Hi everyone! This chapter will be posted in two parts, the first part today and the second part in two weeks. I hope you all enjoy and thanks again for reading and posting feedback!

Chapter Twenty – one (Part I)

"Wow!" Ned sighed, running his hand down his face, as he turned to look out the window. He honestly didn't know what to say or think about Jeremy's story accept shock. After the boy announced that Anna was his wife Ned had slowly found his tongue, and asked Jeremy how this all came to be. The boy then reluctantly explained that he and Anna had fell in love and were secretly married nine months after he was fostered by her family. He went on to confess that they'd planned to runaway, but were stopped when Anna fell ill, which revealed, to everyone's shock, that she was with child. Livid about the pregnancy and the discovery of their marriage, the Donovans had immediately sent Jeremy back to New York and Anna to Lexington, where she eventually died giving birth to their child. Upon hearing this, Ned was again without words, but Clay had finally found his voice, awkwardly offering sympathy; then cautiously asking Jeremy how he'd discovered what he knew. The boy had remained silent for what seemed like forever: then finally he spoke.

"I returned to Virginia 7 months after I was sent away" He said "That's when I learned of Anna's death, and the 'death' of my child."

"What?!" Clay and Ned both gasped

"I thought you just said your daughter was alive, and here in Lexington" Clay had questioned, still a bit skeptical of Jeremy's account.

"She is" the boy answered

"Then what do you mean when you say you learned of her death?" Ned queried, obviously confused

"When I returned to Virginia…" Jeremy explained painfully "The Donovans told me that Anna died and that our daughter died shortly thereafter…I was devastated, so I immediately left town, fighting and stealing my way back to New York…but 8 months later, I got the truth, when Mrs. Donovan tracked me down, crying that she couldn't continue the lie now that Mr. Donovan was gone…she then told me that though Anna had died, our daughter had lived…that Danielle, was alive and well in Lexington."

Clay had again been rendered speechless, his mouth on the floor, while his father could only utter one word in response. Now, Ned sat there still gazing out the window, trying to wrap his mind around Jeremy's tale. The boy had been through an incredible ordeal, and Ned had no doubt about the truth in Jeremy's story. However, despite that truth, Ned was having a hard time believing that the boy had come to Lexington just to see his daughter. She'd been kept secret from him, in a sense stolen. Jeremy had to want more than just a glimpse, an hour a day of her time.

"I'm sorry for your loss…" Ned finally said as he turned away from the window to face Jeremy whose eyes had returned to his lap. "and everything you've been through" he continued " I know what it's like to lose a loved one due to the birth of a child…but I have to ask…and I want you to be completely honest with me…Did you come to Lexington to take your daughter?"

For a moment Jeremy remained silent, contemplating Ned's question, pondering how to answer, when he finally replied… "Yes"

"So that's why you used the fake name?" Clay slowly asserted, again finding his voice "So that when you took your daughter no one would know who you really were?"

Silence –

"Yes" Jeremy admitted "That was my plan… but after I saw Danielle's life with the Chambers, I realized, as much as I hated to admit it, that she is better off with them…than with me."

Ned studied Jeremy closely, astonished by the boy's maturity, but knowing that the circumstances he'd been through had spun such astuteness. "I'm glad that you changed your mind." he said "I know that it was wrong, how things happened, but to commit such an act would only cause more hurt for everyone involved."

"So what now" Clay asked curiously, not buying Jeremy's claim that he'd given up his plans to take his daughter. "You and Lucy can't court forever, what if she quits or is dismissed, or you two part ways, or worse the Chambers decide to leave Lexington? It could be difficult to see your little girl or you might can't see her at all."

"What are trying to say?" Jeremy asked, feigning confusion, but truthfully annoyed

"What I'm saying is how long can you keep this whole thing going? Where you're secretly visiting your daughter, before someone finds out who you really are?"

"No one will ever find out." Jeremy countered firmly

"They could" Ned interjected, thinking of Clay's prying "You can't do this forever…"

"Well what are you suggesting I do?" Jeremy asserted nervously, not liking the direction of the conversation.

Ned hesitated before answering, knowing that the boy would rebuff his suggestion. Then began "I think that maybe you should consider coming clean." He said "That you should tell the Chambers you're in Lexington."

-----------------

"He did what!" Asa shrieked, totally not believing what Pete had just told him "No…Sean may be a bastard" he continued "But he would never dump my Vivian for a Negro!"

"I know it's hard to believe" Pete countered firmly. "But it's true. I've seen their…affection for one another, and if I didn't know any better I'd think…well, it doesn't matter what I think is going on behind closed doors, because it's clear, to anyone looking that Sean Logan is hot for his father's Negro secretary."

Asa's blood boiled at the thought of such an accusation being true. Sean would never, he thought angrily, never cross him in this way… "No!" he asserted abruptly "You're lying to me. Sean would never do this, not to my daughter…"

"Oh get over yourself!" Pete interjected impatiently "Sean Logan is the man who dumped your precious daughter in front of the entire town. He was the same man who refused to give her a second look, and according to you, told her that he never loved her, do you honestly think he wouldn't leave her for someone else?!"

Asa gazed at Pete with fire in his eyes, peeved by the man's insolent tone. "I would put nothing past Sean Logan" he stated sharply "But this…even he wouldn't stoop so low!"

"Your assumption of him is astounding." Pete countered "But I'm sure that will change once you see what I have."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Asa asked angrily

Pete hesitated a moment, giving one last thought to what he was about to do. He was hoping that it wouldn't come to this, that he wouldn't be the catalyst that destroyed so many people he admired, but he had no other choice. As he reached into his pocket, he briefly recalled how he'd come upon this irrefutable proof. It was three months earlier. He was rushing to a meeting, when he'd clumsily dropped the files he was carrying. As he stooped to retrieve them from the ground, that's when he saw it, an envelope bearing Marita's name. Before that day, Pete still somewhat questioned what he'd witnessed in the park between Sean and Marita, but after reading the letter he'd found, his doubt had immediately vanished. Now standing before Asa, Pete nervously pulled that same envelope from where it hid in his jacket, then decidedly handed it to the man who'd use it for irrevocable grief.

"What the hell is this?" Asa asked irritably, as he carelessly took the letter from Pete's hand.

"All the proof you need of Logan's filthy indiscretion."

-----------------------

Sean climbed the front steps of the home, feeling anxious, but self-assured. For so long he'd wanted to take this path, leave everything behind and follow his heart, and now that he was doing it, now that he was finally in Cholena, he knew that all would be well, that chance was on his side. Now standing in front of the home's entry, Sean moved to knock on the door, when it suddenly opened, revealing a young woman, a servant, who looked no older than Alice.

"Can I help you?" she asked awkwardly, obviously startled to see Sean outside the door.

"Yes" Sean answered nervously "I'm looking for Marita Peters."

"She's inside." The girl answered "I will get her for you."

"No" Sean snapped softly, stopping the girl before she could turn away "I'm an old friend, I want to surprise her."

The girl gave Sean a skeptical look, openly conveying her doubt about his assertion. "Marita and I grew up together." he explained, trying to ease the girl's distrust. "Her father lived and worked on my father's ranch. He still does…I assure you that Marita…Miss Peters will approve of my visit."

Silence –

"Alright" the girl conceded slowly, still a bit unsure about Sean's claims "She's in the study." She continued apprehensively "It's past the steps… on your left."

"Thank you" Sean sighed appreciatively

-----------------------

After the young woman exited the porch, Sean hesitated; then crossed the home's threshold, quietly shutting the door behind him. He then began to follow the directions he had been given, gradually making his way past the stairs. As he proceeded down the hall, hushed voices drifted to his ears, causing his heart to quicken, knowing that Marita was only steps away. Finally reaching the study's entrance, Sean did not stop to mitigate or contemplate what he was about to do. Instead he walked into the room, but immediately halted when he spotted Marita across the way, conversing with a gentleman who was young and the same ethnicity as she. Sean's heart panged with jealously and hurt, but it was quickly replaced with feelings of love and yearning. He stood there speechless, enthralled with her movements, observing the flattering colors of her clothing, and the way in which her hair was loosely pulled from her face. He wanted to go to her, to make his presence known, but for that moment, he couldn't. For it had been four months since he'd laid eyes upon her, four months since they'd exchanged words or found comfort in each other's arms and now that she was so close, a breath away from such realizations, his heart ached for her more deeply, leaving him breathless, and unable to move.