Eve

“I assure you that it wasn’t his intention. Neither of us wanted this to happen. It just did.” She paused. “I won’t try to convince you not to tell John about Bo

“No, you won’t.” His eyes were suddenly glittering with moisture. “You’re not going to have to worry about my John any longer. That’s why I had to gather my courage before I faced you. I got this notification last month.” He fumbled in his pocket and brought out a crumpled piece of paper. “He’s dead. He was lost off the coast of North Korea a few weeks after he arrived there. The remains were discovered in an inlet five weeks ago. They say the dental records are indisputable proof. The Army is very sorry about my loss. They’ll probably send me a damn medal.” His voice was suddenly bitter. “His loss. He was only nineteen years old. His life was hell from the minute he was born. They shouldn’t have let him die before he had a chance to live.”

“Dead?” she whispered. It came as a complete shock. She had rejected the possibility of John Gallo’s death, but it was there before her. “They’re sure?”

“Read the notification.”

She took the crumpled paper and sca

“So am I.” He stuffed the paper back in his pocket. “I promised him I’d keep an eye on you. Would you mind if I still do it? It would make me feel I’m doing something for him. I won’t get in your way.”

“I don’t mind.” She reached out and touched his shoulder. “Maybe you could come to di

He shook his head. “No, I wouldn’t impose. You have your life to lead.” He smiled with an effort and gently brushed his hand on Bo

“Yes, she is.” If he wanted to see John in Bo

He nodded. “I’ll leave you. I just wanted to let you know about John. You and I were the only ones who really cared about him. I guess I wanted to share.” He started down the street. “Good-bye, Eve. Take care of that little girl.”

“I will.” She stood and watched him slowly walk away. She could feel her throat tighten. He wasn’t an old man, but between his injuries and sorrow, he appeared that way.

Bo

But she stopped when she reached the green bench outside the front door that she always considered Rosa’s bench. “Maybe we’ll get a little more sun before we go back inside.” She sat down on the bench and turned Bo

And she was upset. She had told herself a thousand times that her relationship with John had been based entirely on the physical, but that didn’t seem to matter anymore. A part of her life had vanished from the earth. She couldn’t ignore it. She didn’t want to ignore it. Not when she was gazing at her daughter’s smiling face.

No, Bo

“He’s gone, Bo

Bo

“You don’t understand any of this.” Eve could feel the tears rise to her eyes. “Sometimes, I don’t either, but we should try. If I tell you about our time together, maybe I’ll understand it, too.” She wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. “Though most of it I’ll have to skip because it’s X-rated.” She laughed shakily. “And that’s a shame because that’s the part where you came on the scene, and that’s the best part of the story.” She leaned forward and kissed Bo

Then she leaned back on the bench. “I guess I should start at the begi

CHAPTER

8

Lake Cottage

Atlanta, Georgia

Present day

“EVE.” IT WAS CATHERINE KNOCKING on the door. “Answer me. We have to talk. You’re making me feel guilty as hell. I did what I thought best. How the hell did I know you were going to go into a tailspin like this?”

Guilty? Catherine should not feel guilty because Eve had responded like an idiot. No, like that sixteen-year-old girl she had been when she’d given birth to Bo

Except the accusation that Catherine had made. Because if Catherine was right, then her whole life and everything she believed was upside down.

But Catherine was wrong. She had to be wrong.

“Eve.”

“Coming.” Eve got heavily to her feet and moved toward the door. It was fully dark, and she flipped on the light as she unlocked the door. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I was a little … surprised.” She grimaced. “Understatement.”

Catherine came into the room and closed the door. “Why do you think I hesitated to talk to you? I knew it wasn’t going to be a welcome development.” She went over to the kitchen. “Let me get you a cup of coffee. I could use one, too.”

“Stop coddling me, Catherine. As I said, I haven’t thought about John Gallo since Bo

“It’s no mistake.”

“John Gallo was killed while he was in the Army.”

Catherine shook her head. “No, he was still alive at least six months ago.”

“Catherine, I saw the official death notification.”

“And since when does that guarantee anything? I’ve been in the CIA for years, and most of the time nothing ends up what I think it’s going to be. It’s a twisted world, Eve.”