Divided Hearts Read Online Free PDF

change diapers, I suppose,” Simon remarked.
    “She’s not far off from potty training. You’re just in time for the real fun.” Faye felt a twinge of guilt, discussing Simon’s participation in this milestone event while the child’s mother was still oblivious to it. “Better let me take care of the diapering for now. She’s not really used to you yet.”
    “Of course. Well, I’d better fetch my mother. She’s been champing at the bit to meet her granddaughter.”
    Once Hannah was freshly diapered, Faye brought her back to the living room, where Simon waited beside an older woman. Slender and at least two feet shorter than her son, she had neatly bobbed auburn hair and wore silver-rimmed glasses.
    “Hello, Faye,” she said kindly. “I’m Mary Blake.”
    Faye smiled, dipping her chin in greeting. “Very nice to meet you.”
    In a heartbeat Mary’s attention was firmly fastened onto the little girl in Faye’s arms. “Oh, she is precious! Let me see her.” She bent to Hannah’s eye level, offering a wide grin. “Hannah, I’m your grandma. You can call me Nan. Can you say Nan?”
    Bottom lip quivering, Hannah clung more tightly to Faye’s neck, her dog still tucked firmly under her arm.
    “Give her some space, Mum,” Simon reproved. “She’s only just met you.”
    “Yes, yes.” Mary flashed him a stern look in return. “I’m just trying to get a look at her. She has your eyes, you know, Simon.”
    Noticing that Mary’s eyes were the same deep shade of azure, Faye couldn’t help but suspect that the woman’s eagerness to examine Hannah had something to do with assuring herself that the child really was her son’s.
    “And she looks very much like Laurel at that age,” Simon added.
    “That she does,” his mother agreed with satisfaction, then smiled softly at Faye. “As you can imagine it’s been quite a shock to find out I have another grandchild. But I’m so pleased that you’ve brought her.”
    “I’m glad we could come.” Having met Simon’s mother, Faye did feel reassured, the mystery of the man beginning to unravel and nothing of concern coming into evidence as yet.
    “Do have a seat,” Mary offered.
    “Thanks.” As Faye sat down on the leather sofa, Hannah slid off her lap and wandered across the carpet, unable to resist exploring her new surroundings.
    Seated in a chair by the fireplace, Mary stared at Faye for a moment, her lips pressed together reflectively, her brow slightly creased. “Your friend Jenna,” she said at last. “I’m sorry she’s been hurt, but I just don’t understand what she was thinking. Once she recovers I should like to have a word with her.”
    “You’ll do no such thing,” Simon told her firmly. “This is between Jenna and me.”
    “I am sorry, Simon, but if it hadn’t been for this horrible accident, and you running into Faye, we might never have known about the sweet little girl’s existence. Can you imagine?”
    “Mum, you’re making Faye uncomfortable.”
    “I don’t mean to.”
    “It’s all right,” Faye assured her, though the she would have been quite happy to steer the conversation in another direction. “I don’t blame you for being upset.”
    “No, sweetheart, not a good idea,” she heard Simon say, and glanced toward the fireplace to observe him prying an iron poker from Hannah’s grasp.
    “Simon, you’ll have to baby-proof this place again,” his mother admonished. “He’s only just put everything back where he likes it, since Laurel’s little girl is now old enough to resist grabbing whatever object strikes her fancy.”
    “Right,” he said. “Don’t know why I didn’t think of it.” He scooped up a Haida thunderbird carving that stood by the fireplace and set it on the mantel.
    “I almost forgot, I brought her a little present. This should keep her occupied for a bit.” Mary retrieved a children’s touch-and-feel book from the other end of the mantel and offered it to Hannah. Hesitating only a