Graham's eyes met Caitlin's over the boy's head.

most," Graham murmured.

The comment made her smile warmly.

Jake eyes were huge.

" Really?

It wasn't fair to tease him like this.

"No, but I am going to make sure that you stay here with your dad," Caitl

promised firmly.

It was a promise she intended to live up to no matter what it took.

Especially now that she had seen the boy, seen t love that shone in his

eyes when he looked up at his fat They belonged together.

And she had the resources at h disposal to insure it.

She knew that Graham wouldn't want her interfering like that, but, if it

became necessary, she would.

What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

Caitlin became aware of another figure in the room, small, silent

figure.

The stately woman wore a long-sleev red blouse and a light blue skirt whose hem seemed to whisper along the floor when she moved. Her blue-black h was completely devoid of silver and she wore it in two thic long braids bound in leather that hung midway down h back.

Graham's mother.

Summoning her courage, Caitlin smiled at her.

woman's eyes washed over her carefully, as if absorbing every detail.

The smile wasn't returned.

Caitlin saw the resemblance instantly.

The high cheekbones.

The regal bearing.

The solemn look.

They were mother and son, all right.

Suddenly nervous again, Caitlin curled her fingers into her palms and

glanced at Graham, waiting.

The next step was his.

Releasing his son, he moved toward his mother and pressed a kiss to her

temple.

"Hello, Ma."

Lily Redhawk's eyes never left Caitlin even as she acknowledged

Graham's greeting. "You have brought company-') He paused for a moment, knowing that this wasn't going to be received well. After her own experience, his mother was staunchly against marrying outside the tribe. 4 4I've brought a little more than that, Ma."

Her soft eyes shifted toward her son's face.

He didn't need to explain.

She understood a great deal of what was in her son's heart without benefit of words.

Moving forward, Lily placed a hand on her grandson's shoulder.

The boy shifted closer to her, closing ranks.

"She's the woman you once loved, isn't she?"

Caitlin felt as if she were a vapor, hovering disembodied in the air as

they talked about her.

Lily's voice was-even, neither welcoming nor judgmental.

Caitlin still felt cold.

Though Gray wasn't the type to vocalize what happened to him, his

mother probably had some idea of what had transpired eleven years ago.

She couldn't think well of her, Caitlin thought.

Not without the facts that had come to light so recently.

Caitlin couldn't blame her.

That still didn't make standing here like this any easier for her. "There was some misunderstanding then," Caitlin began, hoping to explain.

If she was going to convince Gray that this marriage was going to work, she needed this woman as her ally, not someone who would stand in judgment of her and find her lacking.

Lily didn't appear to be interested in anything that Caitlin might have to say in her defense.

"Young people always misunderstand."

She looked at her son, waiting for him to explain the young woman's presence in her home.

A home she shared with her grandson and him.

"Ma, Jake," Graham began, then stopped.

He looked at his mother and then picked Jake up in his arms.

Caitlin stood apart, feeling as if a line had just been dr in the

sand.

They were on one side and she on the other.

appendage.

And a distant one, at that.

Sensing the discomfort she had to be going throug Graham moved closer

to her.

He took her hand in his, s lently giving her his support.

"Caitlin and I were married last night."

Silence met his announcement.

Maybe if she helped ease them all into this, Caitl thought, it would be

less difficult to adjust to.

"It's just temporary arrangement."

She looked from the boy's sen face to Lily's.

"Graham needs to show the court that he can provide a good, two-parent

home for Jake. And my family has some influence."