Chapter 30

Kathleen had told Peter not to contact her again, and indeed, he had respected her wishes. However, their communication had always been sparse, even before she made that request. When the phone rang this time, she chose not to answer. … After parking the car, she finally realized what had been bothering her all along—it was her first Christmas with the Vance family, yet she'd completely forgotten to bring a gift. However, thinking about it, the Vances had wealth and influence, and they never lacked anything. Anything she bought would likely seem insignificant. At this point, she figured only a positive pregnancy test would genuinely impress Shawn's parents. Just then, a sudden knock on the car window startled her. Looking up, Kathleen saw Shawn standing next to the car. She quickly got out. "Where did you go?" he asked. She teased, "Are you keeping tabs on me now?" Shawn regretted asking and turned to walk away. "Shawn," Kathleen called out, catching up quickly. "What do you