A Matter of Trust

A huge thank you to GeorgeAnderson for his editing talent and his work on this story.

I read an article in a newspaper in 2015 that said the United States government estimated 5 percent of all children born in the U. S. were not the biological children of the person listed as the father on their birth certificates.

I opined to a friend that I believed the U. S. government was seriously understating that figure. I had been following this trend for several years at that point, and I told my friend that I estimated the number to be closer to 30 percent.

"Oh, no, that number's way too high!" my friend, Marc, exclaimed. "You're telling me that you think almost one-third of all kids born in the U. S. aren't the children of the father listed? Nah. I think it's maybe 15 percent. One-third would be a ridiculously high number."

"I don't think it's ridiculously high. I think it's accurate," I said. "I think this is one of those unmentioned crises in this country. I think every kid born should be DNA tested. Then you'd see I'm probably a lot closer to accurate than the government is.

"Almost every day you read about another kid who is not the child of the father... only he didn't know until he and the kid got tested for some reason. Well, what if every kid was tested at birth. I'd bet big money that they'd find a lot more of this going on."

Marc and I kept watch on this trend for the next few years. We were discussing another of these stories in 2019 when he turned to me and apologized.

"You could be right about that 30 percent," he said. "I wouldn't have believed it... but it appears you probably have a better handle on this than the damn government. They probably don't want to start some type of panic."

"It's a matter of trust. Did you consider getting your kids DNA tested when they were born? Neither did I. We both trusted our wives completely, assuming that they were 100 percent faithful. But as we both know, there are fewer and fewer people who are faithful these days. The divorce rate is over 50 percent for new marriages, and while not all divorces are due to infidelity, that seems to be on the rise," I said.

"But what would the results be if all of us who thought our wives were faithful actually had our kids tested? I think there would be a lot of surprised husbands."

He nodded and took a sip of his whiskey.

True story.

******

Traci Walsh smiled brightly as she leaned in near the birthday girl and helped her 1-year-old daughter blow out the candles on her birthday cake as a gathering of friends and family stood by and watched.

She looked up and smiled at her husband, who was busy taking photos with his Nikon digital camera. She knew after the party, he would spend the next few hours reviewing the photos, choosing the best to edit and adjust in Photoshop to save for a slide show. He was a pretty good shutterbug, she had to admit.

He was also a great dad, even if the little one who was the subject of his photos wasn't his biological child. Traci was never going to tell him that her late in life child was the result of a one-night hook-up with a co-worker of his.

Ryan was grinning with pride at what he believed to be his newest progeny. At 43, he was sure he still had what it took to please his woman and get her pregnant. He was surprised when she told him a little over a year ago that she wanted another baby--their two children were then 16 and 14--but he had wasted no time making her request come to fruition. Six weeks after broaching the subject with her husband, Traci was pregnant for the third time.

"You still got it, stud!" she announced as she held up the positive home pregnancy test.

The two hugged fiercely and kissed passionately. Traci smiled inwardly, knowing her wonderful but clueless husband wouldn't think twice about the child's parentage, especially since he was currently basking in his virility.

Traci truly loved her husband and hadn't planned to cheat for the first and only time in her married life when they attended his company's annual Christmas party that year. They were both dressed to the nines and enjoying themselves tremendously at the high-end affair, always a highlight of the year for the employees at the Washington, DC, office of a national defense contractor.

Ryan thought his wife of 18 years was the belle of the ball, so to speak. At 41 and despite having two children, her body was still tight and curvy, and her Mediterranean looks and long brunette hair were well worth a head-turning second look. She was wearing a maroon dress that finished about four inches above her knees and had a low-cut neckline that just begged for everyone--both men and women--to appreciate what the dress was designed to conceal and reveal.

Ryan enjoyed the sight of her twin peaks while he was standing next to her looking down her dress, or out on the dance floor watching them jiggle while she moved. He knew she was attracting admiring glances from other men throughout the evening.

The party was scheduled to go until midnight. Like many others, Ryan had booked a room at the hotel next to the event center where the party was being held so he and Traci could indulge without worrying about their blood alcohol content, although neither planned on overindulging too much. They planned on a fun night, finishing up with passionate sex in the hotel after the party. Ryan even had a bottle of champagne chilling in a bucket in their room for after the party.

Liam Mulroney had worked in the DC office since he transferred in from his native Ireland six years ago. He and his wife had had their first child a little over a year ago. They were supposed to be seated at the same table as Ryan and Traci, which was good because the two couples had hit it off at several other events, even though there was about a 10-year age difference between them.

On this night, however, Nora Mulroney didn't join her husband at the party as the baby came up sick. She implored her husband to attend, though, so he showed up alone.

There seems to be some sort of law that says every party has to have an obnoxious drunk, no matter how refined the party is, and Todd Albertson was this party's designated moron. Several of Todd's fellow employees were concerned that he was too drunk to drive, so the decision was made that a co-worker would take him home and make sure he was okay before leaving him. Although he didn't want to leave, Ryan volunteered because he was Todd's direct supervisor and felt responsible for the young, single man.

"I'm sorry, baby, but he's my responsibility. I'd get him a room here if there were any available, but they're telling me they're full up. I should be back in about two hours. Get a good night's sleep, and we'll try to finish tonight in the morning. Put the champagne in the little fridge for the night," Ryan said.

Traci tried to hide her disappointment. She was keyed up for a fun night between the sheets with her husband.

"Call me when you're heading back. Maybe I can stay awake," she purred before giving him a passionate kiss.

Traci went back to the table after Ryan left. Liam and the others at the table already had two shots of Red Hot lined up in front of everybody's spot to finish off the night. Traci figured she could afford to drink the shots since she had held back on her alcohol consumption earlier. The others there also persuaded her it would be okay since she had a room at the hotel.

"I will be your guard dog tonight, m'lady," Liam said with his still-present Irish brogue.

Traci glanced over at Liam, who was sitting to her right, and smiled. She had always thought his accent was charming and a little sexy, and he certainly was a handsome, attractive man.

Fifteen minutes later, Traci and Liam left the entertainment room together, with the woman holding on to his upper arm to steady herself on her heels. She giggled as she walked with Liam toward the elevators, and ran her hand up and down his arm trying to feel his muscles surreptitiously. He knew what she was doing and flexed slightly.

"How about you come back to my room for a nightcap. I'll get us a pitcher of Bloody Marys mixed up. It's going to be a while before Ryan shows back up. Maybe if we're still up, he can join us," Liam said.

Traci gave him what could only be called an evil smile.

"You know you really don't want that, do you?" she asked just above a whisper.

"No," he said at the same volume before leaning in to the woman for a soft but passionate kiss.

"Mmm," Traci moaned into the man's mouth as she kissed back.

Once they got to Liam's room, Traci reached her hand down to the front of Liam's pants and gripped his hard tool through the material. It was his turn to moan. He reached around to the back of her dress and gently slid down her zipper.

As Liam pulled down the straps of the dress to reveal her lacy plunge bra, Traci had a brief thought of her husband--a guilty thought--as she had never even considered cheating on him before. She realized her pussy was dripping in anticipation as Liam unhooked her bra before kissing her again.

Up until that night everyone who knew Traci would have said she was practically a perfect wife. She had never done a single thing anyone would have considered "bad girl." That streak was about to end on this night.

Liam leaned back to see the woman's nipples were rock hard and seemed to be about a half-inch long. He grinned almost in reflex and trapped both of her nipples between the first two fingers of each hand. She moaned again. He helped her to her feet, slipped the dress completely off and then peeled off her tight, black lace panties. The two of them together then removed Liam's clothes.

Liam slowly fondled the woman's boobs before sliding his hand down her stomach to her pussy. He ran the index finger of his right hand down each of her pussy lips before dipping one, then two fingers inside what he found was a very wet, hot core. He found her G-spot and rubbed several times before she gave a squeak and started spasming.

The man continued moving his fingers as Traci eventually stopped climaxing. He then slid his body down hers until his face was buried in her gooey pussy. He licked, sucked and slurped up and down her slit, flicking her clitoris as he did so. This time she screamed her orgasm as she locked her legs around his head. Liam continued to tongue the woman until he realized he hadn't gotten a breath of air in a while. He quickly tapped the woman on her left leg until she realized what he needed and opened her legs slightly so he could catch a breath.

Liam went back to licking and sucking for yet another orgasm before Traci insisted he move up.

"Now. Fuck me now. Fuck me now," Traci moaned huskily.

Liam complied after climbing back up Traci's body. He was fully inserted in two strokes. He started slowly, then picked up the pace as Traci started to grunt on each stroke. Several minutes later, the woman came yet again as Liam by now was pounding hard and grunting as well.

It dawned on Liam that he was doing the woman bareback as he felt himself getting closer to his own release.

"Going to come soon. Where do you want it?" he asked in short grunts.

Traci realized at that point that she was unprotected and at her most fertile time of the month... and Liam was not wearing a condom. That thought suddenly caused yet another tingle in her pussy, and if she was going to be a bad girl, what could be badder than to truly cuckold her husband, especially since he would never know?

"Come inside me! Give me a baby! Own my body!" she wailed.

Voicing her lust out loud triggered yet another shattering orgasm in her body. Toward the end of that, Liam let out a scream of his own and flooded the woman's body with cum, shooting at least a half-dozen ropes into her.

Liam kept pumping into her until his dick started to soften. Both parties were covered in a sheen of sweat as they lay together.

"Wow. Th-that was amazing!" Traci enthused.

The two talked and kissed softly before Traci asked Liam if he was ready for round two.

"Do we have enough time?" Liam asked.

"Yeah, he told me he would call me when he was leaving Todd's. That gives us at least an hour," she responded matter-of-factly.

The two started to kiss before Traci moved down and took the younger man's hardening dick deep into her mouth. She licked and sucked like a starving calf feeding from its mother's teat. While she was no stranger to sucking cock, the moment found her more active and animated than ever before. When he felt he was strong enough, he practically dragged her up his body.

"Drive for a while," he said to her with a big smile as she squatted over his dick and then slowly slid down on his pole.

"Aaahhh!" she groaned as she impaled herself.

Five minutes later Traci was bouncing on Liam's dick with total abandon, her eyes closed and her head thrown back. It might have been because of the taboo nature and having a new man, but Traci thought the sex this night was the best she had ever experienced.

That thought had just registered when she shrieked her way through another spectacular orgasm. When she finished, she looked Liam directly in the eyes and told him he needed to be on top when he came inside of her.

"Knock me up, baby! Please! Give me your baby!" she yelled.

Hearing Traci cry out for his baby set Liam off big-time and he pumped a second large load into the woman. Just then Traci's phone started to ring. She waited for Liam to finish coming before she put her finger to her lips to silence him and answered, although in a somewhat ragged voice.

"Hi, baby. Are you on your way back?"

"You okay, sweetie? You sound like you ran to the phone," Ryan said.

"Uh... I did. I fell asleep waiting, and had my phone on the table in the room. I was afraid I wouldn't get it before the message started," she said while Liam lay quietly alongside her, listening.

"I'm sorry about this, sweetie. Why don't you go back to sleep? There's always tomorrow at home for us," he said.

"I think that might be best," she said innocently. "I'll see you when you slide in next to me. Night, baby."

"Night yourself. I love you," he said right before he disconnected.

Traci's eyes opened wide. She realized that for one of the few times in their married life, she had ended a phone call with Ryan without telling him she loved him. She hoped he hadn't noticed.

"Shit. I didn't tell him I loved him," she said to Liam. "I always tell him I love him when we end our calls."

"Yeah, I do that with Nora, too," Liam said. "Wow. That's the first time all night I've even thought of her. You just laid waste to me tonight."

Traci gave him a bright smile.

"I really should go so I can get in the shower, be dried and in bed asleep before he gets back here.

"Thanks for a great night, Liam."

"You are more than welcome, m'lady," he answered.

"You do realize that this can only be a one-off, right? I mean, in the future we only talk when we are with our spouses at the upcoming parties. No reason to arouse suspicion," she said.

"What happens if you wind up pregnant? I don't want you stuck alone," he said.

"I know it sounds crazy, but we decided to have another kid. He won't think twice if I turn up pregnant," Traci said.

Several weeks later when the home pregnancy test informed Traci that her wishes had been fulfilled, she felt a devious thrill in her stomach as her husband unknowingly celebrated her getting pregnant by another man. She and Ryan didn't have sex for several days after the party as Traci begged off due to not feeling well. She truly wanted to give Liam's sperm the chance to find her egg before she made love with her husband once again. Since conception time isn't an exact science, her husband wouldn't have any reason to think it wasn't his sperm that fertilized his wife.

As happened with her first two pregnancies, Traci's libido ramped up heavily while she carried her third child. She had to admit to herself that some of her higher libido probably came from the thrill of her husband making love to her while she carried another man's child. She considered telling her secret to her best friend, Annette, to further add to the thrill, but reconsidered when she realized that telling no one meant that no one could spill the beans. In the long run, this seemed wiser.

Ryan was over the moon happy when Traci gave birth to a healthy seven-pound, two-ounce baby girl with a full head of strawberry blonde hair. As he watched Traci's doctor receive the newborn, he briefly wondered where the red hair came from, but he was too wound up with joy to give that thought more than a split-second.

The couple's other two children were quick to note the child's red hair when they were allowed to visit a few hours later.

"Who in the family had red hair?" 17-year-old Tristan questioned when he and 15-year-old Katie saw the child for the first time.

"Nobody as far as we know, but my doctor assures us that it's not impossible for people that don't have redheaded relatives to have a redheaded baby," Traci said as Ryan slowly rocked the latest addition to the family.

Traci was as surprised as anyone when the child was born with red hair. There were no redheads in Traci's family tree, and Liam had light to medium brown hair. When Ryan mentioned the red hair to the gynecologist, he quickly noted to both parents that while their child having red hair was an anomaly, it was possible if both parents carried the recessive gene for it. Ryan didn't notice his wife utter a big sigh of relief.

Ryan walked into Liam Mulroney's office several weeks later to ask the younger man a question about an account. He normally would have buzzed Liam on the intercom, but he wanted a cup of coffee from the break room one door down from Liam's office, so he figured he would just pop in after getting his caffeine fix. When Liam couldn't come up with the answer off the top of his head, he called up the account in question on his computer and invited Ryan to step around his desk so they could both look at the information. While they were reviewing the account, Ryan's eyes drifted to the family photo Liam kept on the desk, which showed Liam, his wife, Nora, and their two-year-old son, Jeffrey. Ryan noted that the child had red hair despite the fact that neither Liam nor Nora did.

"Wow, I didn't realize that you've got one, too, a ginger kid... and neither my wife nor I are redheads, like you and your wife aren't either," Ryan said.

Liam didn't stop to consider to whom he was talking and gave his usual truthful answer to why his son had red hair.

"I was born with red hair and had it until I was eight, when it finally changed to blond before finally settling at light brown," he said.

Ryan took another look at the photo. Surely not all redheaded children look alike, he thought to himself as he shifted his gaze back to the computer screen. He and Liam then confirmed the information they had on Starman Consulting.

"Thanks, Liam," he said and walked back to his office down the hall with his mug of coffee.

Ryan was feeding his baby girl at home that night at the kitchen table when he remembered the photo on Liam's desk. In his mind's eye, he went back and forth between the photo and the face in front of him. Ryan didn't believe in coincidence.

"Son of a bitch!" he muttered.

"Sorry, what?" Traci asked.

"Nothing. Just thought of a solution to a problem at work," Ryan quickly covered.

"Yeah, I do that all the time," Traci said, "except it's usually the middle of the night when I finally figure things out."

They both chuckled at that, only Ryan's was forced. Traci didn't notice.

Ryan pretended to be engrossed in a movie his son was watching later that night. In reality his mind was replaying events of the last year. Where could Traci and Liam have met up... wait a minute. Ryan remembered that Liam was seated with Traci and him at the Christmas party last year. Liam's wife wasn't there... and Ryan left early to take a drunk co-worker home. Like Ryan, Liam had made a reservation for a room at the hotel next door for that night.

"I'd bet the fucker used that reservation and he wasn't alone," Ryan thought.

Ryan remembered being gone for a little more than two and a half hours before he got back to the hotel room he had reserved for himself and Traci. He had spoken with her about an hour before, and she claimed to have been woken up by his phone call. She told him she was going to bed after they hung up, and she looked to be asleep when he crawled into bed with her when he got back.

It would be easy enough to check to see if Liam spent the night at the hotel.

Could his loving wife have cheated on him so callously and easily, he wondered. He got up from his chair and poured himself some Pepto-Bismol to ease his queasy stomach.

"I don't feel so great. I'm going to bed," Ryan called out to the rest of the family as he climbed the stairs to the master bedroom.

Ryan had the answer to his question within 15 minutes after getting into the office and calling the hotel the next morning. He then had to wait the rest of the day to get home so he could surreptitiously swab his daughter's cheek for a DNA test. He had swabbed his earlier in the day and would send both into a DNA lab for testing.

Ryan tried his best not to let his dour mood show to his family while he awaited the results of the DNA tests, but he was human and it was easy for his family to see something was wrong. He desperately needed to talk to someone, but the person he would have gone to for the last 20 years was the reason he was in the bad mood. He was devastated that he had to sneak around to see if his last child was really his biologically.

Sleep is fickle. When you need it most, it is nowhere to be found. Thus, instead of getting the post-confrontation sleep he needed, Ryan found himself staring at the small paint crack in the bedroom ceiling, while memories of his life with Traci played through his mind. Their first meeting in the library during a home football game, when he naturally assumed a woman that beautiful would be in a cheerleader uniform over at the stadium. Finding out that she neither ate pizza nor drank beer - no, she wasn't a communist - but they could find plenty of other activities to enjoy together. He chuckled briefly as he wondered if she ever did find what she was looking for about Philo T. Farnsworth. Their wedding; the births of Tristan and Kate, the many wonderful, loving times they had shared. And then this.

Ryan wasn't surprised when the DNA testing revealed that he and his second daughter were not related biologically. At this point he was assuming the child was Liam's.

What did surprise him was how easily his wife seemed to have been able to step outside of their marriage, and how easily she had passed off the child as Ryan's. He felt crushed way more than angry.

"Why?" he asked Traci that night when the two sat down in the family room by themselves after dinner.

Traci was shocked by the question. By the way it was asked, she knew exactly what the question referenced. What shocked her was that he knew. Unless Liam stupidly blabbed, there were only two people in the whole world who knew what happened. Why, indeed? She hadn't given much thought as to why she did what she did. She wanted to do it, so she did it. Liam had been the only man besides Ryan she had had sex with since she got married. It excited her to try to get pregnant with another man's child, so she did it. It excited her to actually be pregnant with another man's child, so she carried it to term. It excited her to be the mother of a child that was not her husband's without his knowing it. She had no guilt, no remorse. Everything was good in her world until suddenly it wasn't.

Traci looked away as she considered her answer. Ryan never took his eyes off her. Finally, she turned to face him with a tender, loving look on her face.

"I can't really give you an answer that will make sense to you. The truth is, I wanted to do it. I was always the goody-goody soccer mom, so I did it, all of it. I was happy with my decision. My decision. You had nothing to do with any of it," she said.

"I never gave a thought that you would ever find out, and I was good with that. I'm not sorry I did any of it, although I am sorry that you got hurt. I never wanted to hurt you, babe."

"And yet here we are," Ryan said.

"So does 20 years of a great marriage earn me a second chance, of course with a lot of groveling and ass-kissing, maybe a lot of ass-fucking?" she asked with a hopeful smile on her face.

He smiled back at her. He had to admire her wit under pressure.

"Not hardly, babe," he answered. "Even if, as you say, this was a one-off, you magnified the mistake to epic proportions. And you were perfectly willing to let me raise another man's child... the ultimate insult."

Her smile faded as she looked hard into his eyes.

"This is one of those states that is no fault but allows exceptions," he started. "First off, you will only get limited child support because by the time the divorce is finished, one of the kids will be in college and the second will be going in soon. As far as alimony, I'm asking to cap that at three years because of your adultery. We'll sell the house as quickly as possible and split the equity down the middle, as we will with the other assets as well."

This time she smirked.

"You forgot the baby. And since I've got the baby, I'll also get the house and probably a lot more than three years of alimony," she said.

"I didn't forget the baby. Since the baby isn't quite a year old, and I know who the father is, the court will let me take my name off the birth certificate and put his on... and he will be responsible for child support. You won't get the house and the longer alimony because it's not my kid. That's according to my attorney. I suggest you get one quickly, because you will be getting served tomorrow," he said.

Traci's smirk gradually morphed into a scowl. She definitely hadn't seen this coming.

"You can't name him as the baby's father! You'll destroy his marriage if you do that!" Traci cried.

"Why is it okay for him to blow up my marriage, but you don't want me hurting his?" he questioned.

"He's got a kid at home..." she started to say.

"I have two!" Ryan yelled back.

"You fucked up," he continued. Why am I the bad guy in this?"

Silence again reigned.

Three hours after Traci was served, Liam Mulroney showed up at Ryan's office door.

"Uhh.. can I have a minute to talk to you, Ry, on a personal matter?" Liam choked out.

"Yeah. Come in and close the door," Ryan said, staring daggers at the younger man.

Liam did as asked and sat in the chair across the desk from Ryan.

"I suppose we should have had this talk a while back," Liam said quietly.

"You suppose?" Ryan expostulated.

"There was no way for you to ever find out, unless one of us talked. I never expected her to tell you, ever. There was no need for you to ever know, she said. What changed?" Liam asked.

"Nothing changed," Ryan answered. "I found out due to a fluke. Cheaters always think there's no way they could be found out... She didn't say a word.

"What made you think that fucking my wife was a good idea? You've got a beautiful wife at home and a young child. Did you think that fucking my wife was worth you losing your child? I love my wife to death, think she's the sexiest woman alive, but I still wouldn't trade my kids for a roll in the hay with her."

"Hindsight being 20-20, I know now you are right," Liam said. "But do you really have to blow up my life?"

"If they didn't have laws against it, I'd literally end your life," Ryan said through clenched teeth. "But you're not worth going to jail for.

"As far as blowing up your life, that's more up to Traci than me. I won't support your bastard child. I won't spend one extra dollar on my divorce because of your baby.

"I'm guessing she told you not to worry. She had it covered. She was so goddamned confident I was a mushroom... kept in the dark, shit thrown on daily. I thought we had a perfect marriage. What a fucking idiot I was."

"She says she'll never be able to get by comfortably without help if the court let's you do what you're proposing," Liam said.

"Unless you do your share to help with your child," Ryan related.

"Fuck," Liam whispered.

"Of course that's just one of your problems. The other is how far underground I'm going to bury you here in the company, if you choose to stay," Ryan said.

"You would do that?" Liam croaked with the look of a child caught with both hands in the cookie jar.

"Absolutely, even though I really like your wife. She doesn't deserve a scumbag like you for a husband. But again, like I said, it's up to Traci," Ryan said.

Ryan watched as tears filled Liam's eyes. Ryan could see Liam's hands ball up in frustration.

"You want a shot at me? You ready for hell to rain down on you? I'd invite you to try," Ryan said, rising from his chair.

Liam glared at the older man and saw the determination on his face. He held up his hands in surrender, got out of his chair and walked out of Ryan's office.

Much to Liam's surprise, Traci never contacted him for child support. After a month, he called her, hesitantly offering to throw himself on the grenade so she could get by financially. Traci heard the hesitation, and knew she wouldn't ruin the man's marriage.

"No, I told you I had this, and I do. Don't throw your marriage away for my mistake," she said.

Even with the money she got in the divorce, finances for Traci and her younger daughter, Diana, were always tight. Unlike the years when her first two children were growing up, there weren't any big Christmases, vacations or summer camps. The two weren't destitute, but the child knew that most of her friends and classmates were in a better situation than she was when it came to money.

Liam never again stepped up and offered financial help to the pair, knowing his wife would find out and end his marriage. Traci also never got involved enough with any man that they felt the urge to help out as well. The only ones who seemed to care enough were Traci's two older children, but they mistakenly blamed their father for Traci's plight, even though they knew their mother caused the divorce by cheating and having another man's child.

"Dad, Mom's really hurting financially, and you're doing pretty good. We know she did you wrong, but you're too good of a man to let her and Diana suffer. Can't you throw her a few bucks every now and then?" Ryan's daughter, Katie, asked. "Take it out of any future gifts you would give Tristan and me, okay?"

"That's not going to happen, baby," he answered. "You do realize that she's never asked... the child's father to help, because she doesn't want to break up his marriage. That's rich. She threw our marriage away, but she doesn't want to break up his precious marriage. That's why I'll never help her. The delusional bitch doesn't deserve my help in any way."

"Okay, got it, Dad. I... we... won't ask again," she said.

Ryan was saddened by the fact that his children were somewhat estranged from him because he wouldn't help his ex. Traci knew better than to ask, and never bad-mouthed Ryan to her children when they would complain about their father not helping her and their little half-sister. She knew she could have absolved Ryan in the eyes of their children, but instead continued to enjoy her lone petty victory.

Even that went away four years later when Kate caught her boyfriend cheating on her with another girl. She was heartbroken and angry when she found out, and needed a mother's comfort... until she remembered that her mother had done the very same thing to her father... only much, much worse.

She called her father the next day, explained to him what happened with her boyfriend and begged forgiveness for not trying better to understand his pain.

"I get it now, Dad. I'm sorry I didn't see it until it smacked me in the face," Kate said. "I'll talk to Tristan. I think maybe I can explain things better to him now."

Ryan's rehabilitation in the eyes of his children came at the expense of their mother. She didn't take that well, and her sniping at her two older children left her and her youngest child more isolated.

Ryan made it a point to never attend any family events that Traci was scheduled to attend, be it birthdays or holidays. He explained to his children that he would show up soon after Traci left, but if possible he never wanted to talk to his ex-wife again.

"She didn't want my input at the end when we were married, she certainly doesn't need it now. Far be it for me to put a damper to her empowerment. It's worked out pretty well for her so far, hasn't it?" Ryan answered when his son asked him why he refused to meet his ex at family events.

"We might have a problem, then, Dad. I proposed to Melanie a week ago, and she said yes. I want both of you at my wedding. No ifs, ands or buts about it," Tristan all but commanded.

"Wouldn't think of disappointing my favorite son," Ryan responded.

"I'm your only son, Dad... aren't I?" Tristan asked, doubt coming through his voice.

"I'm not the one having children willy-nilly," Ryan chuckled.

"No, you aren't," Tristan said.

"Don't worry, Tris, I won't be the source of any problems," Ryan said. "Once upon a time, I would have been able to say the same for your mother, but now... who knows?"

As promised, Ryan didn't cause any problems at the wedding because at first he barely acknowledged his ex-wife beyond a brusque grunt. Ryan could tell that Traci was very emotional at the nuptials of her first-born, especially during the actual ceremony. Five minutes into the ceremony Traci had used up the Kleenex that women always seem to pull out of a sleeve or pocket, and Ryan handed her his handkerchief from his pocket.

"Thanks," she warbled out quietly in between sobs.

Ryan surprised Traci at the reception when he asked her to dance during one of the early songs. She hadn't expected that, and after first sitting mutely, she gave him an enthusiastic yes while blushing like a teenager, Ryan thought. She practically glided to the floor on Ryan's arm as Kate and Tristan both watched in shock.

The two enjoyed one fast dance and two slow ones, Traci mashed tightly up against her ex on the slow dances. She smiled brightly as Ryan led her back to the table. After he seated her he went to the open bar and got Traci her favorite white wine and a Coke for Diana.

After a few minutes of sitting quietly, he politely excused himself and then spent the next hour dancing with various single women, including several that were relatives of the bride. Traci's beaming smile faded with each new woman with whom Ryan danced. She had to admit to herself that he was still a handsome, fit man, and every woman seemed happy to be with him on the dance floor. She hadn't given her ex too much thought in recent months, but seeing him up close and personal sparked feelings within her she didn't want to admit were still there.

Halfway through the reception, Ryan danced with Melanie's Aunt Joan, her mother's sister, for several dances, and then followed the woman back to her table. They spent the next hour talking and laughing, and even when they separated for a bit, wound up back together for the rest of the reception. Ryan was taken with the woman's auburn hair, green eyes, curves and sharp wit. She was taken with everything about Ryan.

While Melanie's parents had paid for the wedding, Ryan paid for an after-wedding breakfast the next morning at the hotel where many of the out-of-town guests had stayed. Ryan walked into the breakfast with a smiling Joan Felder. Melanie's parents and several others grinned when they saw the pair. Traci wasn't among those smiling.

Joan and Ryan lived about an hour away from each other. They started trading off weekends driving to each other's homes. They then spent a week vacationing together in Key West, Florida. They came home tanned, rested and engaged.

They married almost a year to the day after they met at Tristan and Melanie's wedding. Tristan was the best man for his father. Joan's sister, Elle, also known as Tristan's mother-in-law, was matron of honor.

After the ceremony was over, Kate noted that she was now the only one of Ryan's immediate family that also wasn't part of Melanie's family.

"Maybe we should call you 'Unicorn' from now on," Tristan joked.

"Maybe somebody won't be getting any tonight for being a smartass," Melanie answered her husband. "The Gradys don't leave anyone out. You're family now until you tell us you don't want to be."

The Gradys were as good as Melanie's word. Kate was always invited to every family event, and a couple of years later started bringing along a young man who would eventually become her husband. The women of the Grady family threw Kate a very nice bridal shower before her wedding, and even invited Traci and Diana.

Kate's fiancé was both amazed and confused at the great party the Grady women threw for her.

"Wow. You're not even a relative to these people? Really?" Rich Foltz queried.

"Technically, no, I'm not a relative, but that doesn't mean I'm not family," Kate explained with a huge smile.

Tristan and Kate went out of their way to make family events on their mother's side good for Diana. Traci made sure to tell her older two children that she appreciated everything they did for her youngest.

"I know I screwed up with my arrogance," she admitted to her children. "There are no do-overs in real life... and there are no time-outs in a marriage. I forgot that once, and look where it got me."

Tristan and Kate and their spouses also did their best to keep Traci's spirits up, by pointing out to her that she was still a beautiful woman for her age and was raising a good daughter in Diana. They also noted to her that having a younger child would help keep her "younger" so she could communicate better with Diana.

"Maybe so, but I'm not really looking forward to buying Taylor Swift music," Traci admitted.

Kate's husband, Rich, had come from a fractured family, and was quick to remind Kate and Tristan just how lucky they all were to be Gradys, however honorary. "Don't ever take this for granted," he warned them. "And for heaven's sake don't you dare do anything to screw it up. I'd have killed to be part of a family like this when I was a teenager."

Thus it was inevitable that Kate and Tristan, and the other Gradys, saw quite a lot of their mother and their younger sister, Diana. It is hard to change one's deeply held opinion about someone close to you. The two siblings had been forced to do just that when the full depth of her deceit and treachery had been revealed. Now, seeing her at the Grady family functions, which were frequent and well-attended, only partially because the older Mr. Grady was a certified barbecue wizard, was more than a little uncomfortable. The memory of what Traci had done to their father did not mesh with the loving mother and friend they saw at the Grady gatherings.

It was Diana who paved the way. Kate and Tristan were both too fair-minded to hold her begetting against her: she'd had no say in the matter. And the term 'half-sister' was outlawed in the Grady family. Diana was their sister, and that was that. As she won her way into their hearts, they couldn't help but credit Traci for the job she was doing as a single mom.

Diana had grown into a reserved, contemplative 7-year-old, quite content with her own company and more at home with adults than other children. But she had excellent manners, especially for her age, and could be irresistibly charming when she chose. She seemed able to sense when someone was having a rough time, child or adult, and had a way of quietly joining them, rarely saying a word, but bringing a sense of peace and comfort.

Traci's eventual realization of the damage she had done to Ryan, and the flimsiness of her attempts to justify it, had changed her. Her self-confidence and self-image were all but shattered. Diana was her life now, and she loved her without reservation. The Gradys welcomed and accepted her as she was, she knew, and it meant the world to her, but she was deathly afraid that someday she might slip and do something that would make them hate her, as she had done with her own children. She also worried about her ability to bring up the special young girl who was her responsibility, and held her heart.

"I'm afraid I'm not doing enough for her, and she's missing out," she told Tristan and Kate. They were at one of the many Grady events, and had found themselves together in a quiet corner of the back yard.

"I don't think she's socializing like she should. I wish she had two parents," she continued as her eyes misted up. "Your father would have known what to do. I mean, look at her."

The girl was sitting quietly by the little pond in the back yard, watching the water.

"I think she's exactly where she wants to be," said Elle, Tristan's mother-in-law, had overheard and joined them. "I just walked by her, and she looked perfectly happy. Bless the girl, I think she was born an old soul. She's not going to be like these two." She motioned to Tristan and Kate. "And for what it's worth, Traci, I think you're doing a great job raising her. Don't you agree, guys?"

Touched by Traci's obvious vulnerability, Kate and Tristan agreed eagerly.

"But Elle, I'm a single mom. I'm not well off. And what will I do when she's older? It took both of us to wrangle these two, and that was a struggle."

"Who says you'll always be alone?"

"But..."

"But nothing. You have courage enough to raise a daughter by yourself, without even asking her bio-dad for support.

"Take that courage in your two hands, Traci, and live your life. For yourself and Diana. I'm not saying you should go out and hit the singles bars or something. You aren't needy; you don't have to have a man. And you have all of us. But when you're ready, you'll know it. Just remember, you have a lot to offer, so don't give it away cheap. We'll be watching. And anyone who abuses you will have us to answer to us."

Tristan gave his mother-in-law a mock salute.

"Don't think she's kidding," he advised his mother.

"But what about Diana? Who would want me with a 7-year-old attached?"

"Once they get to know her, who wouldn't want Diana? At least, if he's worth anything."

"Oh, Mom, she's exactly right," and excited Kate added. "aYou have to live your life, and it's for both yours and Diana's sake. And Elle's right, we'll all be looking out for both of you. We love you, Mom."

Traci gasped. How long had it been since she'd heard those words from Katie? For the first time in years, Katie took her mother in her arms, and Tristan joined in and hugged them both. Traci's tears of happiness fell unchecked.

"Well," thought Elle, smiling to herself, "my work here is done. For now, anyway." She walked happily away, pausing by the little pond to exchange a grin and a wink with Diana. Would Traci find a new man? Who knew? It didn't matter that much, anyway, she thought. The important thing was that she and Diana had the support and love of a family. If you have that, according to Elle Grady, you can accomplish just about anything.