Here to Stay by Margot Early Page A

baby wasn’t biologically his.
    I can’t lie to him , Sissy thought.
    The white puppy was not interested in exploring, seemed simply to want to stay right beside Sissy. She was probably terrified. Sissy gently stroked the silky head, avoiding the stitches and the one short, floppy silky ear. A man who brought this animal home would not hold it against her that…
    She cringed at the thought of telling him. Now wasn’t the time. When the baby was born, she’d see if it resembled Clark or Elijah, and then…
    But should I wait that long?
    Yes. If the baby was Clark’s, the truth would make Elijah unhappy, and Sissy wouldn’t put the worry into his head until she knew for certain.
    She called toward the kitchen, “How about Belle? It means beautiful.”
    He didn’t respond. Instead, she heard his footsteps,and a moment later he stood in the doorway and she heard the stereo in the next room. He pulled her to her feet, gazing down into her eyes.
    Her heart thudded, and she wondered at the goodness of a God who had given her this man, who was so in love with her, taking her in his arms to dance with her on a shoe-polish-mottled carpet where a deaf and blind puppy sat waiting trustingly.
    She lifted her lips to his, kissing him back, and when that song, their song, ended, he crouched down beside her and the puppy.
    “Belle,” Sissy repeated to the dog. “I wonder if she can hear at all.”
    “If not,” Elijah said, “I think she’ll learn to read everyone’s vibration—you know, the way our footsteps feel.”
    “I suppose that makes sense,” Sissy said. “And of course, she can smell us. But I don’t know how I’m going to teach her anything, especially if she can’t see.”
    “We’ll figure out how,” Elijah said. “She’ll teach us.”
    Sissy gazed at Belle, knowing he was right.
    “Think what an accomplishment it will be,” Elijah pointed out. “You’ll be the Annie Sullivan of dog trainers.”
    Sissy knew he was thinking of Helen Keller’s teacher. Finally she whispered, “If only I could be.”
    Elijah knelt beside her, grabbing her hands. “You can, Sissy. You can do anything.”
    Everything , she thought, but tell you that this baby might not be yours.

CHAPTER SIX

    We are not wolves, and neither are dogs. To roll a dog on his back and growl at him is only an approximation of canine communication. And what it teaches the dog is questionable. The essence of good obedience training is to help dogs want to make the choices you want them to make because it’s best for them.
    — Crossover Language , Elijah Workman, 1988

    March 11, 1970

    “ I THINK HE takes after you,” Elijah said, smiling.
    Sissy drew in a breath, looking at her son cradled against her breast. The child had been born with fair hair, with eyes an indeterminate shape. Sissy had sworn that at this moment, on this day, she would tell Elijah the truth, if this baby was not biologically his.
    How could you tell with a baby?
    The baby had a very distinctive chin, which had Clark Treffinger-Hart written all over it. “I want him to take after you.” And that would never be. In addition to that chin, the baby had other, even more distinctive features of Clark’s. First, a characteristic dip in eachshoulder blade. Second, hair on his shoulders. Clark was blond but very hairy. Sissy remembered once hearing a newborn resembled its father so that he would recognize and protect the child. This was Clark’s child.
    And Elijah was clearly ignorant of that childbirth lore.
    He smiled and kissed her, and she lifted her eyes to his.
    I can’t tell him.
    The truth would only make him unhappy.
    Kennedy and Gerry had been in and out, admiring the baby, congratulating both of them. Sissy had been tempted many times during her pregnancy to bring the question of what to tell Elijah to her sister, but she’d always stopped herself. Either it would be her secret to carry alone, or she would tell Elijah.
    She looked at him, wondering if the