"Thank you, Chief," she said. "For letting us help."
"In my experience, it's always a mistake not to let the parents help. You know your kids better than anyone. I saw that video another time and never picked up on the fact that that crayon drawing might hold some clues. You've got a smart kid."
Nicole nodded, thinking how rare it was that anyone gave Brandon a compliment. But he was smart and hopefully he'd just given them the clue they needed to find him and his brother.
Chapter Fifteen
"What should we do now?" Nicole asked as they left the police station. "Should we go somewhere and talk, compare notes…"
"We can go to my house," Jessica suggested. "Unless it's uncomfortable for you to be there?"
"No, it's not at all uncomfortable," Nicole said, seeing concern in Jessica's eyes. "I'm fine now. I'm not going to break down again, and your house would be great." She glanced at her brother. "Are you sticking around today?"
"Yes. We'll meet you at Jessica's house."
"Great," she said, a little surprised at how quickly Sean and Jessica had become friends. But then Sean didn't judge, and he was easy to be around, two qualities that Jessica probably liked, considering she was involved in some kind of battle with her in-laws.
"Are you really okay with going back to Kyle's house?" Ryan asked as they got into his car.
"Yes. I'm moving on. What did you think about the security video?" She shifted in her seat so she could see him better. "It was weird to see Brandon in that big sweatshirt and those sunglasses. I wonder what he's thinking about it all. Is he even aware of what's going on?"
"We never know how aware he is of anything."
"That's true."
"He seems like to Kyle."
"Yeah, he does," she agreed.
"In fact, he seems to…"Ryan's voice trailed away.
"What were you going to say?" she asked curiously.
He shook his head. "It doesn't matter."
"Just say it, Ryan. We're way past keeping secrets from each other."
"You won't like it," he warned.
"Say it anyway."
"I was thinking about all our efforts to communicate with Brandon and how we just haven't been able to find a way to connect with him. But with Kyle, with his twin, maybe Brandon finally has the one and only connection that he wants—his brother."
Nicole frowned. Ryan was right. She didn't like the idea of Brandon having a connection to a kid he'd just met when she'd spent the past three years doing everything she could to build a link between her son and herself. But she couldn't deny what she'd seen on the video. Brandon had been clinging to his brother when they left the restaurant. Somewhere in his head, Brandon recognized Kyle as his brother, as blood.
Had he also recognized someone else as blood—his biological mother or father?
Her stomach clenched at that thought. It was one thing for Brandon to connect to his brother, but she really hated the idea of him connecting to his biological parents. That would be wrong and unfair and very painful.
But was a blood tie stronger than an adoptive relationship? She didn't want to believe that it was, but maybe genetics played more of a role than she knew.
"I'm sorry, Nicole." Ryan shot her a worried look. "I shouldn't have said that. I was thinking about my relationship with Brandon, not yours. He connects with you. He always has. I'm the one on the outside, not you."
He was offering her an olive branch, but she couldn't take it. "No, you were right. Brandon doesn't relate to me, not really, not in the way I want. I pretend that he feels something for me, that he sees me as his mother, because the lie keeps me going. It stops me from giving up. But the truth is this—I can't comfort Brandon when he's scared or angry. He pushes me away when I try. And he hasn't wanted to hold my hand in years. Brandon hates for anyone to touch him. But apparently there is something about Kyle that gets through to him."
"I have to say I'm a little surprised you'd admit the lie to me," Ryan said slowly. "You've always been so positive that you were making progress. I never saw any doubt in your eyes. You were so sure of even the smallest victories."
She sighed. "I couldn't let there be doubt. When you wanted to be realistic and pragmatic and have a reasonable conversation, I tuned you out. I couldn't go to that place of logic. I had to stay hopeful; I had to believe in the possibilities. I told myself that you might quit, but I never would, because I believe in miracles even if you don't."
"Who said I don't believe in miracles?"
"You did. You told me that when you were a little kid you used to pray for a miracle, an escape from your dad for both you and your mom. But no miracles came, so you stopped believing. And I understand why you felt that way. I didn't grow up the way you did. I came from a broken home, but my mother created a second family that was far better than the first. You didn't get that second chance as a kid."
"No, I didn't. No second chances, no miracles. By the time I was a teenager, I was cynical, frustrated and angry. I thought I'd gotten the short stick in life."
"You had."
"But then I met you."
He abruptly changed lanes, pulling the car over to the side of the road. Then he turned off the engine.
"Why are we stopping, Ryan?"
He looked her straight in the eye. "Because I want to say something important, and I want you to hear it. I can't do that and drive at the same time." He drew in a deep breath. "I didn't know what family was supposed to be like until I met the Callaways, and I didn't know what love was supposed to feel like until I met you. You changed my world in so many ways that you'll never know. You were smart, beautiful, passionate, determined, and you didn't just believe in miracles and dreams; you believed in me."
She caught her breath at his words, at the serious and loving look in his eyes.
"The first day we met, you couldn't stand me," he continued.
"You were so cocky, so full of yourself," she murmured. "But it wasn't that I couldn't stand you. I was afraid of how you made me feel. I had my head down, eye on the prize, good grades, getting into a great college, and I was worried you were going to distract me from that. I was right to be worried, because you did distract me."
"But I didn't stop you," he reminded her.
"No, you supported me in everything that I wanted to do," she said, tears pricking at her eyelids again.
"And you supported me. You made me believe that life could be good," he said. "That love could be real and that I could be more than the piece of shit my father thought I was. You made me look up into the sky. You're the reason I followed my dream to fly. It was all you, Nic."
"You would have become a pilot even if you'd never met me. Flying is your passion."
"I love to fly, but you're my passion. I don't know how the hell we ended up like this, but I do know that I never should have let you go."
He paused for a long moment, so long her heart started to beat faster in anticipation of what he was about to say next.
"I'm sorry, Nicole. I don't know if I've said that out loud before, but I've thought it a million times in my mind. I'm sorry for letting you down, for disappointing you, for not being the person you thought I was. I should have been a better husband, a better father. I have no excuses, just a lot of regret."
She sucked in a breath, shaken by the deep intensity of his words and all the emotion behind them. He had stripped himself bare in front of her; something she knew had taken a lot of courage. After all the pain he'd endured as a child, Ryan knew first-hand the danger of being vulnerable. But he was putting it all on the line for her. And she had to do the same.
"I'm sorry, too, Ryan. I could have been a better wife and a better mother."
"No, you're a fantastic mother," he cut in.
"What kind of fantastic mother drives her kid's father away?"
"You didn't do that."
"I did. And I need to apologize. Let me."
They stared at each other for a long moment, and in that momen
t, she felt the last lingering remnants of anger and pain slide away.
Ryan finally nodded. "I accept your apology."
"And I accept yours," she said, wiping the moisture from under her eyes.
"Okay," he said, a smile curving his lips.
"Okay," she echoed, smiling back at him.
He started the car and they finished the drive to Jessica's house in peaceful quiet.
* * *
When they arrived at Jessica's house, Ryan felt as if he'd dropped ten pounds of weight from his chest. His guilt and his anger were gone. He felt free. He'd said what he needed to say, and Nicole had heard him.
He'd been a little surprised by the apology he'd gotten in return. They had truly turned the corner when it came to being honest with themselves and with each other.
Sean opened the door before they had a chance to ring the bell. "What took you guys so long?"
"Uh, we took a wrong turn," Nicole said awkwardly.
"Actually, it was a right turn," Ryan corrected. "Don’t you think?"
Nicole met his gaze. "Yes, I do."
Sean cleared his throat. "Great. When you two are done talking in code, why don't you come in?"
"Where's Jessica?" Nicole asked.
"She'll be down in a minute."
"I'm going to get some water," Nicole said. "Do either of you want anything?"
Sean shook his head, and Ryan said, "I'm good." Then he followed Sean into the living room.
He sat down on the couch while Sean took a seat at the piano, running his fingers lightly over the keys.
"So what was all that about?" Sean asked after a moment. "Right turn, wrong turn…"
"Nicole and I had a good conversation. Something we've needed to do for a while."
"Well, I am glad to hear that. I've been waiting for you two to stop fighting against each other and start fighting for each other—the way you used to do." Sean gave him a smile. "I remember when you first started dating. My father was not too thrilled with you, Ryan. He knew about your dad, knew you'd taken some hits, and he was afraid that you might take out your anger on Nicole."
"I know. Jack took me aside when Nic and I first started seeing each other and told me that if I ever hurt her, I'd have him to deal with. I told him I would never hurt her, but I broke that promise."
"Not in the way my father was worried about."
"No, but pain is pain. Jack was right to be concerned about the two of us together."
"No, he wasn't right, and Nicole told him so. It was the night before her high school graduation. I'd never heard her talk to my dad like that. You two wanted to take a trip that summer, and Jack was not happy about it. Nicole told him that she loved you, that you were the best man she'd ever known, and that she was going to marry you one day. She told him that he would need to change his attitude about you, because you were always going to be in her life." Sean gave him a smile. "My dad was stunned by her passion. I was impressed, too. I thought some day I'd like to have a woman stand up for me like that." He paused. "Nicole fought for you back then, Ryan. Maybe you need to fight for her now."
"I'm trying."
"Good. Because I've had a front row seat to the Ryan and Nicole show since I was thirteen years old, and I want to see a happy ending."
"So do I."
Nicole came into the living room with a bottle of water in her hand. She'd barely sat down on the couch when Jessica came flying into the room with her phone in hand, and a glitter of excitement in her eyes.
"I just heard from Kara," Jessica said. "The woman who made the quilts for the boys is Marian Kelton."
Nicole jumped to her feet. "Does she live in town? Can we talk to her?"
"We can," Jessica said. "But I haven't told you the most interesting or horrifying part yet, depending on how you look at it."
"What's that?" Ryan asked impatiently.
"Marian Kelton told Kara that the quilts were ordered by Paula Schilling—my mother-in-law."
Ryan was shocked. "Your mother-in-law? Are you serious?"
"Yes. I couldn't believe it, either."
"If that's true, then she had to know there were twins," Nicole said. "We need to talk to her. Where can we find her?"
Jessica glanced down at her watch. "She goes to the eleven o'clock church service every Sunday. It should be getting out in a few minutes."
"Then let's go to church," Nicole said.
* * *
They piled into Ryan's car and headed across town. The church was set in a beautiful oasis of green lawns and sheltering trees. Just beyond the church property, Nicole could see the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. It was a peaceful setting, but Nicole felt anything but peaceful. Her emotions were churning. She felt excited and nervous and terrified about where this new development might lead.
"Looks like a lot of people around here go to church," Sean commented as they found a spot in the crowded parking lot.
"They do," Jessica agreed. "I used to go with Travis, but since he died and we had the funeral in there, I haven't been able to make myself go back inside."
Nicole heard pain in Jessica's voice and was reminded that Jessica had been hit hard with loss the past year, first her husband and now Kyle. It was a wonder she could get out of bed. But despite Jessica's quiet personality, it was clear there was a core of strength inside of her that kept her going through the hard times.
"You don't have to go in now," Nicole said.
"I wasn't planning on it," Jessica said. "Although, I feel a little guilty about missing this particular service. Andrew told me he was going to lead a special prayer for the boys, and I probably should have forced myself to go. Andrew Schilling is the minister, and also Travis's cousin," Jessica explained. "He's been very supportive, but it's been difficult to be around Paula and the rest of Travis's family. Anyway, Paula will be one of the last ones out. She always sits in the front row with her sister, Andrew's mother, and they usually leave last."
They walked through the parking lot, pausing under a tree at the edge of the lawn as the church doors opened and the congregation began to spill out.
"There she is," Jessica said, pointing to a tall brown-haired woman leaving the church with the minister.
Nicole led the way across the grass, Ryan, Jessica and Sean on her heels.
When they were a few feet away, Paula Schilling looked up and saw them. Her gaze settled on Jessica, and she visibly stiffened.
"What's happened?" she asked. "Has Kyle been found?"
"Not yet," Jessica replied. "We need to speak to you. These are the Prescotts—
the parents and brother of Kyle's brother, Brandon. Paula Schilling, Andrew Schilling," she added quickly, finishing off the introductions.
Paula stiffened. "What can I do to help?"
"Kyle received a quilt when he was a baby," Jessica said. "I was told that you ordered that quilt, and not just that quilt, but a second one as well. Why did you order two quilts for one baby? Did you know Kyle had a twin?"
Shock passed through Paula's eyes. "What? What are you talking about?"
"You heard me," Jessica said forcefully. "The quilts. Explain why you ordered two."
Paula drew her head up and gave Jessica a stern look. "I ordered two quilts, because I wanted to have a replacement. When Travis was little, he had a blanket that he adored. He carried it around everywhere, but one day it was left behind at a park, and Travis was devastated. He cried for days. I didn't want the same thing to happen to Kyle, so I ordered a backup. Now what's all this about?"
"The second quilt ended up with my son," Nicole said. "If you simply ordered one as a spare, how do you explain that?"
"I have no idea. I haven't thought about those quilts in years. Why are they important now?"
"Because if you knew there were twins, then you probably knew the identity of the biological parents," Nicole said. "And the police believe the birth parents may be involved in the kidnapping."
Paula stared back at her with anger in her eyes.
Was it a cover for knowledge or guilt? Nicole couldn't tell.
"I don't know anything about the biological parents," Paula said. "And I don't know how the second quilt ended up with your son. When I heard Travis and Sharon were getting a baby, I ordered the quilts because they're an Angel's Bay tradition. I don't recall what happened to them after they were delivered. I wish I could help, believe me. I adore Kyle. He's my grandson, and I want him to come home. He never should have been in a position where he could get taken by a stranger." She tossed her last statement in Jessica's direction.
Jessica stiffened but didn't try to defend herself. Instead, she said, "You were very close to Travis, Paula. Is it possible he thought he might be getting two children and that's why you ordered two quilts? Did something happen to change that? Was he concerned about adopting twins? Maybe he thought two children would be too much for Sharon?"
"No, he never suggested any of that," Paula said flatly. "I don't know where you get your ideas, Jessica. I already told you why I ordered two quilts." She pressed a hand to her temple. "This is very upsetting. I feel a little dizzy." She turned to her nephew. "Andrew, would you drive me home now?"
"Of course." Andrew said. He gave the group a compassionate smile. "We're praying for Kyle and Brandon. Please let me know if there's anything else I can do to help."
"Well, you weren't exaggerating," Sean said as the Schillings left. "Your mother-in-law is a mean old bitch. But you stood up to her."
"She pissed me off," Jessica said. "And I don't think she was telling us the whole truth."
"I agree," Nicole said. "She was cagey, choosing her words carefully."
"Exactly," Ryan said with a nod. "As if she was trying not to get caught in a lie."
"We should talk to Marian Kelton," Nicole said. "Maybe she will have a better recollection of the order. Do you have her number, Jessica?"
"I can get it from Kara."
As Jessica reached for her phone, Ryan's phone began to ring.
He stepped a few feet away to answer, and Nicole followed.
"Max," Ryan said. "What's up?" He paused. "Thank God." He reached out a hand to Nicole, and she grabbed it, wondering if Max had found Brandon.
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