THOUGH TALLIE'S CHILDREN ARE GROWN NOW, they still come back to Tallie's house for Sunday dinner when they can. As birth relatives show up in the lives of the O'Shea siblings, this tradition extends to others...
After her trip to Boise with Pierce, Tallie settled back into a life centered around her family, hoping to pull her mind away from spinning fantasies about a love that couldn't be rekindled.
However, her family's lives seemed to be changing dramatically, dragging Tallie's emotions with those changes. Having Marly's biological mother in the house had actually become pleasant. Ruby was blunt and funny. As she had done when she left the baby girl in Tallie's care so many years ago, Ruby had brought Marly home, once again giving Tallie the gift of her beloved daughter.
She was also delighted to see her usually somber son, Collin, smiling more often now that Beth Boulanger was to become his wife. Having in-laws was going to be good for Collin also, Tallie thought as she watched Beth's gruff father make sure his little girl was being treated like the princess she deserved to be.
Tallie had once feared having biological parents in her children's lives would mean she wouldn't be needed, but the opposite seemed to be the case. Marly was spending more time at home and Collin was asking for advice more often.
As guests began to gather for their usual Sunday dinner for family and friends, the doorbell rang. Tallie assumed it was another guest from town.
However, when she opened the door, a woman she had never met stood on the porch, fidgeting with the strap of her purse.
"May I help you?" Tallie asked.
The woman glanced around nervously, as if looking for something she was afraid to find. Her gaze bounced off Tallie and toward the windows of the house.
"Are you looking for someone?" Tallie asked.
"Y-yes. I am." The woman cleared her throat. "I'm Norah Eklund. I think Grady and Charles are my babies."
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