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    Maggie held up a silencing hand. “I know. I told Ryan he should have consulted with you first, but he was afraid she’d show up for the consultation and you wouldn’t let her in. He figured the key would assure that you’d see her at least once.” She met his gaze. “You can always ask her to give it back. Did you?”
    “No,” he admitted, not entirely sure why he hadn’t. Maybe it was best not to examine his reasons.
    Maggie seemed to be struggling with a grin. “I see. Then things have gone okay with Kelly?”
    He was not about to admit that Kelly had actually left today before he was ready for her to go. Maggie would clearly make way too much of that, thoughwhether she’d deduce it was enthusiasm for therapy or for the therapist was a toss-up.
    “She’ll be back day after tomorrow,” he conceded grudgingly, and let it go at that.
    “Terrific.”
    He studied his sister-in-law intently. “So, Maggie, who has the afternoon shift?”
    She regarded him blankly. “Excuse me?”
    “Is Sean coming by to take over when you take the peanut here home for her nap? Or maybe his wife? Then, again, Deanna has already called in today, so maybe it’s Ryan’s turn.”
    Color bloomed in Maggie’s cheeks.
    Michael sighed. “I thought so. You all divvied up the assignment so I wouldn’t be alone for more than an hour or so at a time, didn’t you? I’m amazed nobody took the night shift, or is somebody that I don’t know about sitting in the hallway from midnight to seven in the morning?”
    Maggie’s chin rose, eyes flashing. “Your brothers are concerned about you. It’s perfectly natural.”
    “Where was that concern twenty years ago? Or even five years ago?” he demanded heatedly. “Hovering now won’t make up for all those years they didn’t do a damn thing to find me.”
    Maggie regarded him in silence.
    “No answer for that?” he pushed, even though he knew he was being totally unreasonable by taking years of pent-up anger out on her. “I didn’t think so.”
    Before he could wheel himself away from the table, Maggie rested her hand on his. “They were hurt, too, you know.”
    “Not by me, dammit!”
    “No, of course not. But you were all kids,” shereminded him with gentle censure. “None of you could have been expected to fight the system to find your way back to the others.”
    “We’ve all been adults for a long time now,” he retorted.
    She regarded him with an unflinching stare. “Then I’ll ask you this—did you look for Ryan or Sean?”
    Michael’s heart throbbed dully as he thought of how hard he’d worked to block out all memories of his big brothers. He’d substituted the loving Havilceks for his family. They would never have turned their backs on one of their kids, not even him, though he’d spent a lot of years with his heart in his throat expecting the worst.
    “No,” he admitted, “but—”
    “Can’t you let it be enough that your brothers are back in your life now? We’re family, Michael. It may be late, but let’s not waste any more time by tossing around a lot of useless recriminations.”
    Gazing into his sister-in-law’s troubled green eyes, Michael fought off the desire to prolong the argument. Maggie was right. There was nothing to be gained by holding grudges, and maybe quite a lot to be gained by forgiveness.
    “Okay, then,” he said at last. “I’ll work on putting aside the past, if you’ll do something for me in return.”
    “Anything,” she agreed readily.
    “Can the hovering,” he said bluntly. “I have to learn to do things for myself. And if there’s something I can’t manage, I’ll call and ask for help.”
    She studied him skeptically. “You promise that you won’t shut us out completely?”
    He grinned at that. “As if you’d let me. No, Maggie, I won’t shut any of you out. You’re welcome here anytime…just not all the time.”
    She laughed. “Okay, I get it. I’ll speak to Ryan, Sean and