Deacon’s eyes fell to Gwen as if he had seen a ghost; complete with his complexion turning pale and his eyes freezing upon her face. It was clear that it was the girl he allowed to walk away from him some time ago, but she had changed in minor ways-but nothing more prominent than the baby stroller in front of her. The child that laid bundled up and asleep was unaware of the fact that his birth father had been just a few feet from him, just as Deacon was unaware that he held the paternity of the infant. The silence that rose between him and Gwen had allowed him to gain a full inspection of her as she had done the same to him. The woman who left him over a year ago had been a firecracker; still marked by the wounds caused by her time under his employment-both physically and emotionally-and n
