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She swung around, a smile on her face. “I’m flying to Washington to meet their plane,” she announced.

Was there a right way to tell a nearly grown daughter that you were her father? Adam wondered as he watched Sara shift restively
on her seat. He hadn’t intended to break the news alone, had thought that he’d join Liz and they’d tell her together; but
those wide blue eyes had studied him thoughtfully after they’d boarded, and he knew she’d overheard the final question.

Only a coward would ignore the situation.

Sara stirred, shoved aside the blanket, and sat up, rubbing her eyes. The cabin was dim, with only low lights on and almost
everyone else asleep. She badly wanted a long hot shower, her fragrant shampoo, and her own bed. Being unable to bathe had
been one of the worst things, Sara thought, then turned to see Adam McKenzie watching her. A little embarrassed, she gave
him a small smile. “Hi. Aren’t you sleepy?”

“I never seem to be able to sleep on planes.” He indicated
the cup of coffee sitting on his tray. “I probably drink too much of that stuff.”

“Do you think I could get some? I love coffee.”

Like your father, Adam thought as he signaled the flight attendant. “Are you hungry? You slept through the dinner service.”

“No, thanks. Just coffee.”

After the attendant brought Sara’s coffee and refilled his cup, Adam turned back to Sara. “I’m sorry we couldn’t get through
to your mother, but the Associated Press has reached her by now, I know. She’s been sick with worry over this whole thing.”

“Mom worries about everyone.” She took a sip of coffee, then sidled a glance at him. She should have guessed the day she’d
met him. His blond hair, those eyes, and he had her dimple. How was it no one else had ever guessed? “How long have you known
Mom?” she asked, wondering if he’d say more.

Here it comes, Adam thought. Thank goodness she’d given him an opening. “Seventeen years. She worked on my first election
campaign for attorney general in San Diego right after she was graduated from college.”

“You… you knew her really well back then?”

Adam cleared his throat. “I fell in love with her, Sara, but I didn’t admit it to myself for a long time. Too long. By the
time I realized it, she’d married Richard Fairchild.” He picked up his cup, saw his hand was trembling, and set it back down.
“That’s a short version of what happened back then. There’s far more to it, but I’d rather explain the rest when your mom
is with us.”

Sara was silent, drinking her coffee, but Adam was feeling anxious, hoping she wouldn’t hate him, fearing she might. “How
do you feel about being related to me?”

“I’m not sure,” she answered honestly.

“You don’t seem as surprised as I thought you’d be.”

She set down her cup and ran her finger idly around the
rim. “When I was fourteen, my appendix burst and I had to go in for emergency surgery. I needed a blood transfusion, so they
brought my parents in. Neither one was the right blood type. I found all this out later, that Dad was an O and Mom an A-positive.
We studied genetics and hereditary blood-typing in school. It bothered me, so I asked Mom if maybe I was adopted. She told
me absolutely not, said the hospital must have gotten the blood tests wrong that day. But I’ve always wondered.” She looked
up, met his eyes. “I’m AB-negative. What’s your blood type?”

He sighed. “AB-negative.”

Sara kept staring, struggling with myriad new emotions at a time when her defenses were down after the ordeal of being held
against her will. “I want you to know I loved my father very much. He was a wonderful man.”

“I knew him, and I agree. Sara, I want
you
to know that I won’t try to take his place. Perhaps we can build a different kind of relationship, in time.”

“Maybe.”

So much to make up for, Adam thought. Lost years, lost opportunities. He noticed the dark shadows under her eyes and took
her empty cup. “Why don’t you try to get some sleep?”

Sara didn’t protest, stretching out her legs and snuggling back down.

Adam tucked the blanket around her, then leaned back and closed his eyes. Somehow he’d see to it that the three of them had
the chance to make up for the lost years.

The people streamed out of the jetway, but the two faces Liz was watching for didn’t appear.

“The Secret Service is probably holding them back,” Fitz explained. “It’s easier to keep an eye on things if they’re the last
ones off the plane.”

More than a dozen photographers and reporters clustered on both sides of the double doors. Liz hoped they wouldn’t mob them
as they stepped through. Uniformed officers held back the crowd loitering in the area, some undoubtedly drawn by the scandalous
news articles. Like it or not, Adam’s every move was monitored by the press. Impatiently she shifted from one foot to the
other.

Then she saw them, Adam with his arm at Sara’s waist, leading the way. But even before she cleared the doors, Sara saw her
mother and broke free, running to her. Liz blinked back the tears as she embraced her daughter, holding on as if she’d never
let go. All she could think of was, Thank God she’s safe.

They smiled, they cried, they laughed, they rejoiced. Liz hoped she’d never have to go through such a torturous experience
for as long as she lived. Now that she had her daughter clutched close to her heart, she looked up.

Over Sara’s blond head, Liz saw Fitz shake hands with Adam and clap him on the shoulder. Peripherally she saw Wayne and Justine
arrive, followed by two men in dark suits. She was vaguely aware of flashbulbs popping, of microphones being thrust at Adam
and Wayne, of reporters scribbling in notebooks and speaking into tape recorders.

Through it all, she saw Adam. He looked a bit rumpled, needed a shave, and his face was a bit strained; but his eyes, those
wonderful blue eyes their daughter had inherited, were bright and shining and gazing right at her. She knew the press was
watching, but she had to go to him.

Shifting so that her arm remained around Sara, she hurried to Adam. He broke into a smile and embraced her, including Sara
in the hug. The three of them stood like that, locked in an emotional reunion. The buzz of the crowd around them grew louder,
more insistent, the flashbulbs all but blinding them.

They ignored them all.

“Thank you,” Liz whispered, for his ears only.

Tightening his hold on both of them, Adam swallowed a lump in his throat and kissed Liz’s forehead as he pressed her closer.

In her suite at the Hotel Del Coronado just south of San Diego, Diane Cramer McKenzie blew smoke at the ceiling as she watched
the happy reunion on television. There was a bitter taste in her mouth. She crushed out her cigarette.

She’d gambled and lost. A smart woman knew when to fold and when to stay. Diane had always been smart, and resilient.

She knew exactly what she had to do. The only thing she could do. She clicked off the television set, rose, and went into
the bedroom.

* * *

Later, in Fitz’s Chevy Chase apartment, to which he’d graciously given them the key, Adam accepted the cup of fresh coffee
that Liz handed him and drew her down to the couch beside him. They could hear the water running as Sara took a long hot shower.
He slipped his arm around Liz and kissed her. “You have no idea how great it is to be back home.”

“I can only imagine. Did Sara talk much on the plane? I didn’t want to ask too much tonight since I know she’s still exhausted.”

“We didn’t talk about her ordeal. She didn’t bring it up, and, like you, I thought it best to wait until she’s ready. We did
talk, though, about the fact that I’m her father.”

Liz’s nerves jumped, then settled. “That reporter’s question in Dublin? Or did she read the papers?”

“Not the papers, but she heard his remark. Later, she introduced the subject while we were in the air. Did you know she had
suspected something was amiss since her appendicitis surgery and that business about neither you nor Richard having her blood
type?”

Liz leaned against him, needing the contact. “She’s smart. Too smart, I sometimes think. She was only fourteen. She asked
me if she was adopted, and I don’t think she believed me when I told her she wasn’t. Now the pieces have fallen into place
for her.” She brushed back a strand of hair. “I’ve hated living with a lie. I just wish we could have told her together rather
than having her find out in such a shocking way.”

“She’s handling it. She told me you worry too much. I agreed. I assured her I had no intention of taking Richard’s place.
She seemed to accept that. I hope she learns to accept me in time.”

Liz tilted her head and smiled at him. “How could she not?”

He edged her closer. “I love you.”

“Mmm, me too.” But as she reached to kiss him again, the phone rang. “I didn’t think anyone knew we were here.”

“It’s probably Fitz.” Adam reached for the phone. “Hello?”

“Congratulations, son,” Palmer Ames boomed in his best political voice. “I knew you could do it.”

The hell you did. “Is that right?”

Palmer leaned back on his leather desk chair, annoyed at the sarcastic tone. “Listen, I know you want to catch up on your
sleep, but we need to talk. I’d like to hear all about your trip. It’d probably be best if you hold off talking to the press
till we discuss the whole thing.”

“You’re right, we do need to talk. What have you done on the McCaffrey-Davis situation, Palmer?”

“I told you I’d handle that, and I will.” Who did this young upstart think he was, calling him to task? Palmer gritted his
teeth as he picked up his coffee cup.

“I certainly hope so. Naturally, I haven’t had time to check things out with Fitz or my staff, but I want you to know that
I won’t drop the plane crash investigation. And Palmer, I won’t be on a ballot with a man involved in a cover-up.”

A little over two months till election and this had to happen. Palmer wondered how he could keep the boys at McCaffrey-Davis
appeased until after the election and keep Adam from rocking the boat till then. “There’s nothing to worry about, son,” he
said, wishing that were true.

“Glad to hear it, Palmer. Let’s meet tomorrow. Is one o’clock good for you?”

“Fine. At my office.”

“Good.” He’d have time to check out what Palmer had done so far before their meeting. “I’ll bring Fitz. Good-bye.”

Palmer hung up, then quickly drained his coffee. He’d call a meeting of his aides for this afternoon. He had a hard choice
to make, weighing Adam’s popularity against the votes McCaffrey-Davis could bring in. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head
back wearily.

As Adam hung up, Liz rose. “I think I’ll go talk with Sara for a few minutes. I haven’t tucked her in in quite a few years,
but I really want to tonight.”

“I’ll wait here for you.”

Liz found Sara sitting on the edge of her bed, brushing her long hair. She was wearing her favorite nightshirt, the one Liz
had tossed into a bag and brought along. “Glad to be home?”

“Boy, am I.” Sara set down her brush and scooted under the covers. “I feel as if I could sleep for a week.”

Liz sat down next to her and stroked her cheek. “I’ve never been so glad to see anyone as I was to see you tonight.” She leaned
close to hug her daughter.

“Me too, Mom. It was pretty awful.”

Liz’s eyes showed concern. “But no one hurt you?”

She shook her head. “No, and Mr. Parker was with us every minute. They kept us in this dirty hut with three cots. The food
was awful. Justine and I hardly ate any of it. Mr. Parker kept saying he was positive someone would rescue us, but I wasn’t
so sure.”

“I knew Adam would find a way.” Idly her hand smoothed the sheet. “I know that learning he’s your biological father has come
as a shock to you.”

“How did it happen?” Sara blushed, feeling awkward. “I mean, I know
how
it happened—how / happened—but…”

“It’s a long story, too long to go into tonight when we’re all tired. Let me just say this, Sara. I met Adam when I was just
a few years older than you. I fell deeply in love with him, yet things didn’t work out for us back then. Afterward, I couldn’t
turn off my feelings for him, even though we had both married others later. It would seem he couldn’t, either.”

“Didn’t you love Daddy?”

“Yes, but there are many kinds of love. Richard was very good, very kind and generous to both of us. I loved him for that
and the many wonderful years we had together.”

“But Adam’s the one you really love.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yes. It’s complicated. One day, when you meet someone special, you’lllinderstand.”

“Mom, I’m not a child. I understand now. But I’ll always love Daddy.”

Liz leaned down to brush back Sara’s hair from her forehead. “Of course you will. I want you to. But now there’s Adam. Are
you able to accept
two
men as your father, each in a different way? Adam is so thrilled to learn you’re his daughter, and he wants very much to
get to know you.”

“He didn’t know about me?”

Liz shook her head.

“Did Daddy know I wasn’t his?”

“Yes, but it didn’t stop him from loving you with all his heart.”

Sara stifled a yawn. “It’s going to take some getting used to. Are you going to marry Adam?”

“We’ve been too busy worrying about you to discuss marriage. Would you be upset if I did?”

“I don’t think so. He seems nice enough, and I want you to be happy, Mom.”

Liz kissed her cheek. “We’ll talk more later. Get some rest now. I’ll let you sleep late.”

“I love you, Mom.”

Liz pressed her lips together as her emotions threatened to bubble over. “Me too, sweetie. Sleep tight.” She left the room
and returned to Adam, dabbing at her eyes.

“Is something wrong?” Adam asked as she sat down beside him.

“Just hold me for a minute, would you, please?” He did, and she closed her eyes, absorbing his strength, the comfort he offered.
Finally she drew back, her eyes shiny. “No, nothing’s wrong. Everything’s right now that you’re both safe, both here with
me.”