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Penelope turned back to her daughter, all her happiness in the day sapped. Shock kept her locked in
place, unable to believe it was really happening. That someone had finally seen what she saw everyday.
Except Ophie was anything but pleased about it.
 She s happy this way. She d never be happy with the truth. She d never belong in our family. You
will never belong.
That much, she d known for a long time. Of the ten Montenga siblings, not a single one had married
outside their race, something that until that moment, Pen had attributed to happenstance. Clearly, it wasn t.
But Chloe was innocent, she wanted to say. So young and wonderful. Content in a way Penelope herself
had never known. How could anyone hold that against her? But the only word that wedged free of her
choking throat was  Why?
Ophie s lips twisted at one side, her gaze firmly on the child she was rejecting.  There is no room in
my family for pinche gavachos, Güera. I didn t care when you chased after him, because you never
mattered. He never tried to bring you home. He knew better than to bring his trash to my door. But
you& you need telling. Or you wouldn t have brought her here.
 I 
 She will never be accepted, Ophelia snapped, though her voice was little more than a hiss.  Never.
Remember that the next time you think to push your bastard in with my grandchildren, puta.
Penelope had made apologies to Julia, taken her baby and run. Julia had given her mother a long
glance and accepted the lie graciously, but Penelope had often wondered how much Julia might have put
together. For a long time afterward, she d get a guilty flush to her pretty face whenever Penelope crossed
her path. There d been no separating Danny and Chloe, though, so the two of them just silently seemed to
agree the incident had never happened and gotten on with their lives. A life that, for Penelope, meant
appreciating her own mother a hell of a lot more.
Lorna might be a lot of things snobbish, difficult, aggravating and judgmental but she was no
bigot. She was honest, even if painfully so. Loyal and true. Chloe would see that one day. Probably a day
very far away. Penelope just hoped she wouldn t have to see it because she was hurt by Ophelia too.
Hopes that were dwindling with each hour closer she came to Sunday at noon.
It could go so badly. Where Ophelia led, her children invariably followed. Not one of them ever did
much to stop their mother s willful prejudice. They smoothed uncomfortable waters. Gave subtle excuses
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to people who were unsure if she d insulted them by ignoring them. They covered rather than dealt with the
source of the problem, enabling Ophie s issues year after year. It wasn t much of a question what would
happen when Ophelia made her opinion known. If she refused Chloe, all the others would reject her too.
Chloe could lose so much more than a grandmother, and there was nothing Penelope could do to stop it.
Fear had her biting her lip again.
 If I ve told you once, I ve told you a thousand times, Lorna s less-than-dulcet tones sounded from
the doorway, which Penelope hadn t even heard open.  Stop chewing your lip. You ll draw blood one of
these days.
 Mother. Penelope straightened in her chair without thought. As if her spine had long ago been
trained to perfection in Lorna s presence.  What are you doing here?
Lorna stepped in and closed the office door firmly. Nearing sixty, Lorna Gibson moved with strength
of purpose in every motion. As usual, she wore a perfectly starched white blouse over a smooth blue skirt.
No embellishments other than her wedding set on her left hand, her serviceable black pumps adding an
extra inch or two over Penelope s height. Her hair had begun graying in her forties and now only showed a
few hints of the dark chestnut shade Penelope saw in the mirror every day. Still thick, Lorna s hair was
rolled around the sides of her head to gather into a bun at the base of her skull. The same as it was every
day. Elegant. Precise.
Penelope allowed herself a second to wonder if Lorna s hair was anything like her own spine
completely incapable of changing shape.
Lorna placed her purse and light coat on one of the client chairs in front of Penelope s desk and stood
there, hands clasped in front of her, as if waiting for Penelope to do something. Other than sweat, that is.
 Mother? she prompted again, when Lorna s eagle gaze felt like it was about to break the skin.
 I m waiting for you to explain your rudeness. I figured that waiting at home was not going to give
me any answers. I assumed waiting here might hasten the situation.
She knew better than to gurgle in front of her mother.  I wasn t being rude 
 You haven t returned a call all week. And now I m hearing that you re spending time with that
Montenga person again. I may not be the most emotionally discerning person in the world, but I do know
when I m being avoided. I expect an explanation.
That Montenga person. Well, at least he d been upgraded from  that ridiculous obsession of yours .
 His name is Raul.
 I m well aware of his name. I want to know what s going on.
Prevaricating would take more energy than Penelope really wanted to expend. And really, Lorna
would find out eventually. Everyone would. Holding in a sigh, Penelope opened her top drawer and pulled
out the manila envelope with the test results. Silently, she handed it to her mother.
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Dee Tenorio
Frowning, her blue eyes narrowing slightly, Lorna unbent enough to take it. She sat in the chair next
to her purse and coat and slipped the papers out. She read, eyes moving as she took in the information. A
flick of her wrist and the pages slid back into the envelope. She extended it back to Pen.  I suppose I should
be surprised.
 But you re not. Penelope slipped it back into her desk. Of course Lorna wasn t surprised. She
hadn t even expressed shock when Penelope had shown up at home pregnant and determined to keep her
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