him that day we met in Roanoke for lunch.”
“Why then?”
“I knew he was sick, and I wanted to take what might be our last chance to talk about the truth. I thought over the years he might have had an honest talk about me. I understood why he did not when your mother was alive. He was protecting her as well as you. But after she died, I thought he would say something. I waited, knowing I had made my choice, and it wasn’t fair to break the promise I made to your parents.”
“What promise?”
“That I wouldn’t contact you under any circumstances. And they also promised that they would not tell my grandfather about you. As I’ve said, he had very unbending views about women who gave birth out of wedlock.”
“That sounds so draconian.”
“It was still like that thirty-plus years ago in the rural South.”
“I have already decided I don’t like Edward Carter.”
“Don’t be too hard on him. He was a man of his time. Not perfect. But he tried his best.”
“His best meant that you didn’t feel free to raise me.”
“I wasn’t ready to raise you or any baby. I had been accepted to law school, and I knew the next ten years would mean long hours of work. Olivia saw that. And as I look back on those busy years after you were born, I know I wouldn’t have had time to be a good mother.”
A cyclone of emotions swirled around her, and if she weren’t careful, they could very well sweep her off her feet. “Who was my birth father? Did he know about me?”
“Yes, he knew about you. And believe it or not, he was very kind to me when he found out I was pregnant. He sent me money and all the help he could.”
“But he didn’t want to raise me. Was he young like you?” Anger turned her tone brittle.
Elaine folded her hands in her lap and pulled back her shoulders. “He was much older. And married.”
“Married?”
“I’m not proud of the decisions I’ve made. I could get into the whys, but none of that really matters anymore. But I had to forgive myself a long time ago.”
This was all old ground for Elaine, but Libby was trudging over fresh territory. “Who was he?”
Elaine drew in a slow, steadying breath. “Your biological father was Dr. Allen McKenzie.”
Hearing her father’s name slammed into her like a fist upside the head. “Say that again?”
“Your biological father was your dad.”
She sat back, her spine pressing into the chair’s back. “I don’t understand.”
“I was a senior in college and home for the holidays. I was working in my grandfather’s medical office over the break, and your dad had set up his pediatric practice down the hallway. My grandfather wanted me to be a doctor, so he arranged for me to shadow your dad at his practice. Your father was good humored and terrific with the kids.”
“Everyone always talks about how kind my dad was.”
“He was kind. Please don’t ever lose sight of that.”
“He stepped out on my mother?”
“Once,” she said. “Your mother was on a new round of medications, and she was keeping your father at arm’s distance, and he was upset and frustrated. I had broken up with my boyfriend from college, and we both had a moment where we let our guards down.”
Tears clogged her throat. “Where did it happen?”
“At Woodmont. I had forgotten my wallet, and he brought it back to me. My grandparents were gone, and I had the house to myself. I offered him a beer. One thing led to another pretty quickly. I quit that job the next morning, and we didn’t see each other again for six months.”
“You got pregnant on the first try.”
“Yes. I’ve never had any problem getting pregnant.”
Libby drew in a breath. “Too bad I didn’t inherit that.”
“I’m sorry. Your dad told me about your miscarriages when we had lunch last fall. For the record, Ted knew about that lunch.”
Libby pressed her fingertips to her temples. “When did you tell Dad you were pregnant?”
“I was six months along. Olivia insisted I tell the baby’s father. So I called him.”
“And after you told him about me?”
“He came up to New Jersey immediately. He never once questioned that I might be lying. He asked my intentions, and when I told him I was considering adoption, he said he wanted to adopt you.”
“I didn’t agree right away, but as I got closer to delivery, it made sense. I would always know where