Eve well enough, and she wouldn’t want her presumptions about their professional relationship to get her canned again in a few months. “I’m not sure that’s a very good idea.”
“Well, that’s the beauty of a town like Chicago. There is nothing but opportunity there.”
“You’re right,” Georgia agreed. She knew Sheila was right. It just seemed easier to run away than to deal with the mess she’d left behind. In Detroit, she’d never have to worry about running into Carson, and then maybe she could ignore the heartbreak. She felt the prickle of tears sting her eyes again.
“Are you going to be okay, Georgia?”
She shrugged as she looked at her only friend and fought back the tears. “You know, a part of me was always expecting my mother to do what she did. Whether I can blame her or her addiction, it just seemed like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. The thing with Carson is that much harder. I thought what we had was… I don’t know. The things he said to me were just so cruel, so unlike the man I knew. He lashed out at me like an abused dog.”
“In that case, do you blame the dog or the owner that abused her?” Sheila asked.
“Carson is too old to blame anyone but himself. But I could tell that I’d hit his hot buttons. It caught me so off guard, you know? He’s handsome, successful, rich, powerful…and yet he seemed to just be waiting for me to turn on him.”
“Sometimes the more successful you are, the more people are waiting around to knock you off your pedestal. Everyone has their issues. His knee-jerk reflex was stronger than most, but it sounds like a pretty hard-wired defense mechanism. Here’s a question for you, though. If he realizes he’s made a mistake and apologizes, would you take him back?”
Georgia had pondered that question since she got to Detroit. “I probably would,” she admitted. “I’ve given everyone else in my life a second chance, even when they didn’t deserve it and I regretted it in the end. Maybe this time will be different. Or not. But either way, I love him. I might be a fool, but I do.”
“Okay,” Sheila said. “So when he has this miraculous revelation and rushes to tell you he’s sorry and how much he loves you, how the heck is he supposed to find you here?”
* * *
The six potential and confirmed children of Sutton Winchester were gathered silently around the old man’s conference room table. No one seemed very keen to chat; they just glared across the table at one another.
The middle sister, Nora, had come from Colorado today. Carson had never seen her before. Since she’d left Chicago, he didn’t run into her at any industry
events the way he tended to bump into Eve. She’d gotten out and he didn’t blame her. She was probably the smartest one of them all.
A moment later, the door opened and Sutton came in with a woman at his side. Carson hoped it wasn’t another mistress. His father didn’t need any more women in his life, and he certainly didn’t need to be flaunting one in front of his kids. Of course, she didn’t really look like his type. This lady was very buttoned up, almost studious looking. She was wearing a light gray suit, and her wheat-blond hair was pulled back into a tight bun.
