“That’s not the end of the story.” Hunter blew out a stream of smoke and watched it fade into darkness. “We had a memorable fight, threats, accusations, blame-casting. At the time, I couldn’t see her end of it, only the fact that she had part of me inside her that she wanted to dispose of. We parted then, both of us furious, both of us desperate enough to know we each needed time to think.”

She didn’t know what to say, or how to say it. “You were young,” she began.

“I was twenty-four,” Hunter corrected. “I’d long since stopped being a boy. I was—we were—responsible for our own actions. I didn’t sleep for two days. I thought of a dozen answers and rejected them all, over and over. Only one thing stuck with me in that whole sweaty, terrified time. I wanted the child. It’s not something I can explain, because I did enjoy my life, the lack of responsibilities, the possibility of becoming really successful. I simply knew I had to have the child. I called her and asked her to come back.

“We were both calmer the second time, and both more frightened than either of us had ever been in our lives. Marriage couldn’t be considered, so we set it aside. She didn’t want the child, so we dealt with that. I did. That was something a bit more complex to deal with. She needed freedom from the responsibility we’d made together, and she needed money. In the end, we resolved it all.”

Dry-mouthed, Lee turned to him. “You paid her.”

He saw, as he’d expected to see, the horror in her eyes. When he continued, his voice was calm, but it took a great deal of effort to make it so. “I paid all the medical expenses, her living expenses up until she delivered, and I gave her ten thousand dollars for my daughter.”

Stunned, heartsick, Lee stared at the ground. “How could she—”

“We each wanted something. In the only way open, we gave it to each other. I’ve never resented that young law student for what she did. It was her choice, and she could’ve taken another without consulting me.”

“Yes.” She tried to understand, but all Lee could see was that slim, dark little girl. “She chose, but she lost.”

It meant everything just to hear her say it. “Sarah’s been mine, only mine, from the first moment she breathed. The woman who carried her gave me a priceless gift. I only gave her money.”

“Does Sarah know?”

“Only that her mother had choices to make.”

“I see.” She let out a long breath. “The reason you’re so careful about keeping publicity away from her is to keep speculation away.”

“One of them. The other is simply that I want her to have the uncomplicated life every child’s entitled to.”