[ He should have known better than to think that he could have hid what was going on from her. Grace had always been the perceptive sort -- again, just like her mother.

While Jefferson knew he spent far too often thinking about all the things he wished he could change about his past, he hadn't anticipated so much of it so surface at their reunion. He was supposed to be happy, not... afraid. The look of her smile and bright eyes was all it took for those negative feelings to fall away. ]

I promise too. [ He held her small hands in his, squeezing them. ] I won't break it no matter what. [ He dared a smile, a hint of teasing in his voice. ] I'll be around so much that you'll get sick of seeing your father's stupid face all the time.