Keep No Secrets (57 page)

Authors: Julie Compton

BOOK: Keep No Secrets

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"Even if she never knows who you are."

"It wouldn't have been fair to them, Jack." He doesn't disagree; he was simply wrapping his head around the fact of it.

"There's something else you need to know." He feels dizzy. How much more can there be? "I didn't list you as the father on the birth certificate. I left it blank. I can show you, in the safe deposit box. You'd moved back home by then and—"

He squeezes her hand. "You don't need to explain. I understand."

"If you want, I'm sure they'd allow us to do a DNA test—"

"Jenny,
stop
. I believe you. I don't doubt for a second she's mine."

She nods, and he pulls her closer, guides her head onto his shoulder.

Together they watch Andrea cavort in the plumes of water that shoot from holes in the padded, multicolored ground below her feet. She begins to sing a nonsensical song whose meaning is known only to her, and it makes the adults nearby laugh.

Her joy is contagious, and before long, other children—those in the fountain and some from the playground—follow her lead. Parents can't help but stare. Like Jenny, she possesses an innate talent for turning heads that goes so far beyond her physical beauty.

He thinks of what he said to her

yesterday—
I'd consider myself lucky to have a
little Jenny running around
. He couldn't imagine it would ever happen or, if it did, that it would happen so quickly. But then, he couldn't imagine a lot of things.

A ladybug lands on Jenny's hair and he reaches up.

"What is it?"

"Be still." He lets it crawl onto his finger and then shows it to her. When she looks up at him and searches his face, he gently kisses her. Her lips are soft against his. "Do you want to change into your bathing suit now?"

She gazes at him. He sees the slow dawning in her eyes.

"Our bathing suits," she says.

"
Our
bathing suits?"

She shrugs. "I brought one for you, just in case."

I'd consider myself lucky to have a little Jenny
running around
. He might not have been able to imagine it, but he meant it nevertheless. He meant it.

"Let's go change, then."

He still does.

THE END

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Keep No Secrets
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You can find
Keep No Secrets
book discussion questions at
Julie's website
.

Thank you for your support.

Also by Julie Compton

Tell No Lies

Rescuing Olivia

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About the author

JULIE COMPTON was born

and raised in St. Louis,

Missouri, where she attended

Washington University for

both undergraduate and law

school. She began her legal

career in St. Louis, but last

practiced in Wilmington,

Delaware as a trial attorney

for the U.S. Department of

Justice. When her family

moved to Florida in 2003, she

gave up law to pursue writing

full-time. She lives near

Orlando with her husband

and two daughters.
Keep No

Secrets
is her third novel.

Julie is available for book

club meetings and other

appearances both in-person

and via Skype. To contact her

or for more information

about her other books, please

visit http://www.julie-

compton.com.

Acknowledgments

ALTHOUGH ONLY MY name appears

on the front cover of this book, so many generous and supportive people lent a hand along the way and deserve

recognition.

Jamie Morris believed in this one from the beginning and encouraged me to follow my heart instead of the market. I'm so fortunate to have met such an amazing writing mentor not long after arriving in Florida (and I gained a great friend to boot).

Pam Ahearn also believed in this one

—and in me—
despite
the fact that I followed my heart instead of the market.

Agents like Pam don't come along too often.

I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Linda Dunlap for her keen editor's eye and tireless attention to detail. She combed through every line of the manuscript and made so many valuable suggestions for improvement. It's a leaner, smoother novel thanks to Linda.

My first readers—Carla Buckley,

Margaret Reyes Dempsey, and Melanie Tamsky—gave the early feedback that every writer needs and ignores at her peril. Melanie deserves an additional thanks for once again helping with my medical questions.

I credit my sisters-in-law Shannon and Wendy Combs for the genesis of the story idea. Their discussion at a family Christmas Eve gathering some years back about "who drives the babysitter home"

sparked an idea that eventually turned into this
Tell No Lies
sequel, something I never thought I'd write.

Alison Hicks and the folks at

Philadelphia Stories supported me at the start by publishing an early excerpt and giving me priceless exposure. Alison has been a mentor for many years. Back when I was lucky to write something longer than twenty pages, she encouraged me to persist, giving me the confidence to eventually make the move from lawyer to novelist.

Thanks to Terri-Lynne DeFino and all of my VAB Dollbabies for their

friendship and for sharing an inspiring space to write without distraction for one week of every year. Geri Throne, thank you for inviting me into the fold.

No acknowledgment would be

complete without mention of the many readers whose enthusiasm for my work makes it pure joy to sit down at the keyboard each day.

My daughters Jessie and Sally provided the usual (but oh so important) family support, but Jessie deserves special thanks for the long hours she devoted to cover design, and Sally for her tutorials on teen texting habits.

And Rick, of course, for everything.

There are no words.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

2013 by Julie Compton.

By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive,

nontransferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this book may be used, reproduced in any manner whatsoever, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written

permission from the author. Please respect the author's copyright.

rnl/Shutterstock.com

ISBN-13: 978-0-9887932-3-1

First edition: March 2013

Thank you for downloading from dpgroup.org.

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