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Gregory had held her close in his arms and been transported to the past. To that day he had walked into the Independent Grocers in Value and almost knocked the girl he had grown to love to the floor. She’d had her son with her, the eldest. They’d lived in a small, ragged apartment above that store. She’d worked the cash register during the evenings. The boy stayed upstairs in his crib—alone. But she would check on him often.
She had looked far too young to have a child his age.
She had been. No more than eighteen then.
Gregory had just been captivated by Denita’s strong spirit. By her will to survive, if nothing else. He had wanted to save her.
When Denita had smiled, he had fallen head over heels. He had fallen all over again every time she had smiled.
Denita’s smile could capture legions.
He suspected the same could be said of her daughters. He had seen a few others here tonight as well.
Gregory had kept watch on most of them their entire lives. His stepson Vaughn reported on each young woman monthly, so Gregory could track their life progress. That data was highly important. The essence of the longitudinal study, after all. It had taken some doing to monitor their career success, but he had the funds to make that happen easily enough.
He had studied them, kept an eye on their careers, their relationships. Their hobbies and their habits.
He had documentedeverything.
Denita’s daughters, her nieces, her younger half-sisters. He watched themall.
Especially Bonita.
He had seen Bonita again at the hospital just yesterday. She had been smiling as she had handed over a toddler to his parents, after the child’s release from the PICU. The child had hugged her for one moment, and she had rocked him, looking so beautiful.
Bonita.
He had dreamed about her last night. About her taking Denita’s place. Fulfilling the role Denita had sworn to him she would once—before he had angered Denita with his incessant quest for knowledge and Denita had left him, taking their young son Greg with her. SayingGregorycared more for his research than he hadher.Or their son—because Greg hadn’t been a daughter.
That had simply not been true.
He had been doing it all forher.
As her legacy. He was creating Denita alegacy.
He had never understood why she struggled to comprehend why that was so important. Her father, her grandfather, her great-grandfather—they had all leftlegacies.He wanted that for her. He had always wanted that for her. So that she would be remembered forever. Never forgotten.
Denita had feared beingforgottenmore than anything.
He had vowed never to let that happen.
Denita had promised to stay with him forever. But she had left him. In his dreams,Bonitahad replaced her.
Bonita stayed with him for always.
Fulfilling the promise her sister had made so long ago.
In that dream, Gregory had beenhappyagain.
For the first time in years he had been happy instead of just…driven.
Holding Bonita.
Bonita had made him happy. At least in his dreams. And when he had wakened. For just those few initial moments.
It had driven him to find out more about hernow.
He had been observing that woman for almost ten months now.
