The Deputy's Duty. Terri Reed

“Barely noticeable.” Except when he breathed real deep. But admitting to the vulnerability wasn’t going to happen.

       She strode forward and stopped at the edge of his desk in a swirl of energy. “Has there been any news about Georgina?”

       “No, I’m sorry, there hasn’t been. I’m about to call the FBI and hand over the case to them.”

       She drew back. “No. You promised you’d find Georgina.”

       “Meghan, this is bigger than this department can handle. Christina has crossed state lines. Though technically, she hasn’t kidnapped her child.”

       Anger flashed in her hazel eyes. “But Georgina’s not hers!”

       He understood her upset but he had to follow the law. “That’s for a judge to decide.”

       “Georgina’s in danger. You saw Christina. She’s nuts. If nothing else, she held a cop at gunpoint. Surely that warrants you pursuing her.”

       “We’re doing everything in our power to bring her in.”

       “You maybe, but not your father. He’s as responsible for Olivia’s death as Christina.”

       “My father?” The woman had obviously lost her mind. Maybe the blow to the head had loosened something. “What are you talking about?”

       She waved a letter in the air. The letter from Olivia, he guessed.

       “Your father knew that Olivia had come to Fitzgerald Bay looking for her baby girl, and he chose to ignore her pleas for help.”

       He let out a scoff full of annoyance. “That is untrue. My father barely knew Olivia.”

       “Really? Is that what he told you?” She shook her head. “I’m not going to let you all sweep this under the rug. If your father had done the right thing to begin with Olivia would never… Her life would have been different. Better. She wouldn’t be dead now.”

       Fury swept over him at the implication in her words. “What are you saying?”

       “Your father is also Olivia’s biological father. Olivia’s your half sister.”

      No! Not possible. His father was the best man he knew, as solid a citizen as they came. A churchgoing man who loved the Lord. The role model Ryan could only hope to live up to. Dad would not have ever cheated on his wife. They’d had the best marriage, until Maureen Fitzgerald had passed away from cancer a few years ago. Her death had hit them all hard.

       Now this reporter was disparaging his father. He’d see Meghan Henry locked behind bars before he’d let her destroy his family.