“Hello?” The woman who answered the phone pronounced the word with a Northern accent, but the undertone was one that could almost be called sultry.

Tommy Lee took a deep breath. If he didn’t know better, he would have called her Miss Charlotte. The only thing missing from her voice was a Southern drawl.

“Is this Kathy Dunstad? Kathryn Bennett Dunstad?”

“Yes it is, but I don’t recognize your voice.”

“I’m sorry. I had to be certain I contacted the right person. My name is Tommy Lee Harris. I’m a private investigator with the law firm of Goodson, Reynolds, Seaton and Clay of Raleigh, North Carolina. We represent the estate of your birth family.”

“Estate?” Kathy asked.

“Yes, estate. Perhaps we could arrange for a meeting this afternoon at my hotel?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Harris, I’m not in the habit of meeting strange men in hotel rooms. You could be anyone.”

“I assure you this is no hoax. I do understand your reluctance to meet with me. Is it possible to arrange to meet this evening for dinner? Of course, you can bring your husband with you.”

When she finally agreed to the meeting, he hung up the phone. He cursed at the way he had handled the call. He’d sounded like a fool. For the first time, he wished he’d never taken this job. Even with his wife and children excited about Kathy, he knew he couldn’t reveal his true identity to her.

“Damn you, Miss Charlotte. Why did you want to find her? Why did you want me to find her?” he asked, aloud.

He received no answers. He knew Miss Charlotte had no idea who’d fathered her granddaughter. If she knew, she would never have agreed to hire him. He hadn’t been good enough to date Connie Montgomery then. He certainly would never be good enough to be Kathy’s father today.

Tommy Lee stared at the phone, wondering what tonight’s meeting would bring. The tension of finding Kathy suddenly became almost too much to take. This whole trip seemed jinxed. Driving to the Raleigh airport yesterday had proven stressful as well. A three-car pile-up just ahead of him delayed his arrival for the flight. Thank heavens the plane had been late in taking off.

The flight itself even turned into a disaster. Turbulence made flying conditions less than desirable. The ‘fasten seat belt’ sign never went off. The woman beside him never shut up and to make matters worse, some baby on board cried through the entire trip.

The announcement of the flight being diverted to O’Hare from Milwaukee due to bad weather came as no surprise. He’d expected to get in around five and be to his hotel by seven or eight at the latest. Instead, they circled at Milwaukee then landed at Detroit to await permission to land in Chicago.

O’Hare was a zoo. Airline personnel apologized for the delay and offered disgruntled passengers hotel accommodations for the night plus flights to Milwaukee in the morning, once the weather cleared.

Tommy Lee didn’t wait. He declined the voucher for the hotel. Once he claimed his luggage, he made his way to the car rental desk. The girl he handed his confirmation to, looked at him like he’d just landed from Mars rather than Raleigh.

“This reservation is for Milwaukee, Mr. Harris,” she observed. “You’re in Chicago.”

“I know damn good and well where I am. I want a car tonight. I’ll be dropping it in Milwaukee on Sunday.”

“I don’t know if we can accommodate you,” she continued, her voice sounding more like a whiny child than a professional woman.

“Look lady, this has been one hell of a day. I’ve been on the road since ten this morning. If you can’t accommodate me, I’m certain your competitors will.”

“Is there a problem here, Janice?” an older man wearing a blazer identical to the one the girl wore asked.

“I’ll say there’s a problem,” Tommy Lee retorted without giving the girl a chance to answer. “I’ve been delayed by an accident, diverted from Milwaukee due to weather and now I’m told you can’t accommodate me.”

“I’ll take over,” the man said, giving the girl an opportunity to get out of a bad situation. “Let’s see, you have a four door compact rented in Milwaukee for tonight. I don’t have the type of vehicle you want available, but I can upgrade you to a four door midsize at no extra charge. Due to the circumstances, I’ll make a notation in your record to waive the drop charge.”

Tommy Lee thanked the man. After picking up the car, he turned north on I90 and headed for Janesville. The clear sky, with its canopy of stars, made him wonder why the airlines diverted in the first place.

The further North he drove, the more cloud cover he encountered. By the time he reached the Rockford exit he had to turn on his wipers. After crossing the state line he hit freezing rain. Within two miles, he slowed to a crawl as a jack-knifed semi closed one lane and sprawled across the median.

When at last he reached the hotel, his watch read three-fifteen, two-fifteen local time. Despite his aversion to hotel beds, he slept soundly until his boss, R J Goodson, called at nine.

He shook his head to rid himself of the memory of yesterday. Today, he would meet his daughter.

He allowed his thoughts to drift to the day he learned Miss Charlotte’s granddaughter and his daughter were one and the same. Miss Charlotte had allowed him access to her attic, access to the diaries, which would confirm the story she wrote in the book The Masters Of Donegal. He needed confirmation of the facts, she explained, to enlighten her granddaughter about the fortune that now belonged to her.

Amid the trunks and boxes, he found a small, unopened box. The return address was the home for unwed mothers in Pittsburgh, where Blake Montgomery sent his daughter to give birth to his unwanted grandchild.

In the box, he found Connie’s diary. He spent the evening reading the entries made in her delicate handwriting. As he did, he remembered making love to her in the backseat of his father’s Chevy. He also remembered his anger when she asked him to use a condom the next time. They never enjoyed a next time. The bragging of his friends assured him another suitor easily took his place. In reality, the diary told another story. Connie made love only once and once had been enough to allow a new life to begin.

Other than his immediate family, though, no one knew of his true relationship to Miss Charlotte’s granddaughter.

He eyed the phone, knowing he should call RJ. Instead, he got up from the table and prepared to go down to the coffee shop. He could have ordered room service but he needed to get away for a while. For now, RJ could wait.

* * *

Kathy Dunstad hung up the phone and sat in a state of shock for a few seconds.

“Is something wrong, Mommy?” Brittany and Alison, Kathy’s ten-year-old twins, asked in unison.

She looked up into their angelic faces. How could she pretend nothing was wrong after receiving the phone call from Tommy Lee Harris?

“Mommy just needs to be alone for a while. Why don’t you girls go upstairs and play quietly?”

The girls looked at her skeptically, then hurried up to their room. Once again alone, she looked down at the notepad in her lap. The way she took notes had started in college, with a course on getting the most out of conversations. The key words she’d written down were, Harris, Birth Family, Estate, Raleigh, Goodson, Reynolds, Seaton And Clay.

Before calling her husband, Steve, she placed a call to the Raleigh information operator. Receiving the number for the law firm, it took only moments for the call to go through.

“Goodson, Reynolds, Seaton and Clay. Good morning,” the receptionist answered, her voice sounding with a soft drawl.

Kathy hesitated for a moment, uncertain as to what to say. “Ah—may I please speak to the senior partner?”

“May I ask who is calling?”

“Kathy Dunstad,” she said. Why did I give my name? How could a secretary in Raleigh possibly know who Kathy Dunstad could be?

“Of course, Mrs. Dunstad. I’ll put you through to Mr. Goodson. He’s expecting your call.”

The girl’s words shocked Kathy. Given no time to dwell on her surprise, a click indicated the transfer of her call.

“Good morning, Mrs. Dunstad. R. J. Goodson here. I’m certain you are calling about our Mr. Harris.”

“How—how do you know why I called?” Kathy asked.

“I spoke with Tommy Lee less than an hour ago. I can only assume he has contacted you.”

“What kind of a game is this? Just who is Tommy Lee Harris? For that matter, who is this birth family he says he represents?”

“This is no game, Mrs. Dunstad. As for Tommy Lee, he is the head of this firm’s investigative department. Believe me, you will understand everything in due time. I’m not at liberty to say anything until you meet with Tommy Lee.”

“That’s not enough, Mr. Goodson. I want answers now.”

“I’m sorry, but you will have your answers soon enough. I’m certain we’ll be in touch again soon.”

Kathy hung up the phone, more confused than before. She knew she needed to call Steve. She needed to talk to him, to have him help her sort out the events of the morning. But, she didn’t even know where to start, how to tell her husband what just happened.

“Let me see what I can find out from this Mr. Harris and then I’ll be right home,” Steve assured her, when she finally called him. “In the meantime, call my mom and see if she and Dad can take the girls for the weekend. The way this sounds, you may have some decisions to make. It’s best if you don’t have to contend with the girls, as well as this Harris character.”

* * *

Tommy Lee returned from the coffee shop. As he opened the door, the phone began to ring. Damn, I suppose its RJ again.

“Hello,” he said, a bit brusquely.

“Is this Mr. Harris?” an unfamiliar voice asked.

“Yes, this is Tommy Lee Harris.”

“This is Steve Dunstad. Kathy is my wife. Just what in the hell are you up to?”

“Believe me, Mr. Dunstad, this is completely on the up and up. I do represent the estate of her birth family. It’s nothing I feel comfortable about going into over the phone. As a matter of fact, one evening over dinner will only scratch the surface of the information I have for your wife.”

“Can it possibly be so complex?” Steve asked.

“It can and it is. Does she want to find her birth family?” Tommy Lee didn’t know if he wanted to hear the answer. If Kathy rejected Miss Charlotte’s fortune, would she reject him as well?

“She looked for almost twenty years. The dead ends devastated her. When her parents died, I finally persuaded her to give it up, to end the frustrations. I don’t want to see her hurt again.”

Tommy Lee breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. I plan to stay here until everything is settled. Perhaps you and Kathy should consider doing likewise.”

“I think you’re right,” Steve agreed. “I can only hope this isn’t another blind alley.”

“It’s no blind alley. I’ve made reservations at the Hoffman House for tonight. I’ll meet you in the hotel lobby. I’ll be carrying a yellow rose for your wife.”

“Funny you should think of a yellow rose. Yellow roses are Kathy’s favorites.”

Tommy Lee smiled to himself. He hadn’t just thought of a yellow rose. He’d found a pressed one among Connie’s belongings. He knew it was the one he’d given her on the night he took her virginity, the night of Kathy’s conception.

When they finished their conversation, Tommy Lee leaned back in the chair, pleased with the information he’d gleaned from Kathy’s husband.

The phone rang again and Tommy Lee absently answered it. “What the hell is going on up there?” RJ asked.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve been trying to call you for the past hour. First you weren’t in and then your line was busy. I’ve talked to our heiress. She thinks you’re a con man of some kind. What in God’s name did you tell her?”

“Calm down RJ, I’m meeting with her and her husband tonight. I just got off the phone from talking to the husband. By Monday, I’ll know if she’s ready to come back to Raleigh, to accept what is hers. Until then, I’ll thank you not to keep calling here. I don’t plan to be spending much time in this room over the next few days. Miss Charlotte’s estate is paying me to do a job, so why don’t you just let me do it?”

Without waiting for an answer he hung up the phone. Just talking to RJ tended to annoy him.

The old man and Blake Montgomery were childhood friends. Unfortunately, RJ used their friendship, milked it for all it was worth. Even after Blake died, he’d continued to overcharge Miss Charlotte. Thank goodness RJ didn’t have any say in how Tommy Lee charged Miss Charlotte for finding Kathy Dunstad. He’d made his own arrangements with her.

* * *

Tommy Lee sat in the lobby of the Ramada Inn. Earlier, he’d checked at the front desk and been pleasantly surprised to find the Dunstad’s reservations for the weekend. In accordance with Miss Charlotte’s instructions, he added the cost of their room and related expenses to his own account.

“I want my granddaughter to incur no further expenses in her quest to find her family,” he could hear Miss Charlotte say.

“How do you know she’s even looked for you?” he asked.

“I just know. If she’s anything like her mother, she has looked for us. I can only pray she hasn’t paid too high a price.”

Tommy Lee concentrated on Steve Dunstad’s words—devastated, frustration. He mentioned the emotional price if not the financial. How much had they invested in their search for her roots? Could any amount of money compensate for being given away at birth?

From the corner of his eye, he saw them come down the stairs. He’d been afraid he wouldn’t recognize her, would have been confronted with a stranger. Instead, he saw a younger Miss Charlotte, an older Connie. Unruly red curls framed her face and she carried herself with the same self-confidence he always admired in her mother and grandmother.

He’d anticipated this meeting. Now that it was about to happen he wanted to turn and run. Kathy was his daughter, his oldest daughter, and yet he didn’t dare tell her. It wouldn’t be fair to burden her with the knowledge that her father would be sitting across the table from her when she had so much to come to grips with on her mother’s side. He would have to be careful not to open his heart as well as his arms to her too soon.

Am I being fair to me? I want to know everything about this lovely woman and I don’t dare say a word. Once I found out the truth, why didn’t I tell Miss Charlotte I couldn’t work on this case?

You didn’t tell her, because you were too deeply involved to back away. Take a deep breath and be professional. The time will come when you can get this out in the open. For now, concentrate on the job you were hired to do.

“Mr. Harris.” He got to his feet at the sound of Kathy’s voice. “I’m Kathy Dunstad and this is my husband, Steve.”

“I certainly wouldn’t have needed any introductions,” Tommy Lee said, taking Kathy’s hands in his. “You resemble both your mother and grandmother very closely.”

“You knew her—my mother?” Kathy asked, her green eyes wide with surprise.

“I knew her very well. We grew up in the same town and went to the same high school.”

Watch yourself. Whatever you do, don’t let her guess who you are. Let her find the Montgomery’s and the O’Donnell’s, with all their faults and dirty laundry, first.

He watched Kathy’s reaction as she touched her wayward curls. “Do I look like her? I’ve always wondered…” her words trailed off as Tom took her hand in his.

“She could never disown you. You are indeed her daughter. I only wish Miss Charlotte could have lived to see this.”

Kathy’s cheeks reddened as she withdrew her hand. “It looks like the bar is already full,” she said, abruptly changing the subject.

Tommy Lee smiled at her hesitancy. “The desk clerk told me it might be, so I made reservations for six-fifteen. We can have drinks at the table. I also thought the privacy of a booth would be preferable to the clamor of a noisy bar.”

Steve and Kathy agreed, as they followed Tommy Lee into the dining room. Once they were seated and their drink order taken, Tommy Lee began to relate the story he hoped Kathy longed to hear.

“To begin with, please call me Tommy Lee. I’d like to call you Kathy and Steve, if I may.”

Kathy smiled. She still seemed a bit nervous, but she looked as though she’d started to relax just a bit. “I think it would be a good idea. I’m certain we will be seeing a lot of each other in the next couple of days.”

Tommy Lee looked at her intently. He knew she wondered just what he would be telling her.

He ordered a bourbon and water and sipped at it slowly before he began to speak. “This is such a complicated story, I hardly know where to begin. Miss Charlotte wanted me to tell you everything. She tutored me well, taught me more than I ever wanted to know, but she never told me how difficult this would be. Your family is a prominent one, but not a squeaky clean one. There are a lot of skeletons in those dark closets.”

He paused, and took another long drink before he continued. “Your Grandmother, Miss Charlotte, appeared at our office about a year and a half ago. Her visit came as no surprise, as the Montgomery family had been clients for years. When she said she wanted to find her granddaughter, no one could believe it. I mean, Connie left Raleigh such a long time ago, many people didn’t even remember her. Her visit began a year and a half of the most difficult job I’ve ever tackled, but of course I’m ahead of myself.”

“You mean no one in Raleigh even knew this Connie gave birth to a child?” Steve asked. “How could you hide something like that?”

“It could be done quite easily, especially with the Montgomery money, but as I said before, I’m ahead of myself. Before you hear about Connie, I think you should hear about her background. It answers so many questions.”

Again they were interrupted as the waitress took their order and told them to help themselves to the salad bar.

Tommy Lee continued speaking between bites of food. “Miss Charlotte O’Donnell came from Virginia. Her family owned Donegal, one of the most prosperous plantations in the area.”

“Donegal? Isn’t it some kind of a fancy resort?” Kathy asked.

“Yes, but I’ll get to what it has become later. As I said, she’d been born and raised on Donegal, along with her twin brother, Charles. Charlie should have been the heir and Charlotte wanted a career in journalism. Her father, Morgan, loved her dearly and indulged her every whim. He sent her to Vassar for her studies.

“While she attended college she went to Raleigh for the weekend, with her roommate, Rosemary Montgomery. During her visit, she met Rosemary’s older brother, Blake. Love seemed to be inevitable. Immediately after graduation, they were married. It has been called one of the most lavish weddings Virginia has ever seen. After an extended honeymoon in California, they returned to Raleigh. Blake bought her a small house and within months she found herself pregnant.”

“With my mother?” Kathy questioned.

“Yes. She was carrying Connie and had just announced the joyous news when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. As she put it, it seemed like the bomb dropped on Raleigh. Blake enlisted, as did Charlie. Before Blake left, he insisted they sell the house and move in with his parents.” Again he paused observing the effect of his words on Kathy.

“By the time Connie was born, in late July, Blake was already in Europe with the army. Charlie joined the Navy and was stationed somewhere in the South Pacific, and Rosemary left Medical School and began working as a nurse in Honolulu. Only Charlotte stayed behind to hold together both families, and she found herself hard put to do so.

“Connie was hardly six months old when they received word Charlie had died when the Japanese bombed his ship. Before Miss Charlotte could make arrangements to get to Donegal her father suffered a heart attack. He died just hours after she arrived, without ever regaining consciousness.”

“What a terrible blow,” Steve commented, when Tommy Lee paused for a breath. “I couldn’t imagine losing my brother and my father so close together.”

“I can only imagine the loss devastated her,” Tommy Lee continued. “While Miss Charlotte worked on Donegal to set everything straight, Blake’s parents, Arthur and Beatrice, took over Connie’s care. Miss Charlotte said she worked around the clock to get everything accomplished. Finding a manager proved to be the hardest part. With the war, most of the young men were gone. To her relief, she found Roger Kalas still on Donegal. They’d grown up together, she, Charlie, and Roger. Roger was the son of Donegal’s head field man. Having been born with a paralyzed right arm, he was exempt from military service. With his help, she kept the estate producing, using old men and boys as field hands.

“When Beatrice became too ill to care for Connie, Miss Charlotte was forced to return to Raleigh. The child she returned to could no longer be called a baby. Connie had become a beautiful, active, two year old and to her, Miss Charlotte was a stranger. Beatrice and Arthur were her mother and father. The estrangement became even more evident when Blake returned home two years later. No one went untouched. His promotions came quickly and he led a platoon that marched into one of the death camps. What he saw there made him question his own lifestyle. As much as he wanted to go home, he volunteered to stay in Europe for another year.”

“With a wife and child, why would he do such a thing?” Kathy asked.

“Miss Charlotte said it was something to do with the fact he was carrying on a family tradition. The Montgomery family had been leaders in every war since the Civil War and Blake felt pressured to do the same. Returning home was a culture shock. He went from the poverty-stricken cities of Germany, from the starving Jews of the death camps, to the wealth of the Montgomery family. His wife owned Donegal outright, and a black man served as its manager. His mother, father-in-law, and brother-in-law were gone. His sister had married and now lived in Honolulu, while continuing her medical studies. His father’s health was failing, and his daughter was a spoiled, pampered child.

“He blamed Miss Charlotte for most of the changes. He reasoned she had no business leaving Donegal in the hands of a ‘Nigger’, as he put it, and the year and a half she spent on Donegal stole his parents’ health. They were too old to shoulder the burden of raising a child and Miss Charlotte had no business leaving them with a baby. As far as Connie was concerned, he couldn’t accept this stranger who represented his daughter. Every time she did something he didn’t approve of, he punished her severely and each punishment broadened the gap between them.”

Kathy shook her head in disbelief. It was evident she was puzzled over the lack of compassion Blake Montgomery harbored for his own family. To be truthful, the same thing had bothered Tommy Lee ever since he uncovered the truth about Connie’s father.

“Within two years of Blake’s return, Arthur died and the ownership of Montgomery Industries fell to him. Ownership meant more work and Blake loved it.”

“Montgomery Industries?” Steve questioned. “Aren’t they the parent company of Chemtron?”

Tommy Lee smiled. “I hoped you would be familiar with the company. Your background in chemical engineering should make the acceptance of Kathy’s fortune easier. Chemtron, Montgomery Textiles, and Donegal are all listed under the Montgomery Industries assets.”

“Just what do you know about my background?” Steve asked.

“I know you received an offer of a position there just after you got your job here.”

“Yes, I did and I found it hard turning it down. I’d already committed myself and I didn’t think it would be fair to the people who hired me first. I’ve often wondered what life would have been like if I’d taken the job and moved to Raleigh.”

Tommy Lee watched as Kathy turned her attention to her husband. “If you had, maybe I would have found my family sooner, but everything happens for a purpose. Your job here has been good for us.” A tear slid from the corner of her eye and Tommy Lee ached to comfort her.

“Why do we have to have wars?” she asked, after wiping away her tears. “I wonder how different things would have been if my Grandfather never served, never saw the horrors of the camps.”

“Perhaps we should table this discussion until tomorrow and enjoy our dinner,” Tommy Lee suggested.

Kathy sat quietly for a moment as the waitress put their entrees in front of them. “No,” she said, “I’ve searched for my family, wondered about them, for too many years to stop here. I’m certain we have only scratched the surface.”

Tommy Lee cut into his prime rib and savored its flavor before he continued. “Connie was, indeed, a spoiled child. All her life, she enjoyed being the center of attention and with the birth of her brother, Jeff, in 1948, she lost the attention. No matter what she did, she could never equal Jeff. In school, her grades were A’s and B’s, but when Jeff started school, his were straight A’s. When she received a small part in the high school musical in her freshman year, Blake wouldn’t attend. He even called it foolish. When he caught her smoking at age fourteen, he allowed her no spending money for a year.”

“You knew her well, didn’t you?” Kathy asked.

“Yes,” Tommy Lee said, a bit sadly. “I knew her very well, but our friendship wasn’t appreciated in the Montgomery home. My Dad worked on the line of Montgomery Textiles, so I could hardly be considered fit company for Miss Connie Montgomery

“Outside the Montgomery home, Connie was well loved. She became a friend to everyone in school and when she went North to spend the summer with her Aunt Rosemary, we were all shocked.

“She would have turned seventeen the month after she left. Of course we didn’t know about her pregnancy. She was four months pregnant and Rosemary, now a doctor in Boston, arranged for her to spend the next five months in a home for unwed mothers in Cleveland.

“You were born right on schedule and as Blake planned, you were flown to a hospital in St. Louis where the adoption would be handled through a Minneapolis agency. He planned it all so you could never trace your origin to the Montgomery family and stand in contention to inherit their money.”

“How could he have been so cruel?” Kathy asked, her voice quivering. “She was his daughter, his own flesh and blood.”

“You must remember, in 1959 a girl from a prominent family being pregnant before her seventeenth birthday without a husband would have been a terrible disgrace. Blake thought he did the best thing for all of them.”

“And my Father?” Kathy asked. “Whatever happened to him?”

Tommy Lee swallowed hard. He knew he couldn’t tell Kathy the truth. Not just now. He would have to continue, as though he didn’t know about the man who fathered her, until he thought the timing was right. “Miss Charlotte told me she begged Connie to tell her the name of her baby’s father, but she refused. Connie was so afraid of her father. She also worried about what he would do to the boy in retaliation. Miss Charlotte thought that was why she never named him.”

“That makes sense to me,” Kathy commented. “I guess I would have worried about the same thing. I’m glad there is no Blake Montgomery left for me to contend with.”

Tommy Lee nodded his agreement before continuing his story. “They received word when you were born, and when you were transferred from Cleveland to St. Louis by plane. Once you were safely on your way to your new family there seemed no need for further contact. Everything was handled in St. Louis and all of the records were sealed. They had no idea where you were or who adopted you.

“Blake arranged for Connie to stay on at the home for six weeks after you were born to regain her strength and then she would transfer to a boarding school near Indianapolis. She’d met another girl who was in the same situation and they decided boarding school would be preferable to returning home and facing their families.”

“I wouldn’t want to face him at my age,” Steve said. “I can only imagine how a teenager would have felt. Did Miss Charlotte feel the same way as her husband?”

“The thought of Connie not coming home devastated Miss Charlotte and elated Blake. He had no idea how he would cope with Connie’s return or what he would tell people about her absence. As for Miss Charlotte, she never got over not seeing her daughter again.”

“She had a brother,” Kathy interjected. “Didn’t he question why his sister didn’t come home?”

“As far as Jeff was concerned, well, he was only eleven, what do eleven year olds know? He thought his sister went to visit their aunt and then decided to go on to boarding school, no questions asked. Young boys, especially when they’re the son of Blake Montgomery, don’t ask questions.”

“This seems almost too outrageous to be true,” Steve said. “If Kathy hadn’t checked on you, I would be inclined to disregard most of what you just told us.”

“I can understand your concern,” Tommy Lee replied, “but please withhold judgment until you have heard the entire story.” He paused for a moment and then continued.

“A week after you were born, Blake and Miss Charlotte received word that Connie had died. It came very suddenly, very unexpectedly. One minute she enjoyed good health and the next she suffered a massive stroke. She lived only a few hours. Blake suspected suicide and ordered an autopsy. The results only confirmed the findings of the doctors in Cleveland.

“The entire community was shocked. Miss Charlotte became heartsick. Blake only seemed to be relieved. I think every kid in the high school went to the funeral. The girl in the casket certainly wasn’t the Connie we knew. She looked so thin, so pale, and we’d never seen her look so terrible. Even with her red hair and fair skin she’d enjoyed the outside and always sported a healthy tan and a million freckles. Even her freckles looked faded and she looked almost, I guess the word I would use now would be ‘gaunt’. As I look back on it, I wonder how she could have ever given birth recently and been so drawn.”

“They told me I weighed less than six pounds. It’s hard to believe I was a full term baby. The pregnancy must have been very draining on her.”

“The people at the home let me see her records. From them, it became evident they had trouble getting her to eat and she spent most of her time in tears. The charts indicated she didn’t want to give up her baby, but she had no choice.

“With the funeral, Connie began to fade from the memory of the good people of Raleigh. Like so many others who died young, she was quickly forgotten. She was a rebellious girl, whose father sent her away and perhaps she was better off in the grave. Of course, none of us knew she had given birth to the only heir to survive Blake and Miss Charlotte.”

The waitress arrived with the dessert tray and while Kathy chose a cheesecake, Tommy Lee and Steve ordered brandy.

“Jeff is dead, isn’t he?” Steve asked, once the woman left.

“I’m afraid he is. Of course, none of this could have been predicted in 1959,” Tommy Lee added.

“In 1966, Jeff graduated from high school and against his father’s wishes, enlisted in the Army. He hoped to be sent to Viet Nam, but instead, he found himself stationed in Germany. Blake and Miss Charlotte were elated and took an elaborate vacation to Europe to see his base. They even visited Ireland and retraced the steps of Miss Charlotte’s Great-Great-Great Grandfather, Aaron, from the family Manor to Donegal, Ireland where he took passage to America in 1803.

“When Jeff returned from Germany, he enrolled at the University of Virginia and received a degree in Business Management. Upon graduation, he made it clear he didn’t want to work with his father at Montgomery Industries. He wanted to take on Donegal. He’d spent many summer vacations with Roger Kalas, working the land and formulating a plan for the future of the plantation.”

“Is that when they turned it into a resort?” Steve asked

“You’re getting ahead of me, but that’s exactly what happened. Donegal’s transformation to a resort came as a shock to everyone. Its theme would be the slave era and the black community became outraged. Only Roger Kalas and his son, Edmund, seemed to approve and their influence won over many other prominent black men in the community. By the time they opened in 1976, excitement began to run high.

“Jeff knew the project would be controversial, but he wanted Donegal to teach the world what life was like before the Civil War abolished slavery. It’s almost a theme park, like the ones in Europe—the ones where they show you how people lived hundreds of years ago. Many of the black people they employed had been struggling in low paying jobs. Some hadn’t worked for months. He gave them high paying positions and great prestige. Even Blake admitted Jeff had outdone himself.

“After Donegal’s rejuvenation, Jeff married Laura Winthrop and they became the Master and Mistress of the plantation. Unfortunately, the marriage lasted only two years and there were no children.

“When Blake died, in 1980, Jeff returned to Raleigh just long enough to find a good manager for Montgomery Industries and install Miss Charlotte as President of the company. She took on the challenge with a vengeance. Although she didn’t actually go to work every morning, you can bet she knew everything going on there. During the first five years after Blake’s death, she researched and wrote a book called, The Masters Of Donegal, for the resort’s tenth

anniversary. She compiled it from diaries, journals, family stories, and a bit of her own imagination. In addition to the book and Montgomery Industries, she became involved in many philanthropic projects.

“Just after the first of last year Jeff paid his mother a surprise visit. The news he came to tell her would spearhead this investigation. He told her he had contracted AIDS. For the first time in over thirty years, Miss Charlotte spoke with him openly about Connie and the daughter she gave up for adoption. She told him how she’d longed to find you, but Blake was so opposed to it. He’d convinced her it would be unfair to their son.

“Surprisingly, Jeff became intrigued with finding you. We met numerous times and each time he wanted to know everything I could tell him about Connie. To him, she was a faded memory and I became the one to tell him about her. I can still see the admiration in his eyes when I told him how respected, how envied she was. She possessed the rare talent of walking into a room of strangers and leaving with a room of friends. Her grades were high, her potential unlimited, her early death tragic.

“During one of our last visits, just before his death in April, he predicted what I would find when I found you. He said he knew you would be so much like Connie it would be uncanny. He wanted you to know he loved you and wanted you to come to love Donegal, as he did.

“We finally confirmed you to be Connie’s daughter six weeks ago. With the confirmation, I hurried to tell Miss Charlotte. We were playing a game against time. Ever since Jeff’s death, her health continued to fail. Her nurse let me into her room and when I told her who you were she became radiant. ‘I can die happy,’ she told me. ‘Donegal and Montgomery Industries will remain in the hands of their rightful heir. Just tell her I have always loved her and I am sorry I will never see her, but perhaps it is my punishment for not seeking her out sooner.’ The next morning her nurse found her dead. They say she died in her sleep with a smile on her lips.”

Kathy wiped her eyes with her napkin. “They did love me. For everything there is a reason. By giving me away, they gave me a good life, a beautiful childhood. Perhaps it is best I never met them.”

“Miss Charlotte wanted you to know everything about your background. She left me with several documents and letters she wanted you to read before you accept your inheritance. She wanted you to start with The Masters Of Donegal. I have your copy in my room.”

Steve inhaled deeply and held Kathy’s hand. “I think I can speak for both of us. You’ve piqued our interest. We will be spending the weekend here at the hotel. I think we should spend it as we intended. Finding Kathy’s family.”