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signed papers that, while protecting Annie, could ultimately send the woman he loved to jail, if she
attempted to take Annie and flee.
No, not the woman he loved. Send Ruth to jail. He had not fallen in love with a woman who could
give her child up for hard cold cash, and four years later, walk back into her life to allay her guilt, a
woman who could just as easily walk out of Annie's life again when faced with the challenges of
parenting. He'd fallen in love with an ideal, even considered marrying her, the woman Ruth held
herself out to be.
Well, the wheels of justice were turning and he had no intention of stopping them. But to prevent
himself from doing that, he'd have to keep his mind off the Ruth he'd come to love with all his heart
and soul. And that Ruth was not the Ruth who had serviced him at the river. The Ruth he'd fallen in
love with would have given herself to him with honest, heartfelt passion. The kind of woman he
wanted to share his life with. But that Ruth didn't exist. Even now he found it hard to believe it had all
been an act, part of a larger plan. But it was, and he'd better hold to the truth and put the rest behind.
Once back in Cedar Grove he loaded the pickup with sacks of grain from the feed store, made a visit
to the tack shop to pick up a saddle he'd left for repair, and stopped by the post office to buy stamps.
He d just turned to leave when the postal clerk called out, "Wait up, Matt."
Matt turned to find the man waving a letter. "This came for the woman who's working for you."
Matt took the letter. "Why wasn't it sent out with the regular mail?"
"It's addressed to her post office box," the clerk replied. "But since she doesn't come around here
very often, you might as well take it to her."
Matt eyed the letter. It was, in fact, addressed to a post office box in Ruth's name. She'd said nothing
about having a box, and since mail was delivered daily to the ranch, there was no reason for her to
have one... except to receive confidential mail.
On returning to his truck, he held the letter up to the light. Though most of the lines of writing were
unreadable, two words in the letterhead stood out Private Investigator. The words were enough for
Matt to know he had to open the letter. If Ruth was planning to press a legal claim for Annie, he
needed all the ammunition he could get to fight back. Slipping his knife inside the sealed flap, he
sliced open the envelope and read: Jenny, I received the birth certificate. I hope by now that the
DNA kits have arrived.
Without preliminary DNA tests there isn't enough probable cause evidence to press for Chain of
Custody DNA tests, which would be admissible in court. So until you find something solid, do
nothing to alarm Kincaid. And destroy this letter as soon as you've read it. Bill.
So there it was. Ruth was Annie's mother, and she'd hired on as Annie's nanny under an assumed
name. But now he felt no misgivings about having signed the injunction and restraining order against
her. Not only had Ruth, or Jenny as it was, lost her rights to Annie the day she turned Annie over for
adoption, but he knew Ruth didn't love him and never had. She'd led him on solely as a means to get
her daughter back
***
Ruth peered out the window. Beyond the barn, and beneath a cloud-darkened sky, Edith and Annie
were hastily picking blackberries before the rain would come. If she didn't act now, she wouldn't get
another chance to learn how much Matt knew about her, since he'd be returning from Portland any
time. It was obvious from their disturbing conversation in the kitchen the day before, that he knew
plenty. The fact that he'd flown to Portland to see Brad made her uneasy.
Initially she planned to tell him everything. The discovery of the stuffed monkey was clear evidence
that Annie was Beth, and that, along with sworn affidavits from her mother and father verifying that
was enough probably cause to demand a Chain of Custody DNA test be done.
Rushing down the hallway, she slipped into Matt's office and went straight for the papers stashed in a
file tray on his desk. Quickly, she scanned the collection of bills and receipts and business letters.
Finding nothing, she pulled open the top drawer to his desk and perused its contents. Still nothing.
Feeling uneasy, she dashed over to the window and saw that Annie and Edith were still picking
blackberries. Rushing back to the desk, she searched through the side drawers, though she had no idea
what she was looking for. When she at last turned to leave the room, her eyes fixed on the blinking
green light on the answering machine. Stepping over to it, she pushed the replay button and recognized
Brad s voice saying...
"Hey buddy. I should have information about Ruth Crawford soon. Meanwhile, the restraining
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