Yesterday's Sins by Shirley Wine Page A

you wouldn't see him when he wanted to visit?"  
Again she nodded, glancing at him. "Something like that."  
"I've always wondered," he murmured, shaking his head. "At the time, to me your refusal to see your father and twin was illogical. And you've had to live with this ever since."
She nodded, fresh tears welling in her eyes. "My mother always told me to be careful what I wished for."
"Catriona, there's no way you wished your father dead. How can you think that?" He caught her by the shoulders, his hands warm and steady.
"I may not have wished it, but it happened."
"It happened, but you were not responsible," he said firmly drawing her close again. For long moments she rested against him, drawing comfort from his warmth and strength.
"And Chris?"
"Over there." He indicated another section of neatly laid out headstones. "Do you want to be alone for a while?"
"No." The last thing she wanted was to be here alone. She needed to feel human warmth, to know she wasn't alone among the dead. "I'll come back another day."
"Come." With these quiet words he led her through to a newer section.
Kate saw the simple marble headstone engraved with her twin's name and her composure shattered.
Strong arms held her securely as she wept. His mellifluous murmur of Greek was as comforting as his arms, the cloying scent of gardenias and lilies bittersweet.
"Feeling better?"
The words made her tearful all over again. What was there about this man that made her treasure his moments of gentleness? In the lonely years of her exile she'd hungered for this tenderness.
She pushed the thought away, it was far too painful.
"A little." She mopped her eyes with the white handkerchief he pushed into her hand, yet another familiar gesture. "Thank you."
Clutching tightly to the life line of his hand, she bent and laid the flowers beside the headstone, before turning away.
"You okay?"  
A shiver shook her. "Let's go, please."
His hand gripped hers tightly as they turned away. They'd walked a few yards when Kate stopped. He looked down, his eyebrow raised in a query.
"Give me a moment." She freed her hand and walked back to Chris's grave and took a single white lily from the flowers she'd left, and returned to his side.
"Where is Marcos, Alex?" she asked with a watery smile.
For a moment he stared at her, surprised, then without comment, led her along two rows and stopped beside another marble headstone. Kate knelt and laid the lily at its base.
Marcos Korda aged six years. Forever loved.
And far too young to die.
The anguished thought lodged beneath her heart. She touched the headstone, traced a finger over the carved words.
This child's death had changed so many lives. Try as she might, she could never see her twin or her father as lifeless bodies.
Marcos Korda was different.
For years, she'd been haunted by the waxen-pale effigy of a little boy. She stood up and took the hand Alex held out.
"It's so hard to accept he'll never run or play in the sun again."
Alex nodded his expression grave.
"I still remember Chris and Daddy alive and sparkling with energy."
"That's how they would like to be remembered."
She was surprised by his understanding until she remembered. All Alex's family, with the exception of Luke, were buried here.
And Sarah.
Their daughter was a living presence and constraint between them, a subject too fraught for discussion.
But soon, I will decide what to do about Sarah.
Only not today.
In silence, they walked back towards the gates, holding hands. When they reached the car, a chauffeur emerged holding open the car door. Kate looked around for Emily's car.
"I sent it back," Alex said. "Emily is expecting you to return with me."
Hot protest at his arbitrary action rose, and then, with a resigned shrug, she got into the car. She'd been grateful for his support and she needed to talk to him. He slid into the seat beside her and, after speaking to his driver, closed the privacy window.
"Alex." She gripped her hands tightly in her lap. "I owe you