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Story: Lela's Choice

Looking at their linked hands and accepting his comfort reminded Lela of how rare and precious simple comfort had been in her life.

“How old was your sister when she became pregnant?”

“Sixteen.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? No, don’t answer that.” His frustration had a bite. “I’m your father’s man in Malta.”

“It doesn’t often come up in conversation.” She liked holding his hand.

“You prefer people to think you’re tough?” he growled.

“People draw conclusions regardless of the facts. My closest friends have been around long enough to know when Mari died and Sophie moved in.”

“Not a good enough reason for being reticent now.” He returned to the present and his allotted role. “I need more than the facts to find her. Emotions drive runaways as much as facts.”

“I don’t see you as a confidant.” Snatching back her hand, Lela tucked both behind her.

“I guessed that.” His voice was tinder dry. “And you’d reject my comfort. That’s a weakness, not a strength.”

“I can’t afford to be vulnerable.”

“Too late. You’ve got shadows in your eyes, you’re prickly as hell, and you’re single-minded about finding Sophie. That all tells me she’s important to you.”

He was offering her comfort anyway, and she welcomed it.

“I demanded custody of her. Crazy really, but I was afraid Papa might put her up for adoption. Of course, a ten-year-old’s claim has no legal standing. I didn’t work out until years later that he’d never have given her up.”

“Your father knows that without you she won’t listen to me. Or him.” He said the words slowly, finding the answer to a puzzle.

“That’s our dilemma, MacGregor.”

“Which we’re working on.” He angled his head to one side, his eyes twinkling conspiratorially.

“I haven’t ruled against you. Yet.”

“Let’s keep moving then.”

“And I’m no longer sure she’s listening to me. I can see why you’d think Papa might suggest an arranged marriage,” Lela picked up the thread of their earlier conversation. “A way to get her away from Peter. Although that raises another problem—why reject Peter as an option? But when I said no to an arranged marriage at twenty, Papa and I agreed no more arranged marriages for Vella women. That was my deal.”

“Would he stick to that?”

“Promises are sacred in our family.” After her niece had hidden in the attic, she’d given Lela a promise. That she’d tell her aunt where she was going, if she planned to disappear for a day. Discovering Sophie hadn’t left a message had equalled the grief of losing Mari.

“At this stage all we’ve got is speculation, with one exception. You’re suffering. Would Sophie understand that would be a consequence of her actions?”

Lela nodded.

* * *

“SHE’D EMPATHISE WITHthat?” Hamish had received another medical report from Vella’s office this afternoon claiming Sophie’s symptoms blurred her capacity to judge the impact of her actions on others.

“She’s a warm, loving young woman who doesn’t normally seek conflict.”

“Have you ever been separated from her for this long before?” Hamish pushed because empathy didn’t match the identikit Vella had provided for his granddaughter. Given Lela’s response, he’d get his office to check directly with the specialist.

“Once or twice, apart from the attic incident.”

He raised an inquiring eyebrow.