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      Katherine Grady knew how to handle a lot of tough situations. She’d grown up the only daughter in an abusive household. She’d moved from one women’s shelter to another with her mom, running from a belligerent father and trying her darnedest to keep her mother from falling apart. There was nothing pretty or heroic about living hand to mouth. About never knowing if they’d have to pick up and run or have enough food and shelter for the month.

      Kat learned how to survive from early on.

      What rattled her more than anything was fear of the unknown. How could she fight something she couldn’t see coming?

      This was one of those times.

      Usually she hid her emotions well—thanks to all that training from her youth—but right now fear tightened her throat and sped up her heart. Her body shook so hard her knees wobbled. Could it be possible? The man she thought was Brett for all this time was really Justin Slade. Gracious. She couldn’t wrap her head around the bald-faced lie she’d been told. It was a lot to absorb all at once. But Kat’s emotions didn’t matter at the moment. Her concern was for Mattie. The older woman couldn’t afford a setback in her recovery.

      Mattie invited Justin inside and he didn’t hesitate to approach the front door. He held the screen open and allowed them to step inside first and then followed behind. The door slammed shut as it was prone to do and Kat jerked, her nerves worn thin by something much bigger than that familiar sound. Funny, how just a few minutes ago, her biggest problem was a tire that needed changing.

      But the scene that was about to play out in the parlor of Aunt Mattie’s modest home could very well kill her with grief. Kat didn’t know how to stop it or protect her from the truth.

      “Have yourself a seat, son,” Aunt Mattie said. “I’ll take a seat, too, if you don’t mind. Little Connor here is quite a handful, tiring me out. He’s weighing nearly twenty pounds now, isn’t that right, Kat?”

      Kat’s stomach ached. She gave a hesitant nod. Justin waited for both of them to take a seat. Kat perched uneasily on a colorful floral chair and Aunt Mattie lowered herself onto her brushed suede recliner that must have once been a lemony yellow. Justin finally sat on the sofa and set his tan felt hat next to him. He kept darting glances at Connor.

      “Pardon the mess,” Aunt Mattie said. “Kat here is doing wonders fixing the place up on a scant budget. She’s got quite a flair for it, wouldn’t you say?”

      Justin scanned the room politely. Kat wondered if a man’s eye would notice things like handmade pillows in contrasting colors, small scatter rugs that tied the room together and flower vases and pictures placed strategically to enhance the modest three-bedroom home. When Kat had first arrived, with Mattie’s illness sapping her strength, the place had been a wreck. In the two months she’d lived here, she’d managed to stage the living spaces to bring new life to the house. Her arrival, or rather Connor’s arrival, had brought new life to Matilda Applegate, as well.

      “Looks nice and homey,” Justin said.

      She still couldn’t believe this man sitting here being polite to Mattie had lied to her about who he was. Why?

      She understood lies to some extent. She’d had to lie her way out of a few tight spots in her life. She could abide them, if it meant keeping your nose clean or protecting someone you loved. But why would Justin Slade lie to her about who he was back then?

      Her teeth clamped down so hard, pain shot to her head. Any second now…

      “You say you knew my nephew Brett?”

      “Yes, ma’am. We met in the marines. When we found out we were practically neighbors, coming from this part of Nevada and all, we got friendly.”

      Connor was beginning to relax. He turned around in Mattie’s arms and plunked his little bottom down in her lap. Tears welled in Kat’s eyes. This was a special moment, a brief but monumental span of time when Connor’s sweet brown eyes locked onto Justin’s for the first time. The gravity of the moment sent Kat’s mind spinning.

      Her son meeting his father.

      “Oh, look, Connor’s warming up to you. This is Brett’s boy. Going to have his first birthday before you know it.”

      Kat lowered her eyes, the weight of the situation crashing down on her shoulders. She had to think fast. To find a way to protect Mattie.

      “He’s your boy?” Justin asked her.

      “Yes.” Kat rose quickly and moved over to Mattie. “Let me take him, Aunt Mattie. Your arms must be tired from holding him most of the morning.”

      “Kat was trying to fix the flat,” Aunt Mattie explained to Justin. “The roads here are murder on the tires, you know. My arms are getting a bit tweaked. I’m not as young as I used to be,” she said as she handed Connor over carefully. “Though there’s nothing in this world better than holding our little Connor.”

      The baby was on his best behavior, not fidgeting as he was prone to do when he was around strangers. Connor clung to Kat’s neck and she kissed his soft little cheek before turning to face Justin. “Aunt Mattie is recovering from a heart attack. She took the news of Brett’s death very hard.”

      Aunt Mattie interjected, “I think I would’ve died, if it hadn’t been for Kat and Connor showing up when they did. That little boy was like an angel coming down from heaven to save my life.”

      Justin rose. His gaze switched back and forth from Connor to Kat. The suspicion she’d known would come lit up his eyes. “Brett never said he had a son.”

      Aunt Mattie chimed in. “That’s because Brett never knew about Connor. Kat came here looking for Brett, to finally tell him about his baby. But it was too late for Connor to meet his daddy. Kat’s been living here, taking care of me ever since.”

      Justin’s eyes rounded on her. ”You never told Brett he had a son.”

      The lines around Aunt Mattie’s eyes crinkled with worry. “Oh, dear. Did I say something wrong?”

      “No, it’s okay, Aunt Mattie,” Kat told her softly. “Justin was a friend of Brett’s. He might as well know the truth.” She stared at Justin, hoping to get her point across. Now that it had sunk in that she’d been deceived,