Chapter 5

“How is it that you never visited while he was alive?”

Joe’s eyes widened, but Ed knew he understood the small-town score, too. Better to give the straight facts rather than let the gossip mill fabricate its own. Ed took a calming breath and pressed on. “My mother told me he’d died before I was born. I never had any reason to disbelieve her. I don’t know why she did that, and since she died eight years ago, I can’t ask her. I’d rather like to know why he never contacted me.”

“Huh. So you’ve learned that your father was alive only recently?”

“Yes, ma’am. Lawyer had papers delivered to me yesterday. That’s the first I knew of it. I guess he never remarried, then, since I’m the sole beneficiary?”

She seemed somewhat amused by the question, her brows rising slightly and her mouth quirking at the corners. “No, he never remarried.” She squinted at him, flashed a peek at Joe, then back to him. “How about you? You married?”