Between Now and Forever

by Barbara Freethy

  "So you decided to kidnap her kids?" Nicole asked in amazement.

  "It was the only way. I couldn't get them back legally, so I hired Jonathan and his girlfriend to help me. I knew they'd do anything for enough money. But I made sure that the boys weren't hurt. I gave them presents and toys and food. They were well taken care of," she said, as if she were making some sort of defense.

  "You stole them from their homes, from their parents. And now you're trying to justify it?" Nicole asked, shaking her head in bewilderment. "Are you serious? You have no defense."

  "Kyle's adoptive parents are both dead. Paula told me Travis's second wife was a terrible mother."

  "She's not a terrible mother," Nicole said. "And neither am I. So don't try to tell me that you were saving the kids from us."

  "No, I was saving my daughter. If Andrea could see them, she would feel better. She could get her life together."

  "This isn't about your daughter; it's about these boys. It's about what they need, not what you or Andrea need."

  "I thought they would be happy together. They never should have been split up."

  "No, that was another mistake you made. How did you find them anyway?"

  "I always knew where Kyle was, and I had a private investigator find Brandon. The investigator told me that Brandon wasn't—normal, but I didn't know exactly what he meant. What's wrong with him?"

  "Nothing," she said, hating the way Carol had said normal. "Brandon is exactly the way he's supposed to be."

  Carole stared back at her. "How did you find me? What did I do wrong?"

  "You bought gummy bears. I saw them in your bag yesterday when we were at your house. I knew you didn't buy them for yourself."

  Carole's eyes widened. "Kyle asked for them." She shook her head in disbelief. "Gummy bears. I'm so stupid."

  "Why did you tell us yesterday that you hadn't seen Andrea in years?"

  "I thought looking for her would keep you busy. You were so convinced that she was the kidnapper; I wanted to buy time. I was going to keep them safe until she got better and then set them all up in a house somewhere. She was finally going to have her family, and I was going to see my daughter happy again."

  Nicole wondered if Carole really believed the fantasy she'd created in her head. "And you didn't think we'd keep looking for them?"

  "I was hoping you'd give up eventually."

  "I would have never given up." She heard the police pulling up in front, and a moment later officers stormed the yard.

  Nicole's hand tightened around Brandon's as the officers cuffed Haywood and marched him out of the yard.

  Ryan came over to join them as the cops read Carole her rights.

  "Brandon is holding my hand," she whispered to Ryan, afraid that Brandon might pull away if he suddenly realized what he was doing.

  "I can see that," Ryan said with a tender smile. He squatted down in front of Brandon. "Hey, buddy. I missed you."

  Brandon stared at Ryan, but didn't say a word. Nicole wanted Brandon to give something to Ryan, too, the way he had to her, but he didn't, and she felt her heart break a little on Ryan's behalf.

  Ryan didn't react negatively. He just kept smiling, and then he turned to Brandon's brother.

  "You must be Kyle," he said.

  The little boy nodded, but crept closer to Nicole. Obviously watching Ryan fight Haywood had made Kyle a little nervous about who was the good guy and who was the bad guy.

  "Why don't we go out front?" she suggested.

  "Good idea," Ryan said. "I'll talk to the cops. You get the boys out of here."

  She took the boys through the side yard and down the street.

  When they reached the car, Kyle said, "Where's my Mom?"

  "She's at your house in Angel's Bay," Nicole replied, giving him a reassuring smile. "Ryan and I are going to take you home as soon as we can."

  "Is she mad? She told me not to talk to strangers, but the girl asked me to help her find her puppy. Then she made me get in her car. She said the man was going to drive me home, but he didn't."

  "That must have been scary."

  "They didn't have a puppy," Kyle added. "But then they said they were going to take me to see my brother. I always wanted to have a brother. My friend, Mark, has two brothers and they play catch with him." He shot Brandon a quick look. "I don't think Brandon knows how to play catch."

  "Maybe you can teach him," she said.

  "I will," Kyle said with a vigorous nod.

  Nicole felt another rush of emotion as Kyle put his arm around his brother's shoulders.

  "Brandon was sad," Kyle told her. "I told him it was going to be okay."

  "I'm really glad you were with him. You're a very brave little boy."

  "I wasn't scared at all," Kyle declared. "Can we go home now?"

  "Soon," she promised.

  She opened the back door of the car, and Brandon immediately let go of her hand and scrambled inside. She was sorry to lose his touch, because she might not ever get it back again, but she was also happy to see him reach for his favorite bucket of blocks. She'd thrown them in the car, so he'd have something to do when they found him. He put the bucket on the seat between him and Kyle. Soon the two boys were pulling out pieces and fitting them together.

  She took a few steps away as Ryan came down the sidewalk.

  "What's happening?" she asked.

  "Mrs. Holt and Jonathan Haywood have been arrested. The other woman has disappeared for now, but I'm sure Carole will give her up or Haywood will. Neither one of them seems willing to take all the blame."

  "What about the kids? Can we take them home? We don’t have to go through any red tape, do we?"

  "A little red tape. We need to go down to the local station and make an official statement, but after that we've been cleared to take Kyle back to Angel's Bay and Brandon to San Francisco. We'll have to give a statement to both of those departments as well, but everyone wants the boys returned to their homes as soon as possible."

  "All right. That's good."

  He put his hands on her waist and smiled into her eyes. "We've got our boy back."

  Tears slid down her cheeks at his words. "Yes, we do. God, I can't believe I'm crying again."

  He gave her a soft smile as he wiped away the tears with a gentle thumb. "I feel like crying, too."

  "You? My hero? You were great back there, Ryan. I was afraid that Haywood was going to hurt Brandon, that we were so close and yet not close enough."

  "Brandon distracted him. He's a fighter—our kid. How could he be anything else with you as his mother?"

  "And you as his father," she said, not wanting to take all the credit. "I couldn't have made it through the last few days without you."

  "I don't want you to have to get through any day without me," he said quietly. He lowered his head and kissed her as if he were making a promise. "Ready to go home?"

  "I am. Ryan?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Brandon has changed."

  Ryan nodded. "I know. I saw him go to you and take your hand. It was amazing. He knows you, Nicole. He loves you. You're his mother. His safe place."

  She wiped her eyes as more tears fell. "He loves you, too, Ryan. I know he does; he just can't say it or show it."

  "He doesn't need to say it or show it. He just needs to be who he is."

  "I wanted him to take your hand, too. I wanted you to feel his touch."

  He drew in a quick breath. "It will happen some day. I can wait. One step at a time, right?"

  "Right."

  He glanced over at the car. "Look at that."

  She followed Ryan's gaze. "They're playing together," she said, as Brandon and Kyle exchanged building blocks. "Brandon is actually playing with another child."

  "Not just any child, but his brother. Maybe we didn't just get one miracle," Ryan said. "Maybe we got two."

  Chapter Twenty

  "Where are they?" Jessica asked impatiently, as she paced around the porch, pausing every now and then
to peer down the street, wishing for a car to appear. "It's been over an hour since Nicole called and said they were finally done giving their statement to the police. They should be here by now."

  Sean leaned against the porch railing and gave her a smile. "Kyle is fine, Jess."

  "I know, but I have to see him for myself. Then I'll be sure."

  "Maybe you should call your friends, your in-laws."

  "Not yet. I know I'm being selfish, but I don't want everyone to come storming over here until I have a chance to talk to Kyle, to know that he's okay. Plus, I think Paula can sweat it out for a while longer. She could have ended all of this several days ago if she'd told the police who Kyle's biological mother was."

  "She has a lot to answer for," he agreed. "And I'm glad you're not going to let her off the hook. When I first met you, she seemed to intimidate you."

  "That's when I still thought she was better than me. Now I know differently. She's a scheming liar. And she's going to have to pay for what she did. Maybe she won't go to jail, but she'll have to explain to her friends and her family why she lied and kept secrets while a little boy's life was in danger. People are finally going to see her the way she really is. They've treated her like a queen for years, but she's no better than anyone."

  "Certainly not you." He cocked his head to the right. "Why did you ever think she was better than you?"

  "I grew up poor, no money, no father, and a mother who made more money stripping than she ever did as a real dancer. And when she wasn't taking off her clothes on stage, she was doing it in private, for high rollers, and later for anyone who'd pay. She embarrassed me, and for a long time I couldn't separate who she was and who I was. When I met Travis and he brought me here and introduced me to his perfect family, all the old insecurities came back. I wasn't sure I belonged, that I was good enough." She blew out a breath. "And that is way more than you needed to know."

  "You're not your mother, Jess."

  "I know."

  "Do you?" he challenged.

  "Most days I do," she admitted with a smile. "Thanks for staying with me, Sean. I know you came to help Nicole, but you ended up helping me." She didn't know what she would have done without him. He'd been a stranger two days ago, but now he felt like a friend, maybe even more than a friend. She pushed that foolish thought away.

  Sean had made it clear that he liked to wander, to play his music wherever his band got booked, to have no commitments, and no responsibilities, except maybe to the fans who came to hear him play. She was a single mother with nothing but responsibility and a lifetime commitment to her son.

  "What are you thinking about?" Sean asked curiously. "You went somewhere in your head."

  "I don't know. My thoughts are all over the place," she said vaguely. "I feel like Kyle's disappearance was a turning point in my life, and I'm not really sure where I go from here. I wanted to keep everything the same for Kyle after Travis died, but I don't know that I can go back to the way things were. I don't want to deprive Kyle of his grandmother or anyone else in Travis's family, but things are going to have to change. I won't have anyone talking bad about me to my son, especially not someone in the family."

  Sean nodded. "I think you're going to be more than a match for Paula."

  "I used to be pretty scrappy. I knew how to survive, because I had to. But when Travis came along, he wanted me to be a stay-at-home wife and mother, and I loved that idea. He wanted to take care of me, and I wanted to let him."

  "Nothing wrong with that."

  "But I'm not that girl anymore, either. I feel like I'm starting my third life. I'm not the daughter of the stripper, and I'm not the beloved wife of a great guy. I have to figure out how to be me, whoever that is."

  "Good luck," he said dryly. "I don't know what number life I'm on, but I haven't figured that out yet, either."

  "Really? You seem very confident in your choices."

  "I know what I don't want more than what I do want."

  "That's an interesting statement. Are you talking about your decision not to follow in the family traditions?"

  "That's definitely part of it."

  "I think there's a story you haven't told me."

  "Lots of stories. But none of them that interesting, believe me. I'm just a guy with a guitar. Or as my father would say—a loser."

  "You're not a loser. I've met a lot of losers in my life. Vegas is full of them," she said. "Trust me, I know."

  "But you don't know me, Jess."

  As he stared into her eyes, her stomach did a little nervous flop. It was a good thing Sean was leaving soon, because even though she didn't believe for a second that he was a loser, she did believe that she could fall for him. And that was the last thing she wanted.

  A car came around the corner, and everything else went out of her head.

  "There they are," she said, running down the steps.

  Ryan had barely stopped the engine when Kyle opened the back door and ran into her arms.

  She fell to her knees and hugged him as tightly as she could. "I love you, I love you, I love you," she chanted, feeling as if a part of her heart had just come home.

  "Mommy, I can't breathe," he complained.

  She loosened her grip with a teary smile and gazed into his blue eyes. "I missed you, honey."

  "I missed you, too," he said. "But I didn't cry at all."

  "You were very brave," she said, impressed with his spirit and resilience. But that was Kyle. He didn't let anything get him down.

  "Can I have ice cream?" he asked.

  She laughed. "As much as you want." She got to her feet and looked at Nicole and Ryan, wondering how she could ever thank them. If they hadn't come to Angel's Bay, if they hadn't been so determined to find Brandon, who knew how long it would have taken the police to find the twins?

  "Thank you," she said. "You are both my heroes."

  "You're more than welcome," Nicole said. "Kyle is an amazing kid."

  Jessica hugged Kyle to her side as Nicole walked to the back the car. Brandon sat inside, staring down at the two blocks in his hands. He seemed reluctant to leave the car.

  Nicole peered into the car. "Brandon, honey. It's time to get out and meet Kyle's mom."

  Brandon's ears perked up, but he didn't actually look up.

  Kyle slipped out from under her arm and ran to the car. "Hey, Brandon, come on," he said. "I want to show you my room and my toys. I have lots of blocks, too. It's okay. My mom is really nice."

  Kyle held out his hand. Brandon slowly lifted his gaze to his brother and then took his hand. Kyle pulled Brandon out of the car.

  "This is my mom," Kyle said.

  "Hi Brandon," she said.

  "He doesn't like to talk," Kyle told her.

  "That's okay. He doesn't have to talk," she said. "Why don't you take Brandon up to your room?"

  "Okay," Kyle said.

  Nicole moved over to Jessica's side as the boys ran up to the house. "Brandon has never been able to connect with any other child or adult, but Kyle has found a way in," Nicole said. "It's a little bit magical."

  Jessica smiled. "Travis used to tell me that Angel's Bay was a good place for magic and miracles. I never really knew what he was talking about—until now. Let's go inside. We'll get the boys some food, and you can tell me what happened. I know Carole Holt was responsible, but I still don't understand why she did it."

  "Don't worry. I'll tell you the whole story," Nicole said.

  "Good. And I hope you're not thinking of driving back to San Francisco today."

  "No. It's been a long day, and we don't want to pull the boys apart yet. They're incredibly bonded. If you don't mind, Ryan and I thought we might stay here. We can sleep on the couch, a chair, even the floor. We don't care."

  "Of course you'll stay here," Jessica said. "I'd love to have you. You and Ryan can have my room. I'll sleep on the pull-out couch in the living room. The boys can share the bed in Kyle's room."

  "We'll take the pull-out," Nicole said.<
br />
  "You saved my kid. I can give you a bed."

  "The pull-out will be fine," Nicole insisted.

  Jessica glanced over at Ryan who simply shrugged. "My wife is very stubborn," he said. "I'd probably give in if I were you."

  "Fine. We'll figure it out later. Shall we go inside?"

  "Actually, I'm going to take off now," Sean said.

  She'd known Sean was planning to leave, but she was surprised that he was leaving now. "You don't want to spend some time with Brandon?"

  "I think it's good for the two families to be together."

  "You're family, too," Nicole said. "You're Brandon's uncle, and my brother, and I haven't told you how grateful I am that you came here."

  "I didn't do anything," he said dismissively.

  "You did a lot for me," Jessica put in. "You kept me from going crazy with the waiting."

  "That was my pleasure," he said, giving her a warm smile.

  "I want to hear the rest of your song one day," she said. "It's going to be a hit, I'm sure."

  "We'll see." He gave Nicole a hug, shook Ryan's hand, gave her a wave, then got into his van.

  "My brother wrote a song?" Nicole asked as Sean drove off.

  "He only has one verse, but it's beautiful. Sean is very talented. Is your father as disappointed in Sean as Sean thinks?" Jessica asked as they walked up the path to the house.

  Nicole frowned. "I don't know if disappointed is the right word."

  "I do, and it is," Ryan cut in. "Sorry, Nic, but you know it's true."

  "My father has high expectations," Nicole agreed. "But he loves Sean very much. They're just different people, and they can't seem to understand each other. Maybe one day they will." She paused. "Anyway, I'm glad Sean was helpful to you."

  "He was," Jessica said, casting one last look down the street. She felt an odd sense of loss, wondering how she could miss someone she barely knew.