Her Guardians Lost (Her Guardians Trilogy #2)

by Jaimie Roberts

  I looked down at Caroline’s sad little face. “Caroline, I won’t lie to you and say she isn’t sad, but I do think things will get better. Things have changed quite a bit and I think it will take time to adjust. Your mum just needs a little bit of time.”

  “She misses Daddy. I miss Daddy.” She hung her head and my heart immediately broke for her.

  Spying a bench in the distance, I threw the last bit of bread. “Why don’t we go and sit down for a little while? There’s a bench over there, not too far from your mum. How about we sit down and chat?”

  Taking my hand, she nodded as a single tear fell down her face. I hated seeing adults cry, but it was even worse seeing a child cry. If she had a cut, I could treat it and put a plaster on it. However, the sort of hurt she had was emotional. I wished I could kiss it better, but I knew it would never be as simple as that.

  We walked over to the bench and sat down. Caroline was still clutching my hand, and I wasn’t about to let go if she didn’t want me to.

  “I’m sure your daddy misses you, too.”

  Shuffling in her seat, she squeezed my hand. “Why can’t I see him? They won’t let me see him. They won’t let him see mummy.”

  Oh, boy! This was a perfectly adequate question from a little girl whose father had been taken away. She must be confused as hell right now. No one is probably giving her answers—answers she could understand anyway.

  “He needs time away so he can answer some questions. He’s helping the police with something important.”

  Sighing, she looked down at the ground and shuffled the gravel beneath her feet. “He did a bad thing to save my mum.”

  My eyes widened, realizing she knew more than she was letting on. This little girl was only eight-years-old, but it was obvious nothing got past her.

  When I didn’t answer, she looked up at me. “I’ve heard my mother talking when she thought I couldn’t hear her. Daddy took mummy when she was little. But he’s not a bad man, I swear.”

  I saw the panic in her eyes and laid my hand on her shoulder. “I know he isn’t, Caroline. He’s trying to be a better man. He is trying to make things right.”

  Feeling her head tilt up, I looked down at her. “When he makes things right, will he be able to come home?”

  Sighing, I thought I should probably be honest. Who knew how this was going to turn out. At the end of the day, he abducted a little girl, but I didn’t know whether the current circumstances would change things.

  “I’m really not sure, Caroline. All I know for sure is, no matter how long you are both apart, he will always love his special pumpkin.” I flicked her nose as her eyes widened.

  “That’s what he calls me.”

  Shit. I didn’t think before I spoke. For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

  Pulling away from me, she cupped my face and looked deep into my eyes. “Are you superwoman?”

  Her question shocked the hell out of me. “What do you mean?”

  “You have superpowers. I can tell. I can feel it all around you. You make me feel nice.”

  I was absolutely speechless. How do I answer something like that? I was so consumed by her presence and her willingness to see into me that I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I wasn’t even aware Simon and Molly were right behind us until Molly spoke. “Caroline, what are you doing to the poor girl?”

  “I always told you I had a guardian angel, didn’t I, Mummy?”

  For a moment, I thought my heart had stopped beating. Suddenly, all the oxygen had disappeared as the shock and adrenaline pumped through my body.

  Looking over at Simon, my eyes locked onto his. The expression on his face was one of amazement as he stared at his beautiful, intelligent, and perceptive niece.

  “Yes, you did, Caroline. Now, come on. We need to get going home. It’s getting cold.”

  Caroline didn’t move, though. Instead, she threw her arms around me and held on as tight as she possibly could. “I’m not going now that I’ve found her. I want to stay with angel Cassie. She’s missing someone she loves, too.”

  Oh, my god! If I thought this couldn’t get any weirder, I was wrong. I wasn’t the one with the superpowers. This wonderful little girl was. She’d only met me minutes ago, yet she knew more about me than most people.

  “Angel Cassie is hurting and needs someone to give her a cuddle.”

  All I could do was sit there, wondering how on earth she could possibly know.

  Everyone was still as I held this wonderful child in my arms. I could see Simon’s and Molly’s faces. They both looked as utterly bewildered as I did.

  After a few moments, I managed to compose myself a little. Stroking her silky hair away from her face, I kissed her forehead. “Thank you, Caroline.”

  Her head tilted once again and the sad face was suddenly gone. Now her face radiated happiness. “Everybody needs a hug sometimes, right?”

  Chuckling, I laid my hand on her head. “They sure do.”

  “Did mine make you feel better?”

  Laughing again, I stroked her head. “It sure did. More than you could possibly know.”

  “Come along, Caroline. Cassie looks completely and utterly shell-shocked,” Molly laughed.

  “Okay, Mummy, but can Cassie come with us to get some ice cream? Please, Mummy?”

  Smiling, Molly shook her head. “Only if Cassie has time.” She looked over at me and I suddenly had all sets of eyes bearing down upon me…the most piercing being Caroline’s. She was twitching slightly in anticipation of my answer.

  “I always have time for ice cream.”

  “Yay!” Caroline shouted as she ran to her mum.

  Still completely dumbfounded, I walked towards Simon. “Angel, huh?” he said in an amused tone.

  I snorted. “Yeah.”

  We walked behind Molly and Caroline, who was now skipping with joy. Simon suddenly stopped and turned to me. His expression said it all. The wheels in his brain were working.

  “You can’t be…?” He paused a moment, then shook his head. “Nah,” he said, then carried on walking.

  The panic that had risen again suddenly subsided. I had a feeling he wanted to ask me that question, but I knew I wasn’t prepared to answer it. It was okay that an innocent child thought of me as her guardian angel. Children were naturally more perceptive and sometimes wiser than adults. They can sense things that adults couldn’t. However, children’s imaginations tend to run wild, so I was hoping that was all they saw in Caroline. Whatever it was, I could smile in the knowledge that Caroline was a different girl from the one we saw when we first arrived.

  I thought it best to change the subject because my head was swimming with it all at the moment. “How are things between the two of you now?”

  Placing his hands in his pockets, he smiled as he watched his sister and his niece walking together. “We’re still a long way off, but at least it looks like she’s forgiven me. She was so distraught when she heard Mum was in the hospital because she thought about what she had been missing all these years. She said she would hate to know something happened to one of us before letting us know she still loved and cared for us. Which reminds me, I have something to tell you, but now isn’t the right time. We’ll talk later.”

  I nodded just in time to hear Caroline’s sweet voice, “Cassie! Cassie, what ice cream do you want? I want vanilla. I love vanilla.” Grabbing my hand, she pulled me into the shop.

  “I think I’ll have the same as you,” I said, laughing.

  We ordered, and I was about to pull some money out of my purse when Simon stopped me. “I’ll get these.”

  I knew there was no arguing. I took the ice cream and thanked him as we sat down. Caroline’s face was animated as she licked the ice cream and stared out at the lake.

  “I don’t know what you’ve done to my daughter, but she’s the happiest I’ve seen her in a long time. I can’t remember the last time she skipped.” Molly laughed a little. I didn’t quite know what to say to that. I had an inkl
ing as to why she had changed, but it wasn’t something I was going to explain.

  “You have a wonderful daughter, Molly. I bet you’re extremely proud of her.”

  Smiling, she lovingly looked across at her daughter. “I am very proud of her.” She stroked her head and Caroline tried her best to wink at her mum. It kind of looked like a blink rather than a wink, causing us all to giggle.

  The conversation soon turned to school and Christmas. Caroline was excited about the coming holiday season and wondered what Father Christmas might bring. I was hoping she wouldn’t turn sad and start talking about her father, but she didn’t. I think she just wanted to feel happiness for once, and I could completely understand how that felt.

  Once we had all eaten our ice cream, we decided to go to the hospital to visit Mama Caroline. Little Caroline was feeling lighter than air about the prospect of seeing her grandmother again. She had only seen her briefly once, and she said she like her a lot.

  The hospital seemed busier than first thing this morning, so I decided to get a coffee down in the canteen. Simon came with me, giving Caroline and Molly the space they needed to talk with his mum. I knew he wanted to talk with me about something anyway, so I thought now was as good a time as any.

  “So,” I started, as we sat down at a table with our coffee, “what did you want to talk to me about?”

  At first, Simon looked confused, then the spark of remembrance glazed over him. “Ah, yes. It’s about that little girl we found at the site in North Devon. I got confirmation this morning that it was Lisa Bellmont. I was going to ring and tell you this morning, but I got a call from the centre before I could.”

  Feeling my heart ache, I hung my head in dismay. I knew it was coming, but I still wasn’t prepared for it. To me, this girl held a special place in my heart. I had felt the pain she was in as she looked up into the eyes of a very young Justin Merryfield, pleading with him to help her.

  “Okay. Thank you for telling me. I still want to arrange everything.”

  Simon smiled. “I know you do. I’ve given them your contact details and said you would call at some point to arrange her burial.”

  “I assume her mother is buried somewhere?”

  “Yes. I believe she is buried in Twickenham Cemetery.”

  “Then that is where I’ll bury Lisa. I’m sure they would have wanted to be buried together. It would give me comfort to know she’ll be with her daughter again. That she’s finally been found and brought home.”

  Simon patted my gloved hand. “I think that would be great.”

  *****

  I stayed at the hospital a couple of hours, chatting and enjoying the happiness of everyone around me. There was certainly an air of appreciation. Mama Caroline thanked me over and over, and I told her I would always be there for her and her family. She cried and said I was like the other daughter she never had. I chuckled, my heart swelling at her kind words.

  I finally decided it was time to go, and Simon said he’d drop me off, much to little Caroline’s dismay. She clung to me and didn’t want to let me go. I assured her I would be around whenever she needed me, and she hesitantly let go. I gave Molly my number and told her to call if ever she wanted.

  Chapter 17

  The next few days was full of funeral and wedding arrangements. It felt strange to be organizing the celebration of new beginnings, and celebrating the ending of a young life.

  The day before the funeral, Hamish came around for a visit, bringing with him some money he had collected for the funeral. He told me that Simon had mentioned what I was doing and everybody thought it was the honourable thing to do. The money would help, as the funeral had eaten into all my savings, but I was determined to use the two thousand pounds that were raised for something else. There were other people that needed it more than me, and keeping it didn’t seem right. I ended up thanking Hamish and took the money, hiding it in a jar in the kitchen. I was sure it would come in handy one day.

  On the day of the funeral, Simeon came to pick me up, and Simon was going to meet us there. I had secured a plot next to Lisa’s mother, happy I could finally bring her daughter back to where she belonged.

  What I wasn’t looking forward to tomorrow was my court appearance at Daniel’s trial. My stomach coiled at the prospect. I didn’t really want to have to face him again in any capacity. The only thing that kept me going was knowing his poor wife was going to be there, and she had to have been a hell of a lot more nervous than I was. She shared a life with him. She probably thought they were going to start a family—share their lives and memories together.

  A knock on my door brought me out of my musings. It seemed Simeon was on time for a change. He had been late the last time we made arrangements to get together. Lately, he had been my rock, coming around and spending time with me just when I needed it the most. I think we both needed each other. I was sure we fed off of each other’s vibes.

  “It sucks, doesn’t it?” he asked as he stood at the door.

  “What?”

  “Wearing black. It feels like someone’s died.”

  “Someone has died, Simeon.”

  “I know, but it’s depressing.”

  “Well, think of it this way. She’s in a better place now, isn’t she? You and I both know that for sure.” I smiled, taking his hand.

  “Are you ready?”

  “To be honest with you, I don’t think anybody could be ready to say goodbye to a child. But it has to be done.”

  Putting his arm around my shoulders, Simeon shut the door. “Like you said, she’s in a better place now. Let’s make sure she gets a proper send-off, shall we?”

  Nodding, I smiled as we walked down the stairs. “Thank you for being here for me today.”

  “It’s no sweat. It just so happens I have a rest day today, so it wasn’t a problem.”

  “And how is police life, Simeon? Just like The Bill?” I chuckled.

  Simeon smiled as he held the car door open for me. “It’s not that far off, actually. All I have to do is wave my truncheon about and people behave themselves. It’s really easy.”

  I laughed as he closed my door, waiting until he climbed in the other side before I spoke. “Do you make a habit of waving your truncheon about, Simeon?”

  Starting the car, he turned to me. “Why is finding me waving my truncheon about so funny?”

  I started laughing harder. “Stop it. You’re being rude.”

  Gasping, he pointed a finger into his chest. “Me? You’re the one with the obvious filthy mind if you think I’m being rude.”

  Swatting at him, I gasped right back. “You’re the one making obvious innuendos here, Simeon. Not me.”

  “What’s the innuendo when I say I wave my truncheon about? I’m telling you that it’s so big, it has the men crouching in terror, the women desperate to touch it.”

  That was it. I was off and there was no going back. I knew Simeon knew exactly what he was doing, but I didn’t care. It felt good to laugh for a change.

  “You’re so adorable when you laugh. You should do it more often.”

  Feeling myself blush, I nudged him in embarrassment. “You’re too much. Let’s go before we end up being late.”

  Pulling the car away, Simeon glanced my way. “Are you worried you’ll want to touch my truncheon?”

  “Simeon!” I bellowed, swatting him on the arm.

  He laughed. “Okay, okay. I was only joking.”

  “You better be!” Folding my arms, I huffed in amused annoyance. Simeon briefly flicked his eyes my way and smiled. “Stop it, Simeon.”

  “Stop what?”

  Looking out the window, I smiled and whispered, “You know what.”

  Within a half-hour, we were at the cemetery where Simon was waiting. He was standing tall and statuesque, wearing a suit and a very long black coat. He was certainly dressed for the occasion.

  When we got out of the car, I noticed the air smelled like rain. The sky was thick with clouds, which just suited the m
ood of the day.

  Gathering my coat and bag, I opened the door, seeing Simeon’s hand awaiting mine. I smiled and gracefully grabbed it as he helped me out of the seat.

  “Morning, Cassie. How’s the shoulder?”

  “Really well, thanks. I went to the doctor yesterday and he said I should have the sling off in a couple days.”

  “That’s brilliant. Do you think you’ll be ready for work next week?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be, Simon. I’ll be glad to get back to normal.”

  “I bet you are.” Turning to Simeon, he held his hand out. “Stephen, how are you today?”

  “Fine, thank you, sir. I’m not particularly feeling that good about attending a child’s funeral, though.”

  Simon shook his head. “You and me both, Stephen. You and me both.”

  Walking towards the chapel, Simon suddenly turned to me. “Cassie, although this day isn’t particularly filled with joy, I think you’ll find it a little easier once you get into the church.”

  Wondering what the hell he was talking about, I followed him in. I couldn’t understand how burying a child could possibly be easy.

  Once we walked through the doors, I suddenly stopped. Sitting there, eagerly waiting for me, was Uncle Billy, Chris, Lisa-Marie, Catherine, Hamish, Paul, and Callum.

  My eyes immediately welled with tears, knowing they were here to support me, as well as to say goodbye to a child they never knew. I was overwhelmed.

  Walking over to them, I gave them all a hug, thanking them for coming. They all knew how important this was for me, and it showed me they cared.

  Taking in the sight of the chapel, I immediately felt at peace. I could see the statue of The Virgin Mary opening her arms to welcome the child below. The casket was sitting beneath her and my heart instantly leapt into my throat. This was definitely going to be harder than I thought.

  Clearing his throat, the priest announced himself, and we all sat down to hear his prayers. We sang a couple of hymns, then it was my turn to get up and say a few words. I was nervous because I wanted this to go as smoothly as it possibly could…for little Lisa’s sake.