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still a family even if you decide not to have children.”
    â€œThank you, Kel,” Pamela said, using her pet name for her younger sister.
    The two sisters talked for another ten minutes, Pamela giving Kelly an update on her new position as an assistant curator at the National Gallery of Art. Leo, her husband, had taken over as curator at the National Museum of African Art two years before.
    The first star had made its appearance in the sky when she stripped off her clothes and pulled a sheet over her nude body. This time when she went to sleep there were no erotic dreams to disturb her slumber.
    Â 
    Ryan’s footfall was heavy as he made his way up the porch steps to his father’s house and sat down on a rocker across from the older man. Sean sat on his grandfather’s lap, asleep.
    â€œThat was quick.”
    â€œIt was quick because she wouldn’t talk to me.”
    Sheldon leaned forward. “Why not?”
    â€œWhy?” Ryan repeated. “I don’t know why, Pop.”
    â€œWhat do you do to her?”
    Stretching long legs out in front of him, Ryan crossed his feet at the ankles. “Nothing. I told her Iwanted to talk to her and she closed the door in my face.”
    â€œIs that all?”
    Ryan threw up a hand. “Is what all?”
    â€œWhy are you repeating everything I say?”
    â€œBecause I don’t believe you’re asking me these questions,” Ryan shot back.
    Recessed porch lights came on automatically in the waning light, flooding the space with beams of gold. It provided enough illumination for Sheldon to see a quivering muscle in Ryan’s jaw.
    â€œHow did you look at her?”
    Ryan struggled to contain his temper. “How does my looking at her have to do with anything?”
    â€œLast night you looked at her as if she were dessert.” He held up a hand when Ryan opened his mouth to refute his accusation. “You need to be gentle with her, son,” Sheldon continued. There was a wistful quality to his voice.
    Ryan decided to ignore his father’s assessment of his reaction to Kelly as he stared at Sheldon, seeing what he unsuccessfully tried to conceal—pain. The last time he had seen pain in his father’s eyes was the day Sheldon had buried his wife and the mother of his two sons.
    â€œWhat happened to her, Pop?” he asked softly.
    There was a noticeable pause and emerging nocturnal sounds were magnified in the silence. Sheldon sighed audibly. “She lost her husband a couple of years ago in a hit-and-run accident.”
    Ryan’s eyes widened. He had no idea she was carrying that much emotional baggage. “How old is she?”
    â€œThirty.”
    A mysterious smile lifted the corners of Ryan’s mouth when he recalled asking Kelly how old she was. He still thought she looked much younger than her age.
    Sheldon glanced down at the small child sleeping on his lap. There were three generations of Blackstone men sitting on the porch and not one woman.
    â€œHave you thought about remarrying and giving Sean a mother?”
    â€œNo more than you have when it came to giving Jeremy and me one.”
    Sheldon shook his head, smiling. “Touché, son.”
    â€œYou’ve been widowed for twenty years, Pop. Don’t you think it’s time to let go?”
    â€œI could say the same to you.”
    â€œNo, you can’t. Mom died. That’s very different from dissolving a marriage.”
    â€œDo you ever think of remarrying?”
    Ryan’s eyes darkened until they appeared near black. “Yes and no. Yes, because I miss being part of an intact family unit, and no, because I have to think about Sean.”
    â€œAre you really thinking of him, Ryan? Both ofyou need a woman in your lives. How else will he learn to respect a woman if not from his father?”
    â€œI’m thinking only of him, Pop.”
    â€œThe boy needs a mother, Ryan.”
    â€œPeople said the same