"You'd hurt Maddy?" Roger asked.
Praying that she'd sound convincing, Allie turned to meet his gaze. "I'd reveal the truth in a heartbeat," she said without flinching. "One way or another, people are going to be hurt by this trial. That's what I'm here to stop."
Joe stepped in front of his parents. "She's lying."
Roger joined him. "He's right. She's bluffing."
Elaine lifted tear-filled eyes. "Did Lee do this to...Clay's sisters?"
"What do you think?" she asked.
"It doesn't matter," Joe insisted. "We've got Clay this time. We're not going to let him get away."
Allie held her breath as she waited to see how the older Vincellis would respond. Finally, Marcus turned to his sons. "If a man did this to my sister, I'd kill him, too."
"We're talking about murder," Joe said. "Clay can't take the law into his own hands."
"He was only sixteen," Elaine murmured.
"That's true." Allie reached out to take her hand. "And it was an accident."
Joe stabbed a finger in her direction. "She admitted it! Did you hear her? She knows what happened. She just admitted it! "
Elaine stood up. Her husband had to help her because she was more than a little shaky, but she managed to gather her composure. "I didn't hear her say anything of the sort, Joseph."
Joe and Roger both gaped at her. "What?"
"It's a shame that we've made the mistake of accusing an innocent man. I'll talk to Mayor Nibley and the district attorney tomorrow and make sure we set the record straight."
Allie stared up at her in disbelief. She'd been banking on the Vincelli pride. But it was a woman's compassion that would save Clay.
Her throat constricted. "Thank you," she murmured. "Clay's a good man. I promise you that."
"He couldn't be any worse than my brother," she echoed sadly, staring at the bits of paper covering the floor. Then her husband led her out.
Joe leaned close and lowered his voice. "This ain't over," he said furiously. But his father heard him and turned back.
"Yes, it is. You do or say anything to Clay or anyone connected to him, and we'll disown you, do you understand? This is family business, and you'll respect our wishes. Or you'll be on your own."
Joe's eyes flicked from Allie to Roger and back. He opened his mouth to make a retort, but his father spoke again.
"From now on, we won't mention your uncle Lee. Ever. What he did is in the past. It's over, and we're going to leave it as dead and buried as he probably is. For Madeline's sake, if no one else's."
A vein stood out on Joe's forehead. "That's it? "
"That's it," Marcus replied. "Surely we can be as good as Clay Montgomery." Then he disappeared down the hall with his wife, and Allie kissed Clay's medallion as she let herself out.
Clay could hardly believe that it was all over, that he'd be able to remain on the farm where he belonged. It'd been only twenty-four hours since Allie had called him after leaving the Vincellis'
house but, sure enough, the district attorney had already dropped the charges.
He found it especially ironic that without Portenski's involvement, the situation would've been much different. "The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away," he muttered. Only he'd done it in reverse order. Still, maybe God was more forgiving than Clay had assumed.
The doorbell rang, and Clay's heart hammered against his chest. He'd invited Allie over for dinner--and she was bringing Whitney.
The moment he opened the door, he wanted to pull Allie into his arms. But, in deference to her daughter's presence, he kept his distance.
"Hi," he said.
Whitney stared up at him, her pretty, brown eyes so much like her mother's. "Hi!" she replied brightly.
He chuckled at her enthusiastic response.
"Whitney, this is Clay. Mommy's...friend," Allie said.
"You're really big!" Whitney breathed.
He arched an eyebrow at her. "And you're a half-pint like your mother."
She wrinkled her nose. "A what?"
He shifted his focus back to Allie. "You're just right."
He held the door open, and Allie smiled as she led her daughter into the living room.
"Where's Molly?"
Clay felt his own smile disappear. "She went over to my mom's."
"What's wrong?" she said.
He rubbed his neck. "My dad'll be there."
"He didn't go back to Alaska?"
Clay had mentioned Lucas's visit when they'd talked on the phone yesterday. But at the time, he'd thought Lucas had gone home. "No."
"How come he's going to your mother's house?"
"He called and asked to see her."
"I can't believe she agreed."
"Nothing she does surprises me anymore."
"What about Grace?"
"She won't see him."
"Do you mind, about Molly and your mother?"
"No. If they can forgive him, I suppose it's a good thing," he said, but he wasn't sure he really felt that positive about it. He resented the way his father seemed to think he could just waltz back into their lives.
"They're probably more curious than anything else," Allie said.
"Who knows?"
She slid her hand down his forearm and entwined her fingers with his. "What about you?"
she asked. "Will you ever be able to forgive him?"
He watched Whitney drift off, examining the unfamiliar room. "I don't know. Definitely not right now."
She didn't tell him he should try. She didn't pass any judgments on him at all. "You'll know when you're ready."
He nodded toward Whitney. "She's pretty, like you."
"I'm proud of her."
"How's your mom?" he asked.
"She's going out with my father tonight. For the first time since The Big Event."
He brought her into the kitchen, where he had a salad, baked potatoes and garlic bread waiting for dinner. The steaks were on the grill outside. "You think they'll be able to patch up their marriage?"
"They're going to try." She set her purse on the counter. He liked seeing it there. It showed that she was starting to feel at home in his house. "It'll take time, but...maybe."
Suddenly, Whitney let out a squeal and clapped her hands. "Look, Mommy! Outside!
There's a puppy! "
"Puppy" came out as if there could be no better thing in the entire world. Clay's surprise had just given itself away, but in the face of Whitney's excitement, he didn't care that the pup had announced his presence a little too soon.