The front door opened, and Tina was the only one who came out.

“Raines. Their names were Joe and Dolly Raines.”

Marc hugged her. “Thank you, cuz. I owe you big time.”

Tina patted his arm. “The four of us have already talked. We’re saying nothing about this to anyone. This will be your story to tell or not to tell. We just wanted you to know.”

He was too emotional to answer and could only nod.

After family night was over, David and Linda drove back together in her car, and Marc followed. All he could think about was leaving for home as soon as the funeral was over. He needed to be back in his office with all the tools of research at his disposal. It should be easier to find his son than to find Janie. But life being what it was, easy wasn’t often part of the answer.

He went to bed that night and dreamed of Janie calling his name. He could hear her, but she couldn’t hear him answer. And then the dream morphed to a little boy growing up and wondering what was wrong with him, and why had he been given away.

It was all Marc could do to get through the funeral. When it was over, he said his goodbyes without attending the dinner afterward and drove straight home with a fire in his gut.

He’d taken pictures all over the world of children in the midst of war. And of women who’d survived brutal rape and capture in war-torn countries and had given birth to their rapists’ children.

He’d done a whole series on children orphaned or separated from their parents by natural disasters. And now, to learn he had a child in this world who did not know him was the worst of sins.

It was nearing sundown by the time he reached Springfield, and all he could think about was beginning his search. But the project for Nat Geo wasn’t finished.

He’d never failed to deliver a job. He’d never been late with a project. But he’d failed terribly as a man, and that was not to be borne. He wasn’t backing off on his search. Not even for one day. If he had to, he’d finish the project on the move.

He kept thinking of Janie and what she must have endured alone. And the son who did not know the bloodline of his ancestors. In reality, they might have worked out all their issues years ago and might be perfectly happy with where they were now, but this was new to Marc, and the horror of it was real.

He threw his luggage on the floor of his bedroom and headed for the office. He’d acquired a few hacking skills over the years. Nothing worth doing time for, but he was able to find his way around the World Wide Web with alacrity.

The first thing he did was start a search for Joe and Dolly Raines of Kansas City, Missouri. He found them and their address through property records, and after further searching came up with their occupations and the mention of one child named John Sullivan, age five.