Harrison’s face softened. “She didn’t tell me,” he said quietly “Though from what I’ve heard about her mother from others, I don’t blame her. This might be prying, but has your family met her? Do they like her?”
That got a smile out of him. “Yes, they like her a lot. When she was in the hospital last December, they came with me and visited her.” Just remembering that visit – how he’d introduced them, and how the elder Maples had taken to Katelynn like their own child – warmed him even more than the cocoa.
“Even before she lost her mother,” he said quietly, “Katelynn didn’t really have any family. But my parents already consider her part of ours.”
“Good,” Harrison nodded approvingly. ”She’s a good girl and she deserves to have a family that loves her, not that horrible wretch who only made her feel bad about herself. You’re both lucky on that note,” he added, thinking for a moment of Wayne’s struggles. Lord Scott never even bothered to meet him before writing him and his son off.
Jack watched him quietly for a moment. He hadn’t followed every detail on the news about Wayne Scott being disowned by his family, but he’d heard enough that he knew this topic might hit close to home for Harrison. “You’re right, we are lucky. But my parents are very loving people.” He gave a dry, bitter chuckle. “They had to be, to take in a child like me."
Jack Maple 