Thirty minutes later they had made arrangements for a press conference at the hospital for that afternoon. She handed him a news conference schedule, explaining the people involved and his role.
“You’ve got a spot here for Taylor to speak. That’s impossible. She’s not out of the emergency room yet.”
Ms. Fairmont scribbled a notation. “Can you make a joint statement then, for both of you?”
He nodded.
“Great. Are there any other questions?”
“Yes. Is this going to do it?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Do you mean will they leave you alone after this?”
“Exactly.”
“The truthful answer is, I don’t know.”
He looked down for a moment, then glanced back at her, extending his hand. “I appreciate your efforts, Ms. Fairmont. I apologize if I’ve seemed brusque, but I need to protect my family and this has gotten out of hand.”
“I can understand, Mr. Wallace. It’s a very fine line to walk.”
“Should I report back here at three?”
She took his hand and gave it a firm shake, then flicked her gaze at her watch. “You have about an hour. If you’d like to get something to eat, you can come back and wait here or go to the main lobby where we’ll be holding the conference.”
“I’ll meet you down there.”
In the elevator he pondered what he should say to the news crews that had hounded his family. He wanted to be a family—no, correction, he, Taylor, and Emily were a family. He knew that Emily’s birth circumstances were unusual, but with so many blended families these days, what was the difference? Most importantly, he wanted the media to leave his family alone. They needed to go find something else to report on.
Reece threaded his fingers through his hair. What would Taylor want him to say?
He took a detour into the men’s room, washed his face, straightened his tie, and combed his hair, all the while worrying about Emily and Taylor in the emergency room nearby.
When he got to the main lobby shortly before 3:00 pm, he entered through a side door as Fairmont had instructed and slid into a space near the platform and podium that had been erected for the conference.
Patricia Fairmont walked up to him and grabbed him by the arm, excusing herself as she pushed past people to take him up the steps of the platform where they joined the chairman of the hospital board and two other hospital administrators.
Immediately following their speeches on improvements to hospital security measures and employee screening, he felt a push from behind prompt him to follow Ms. Fairmont to the microphone. She introduced him. The room fell silent, making his empty stomach tighten into an even thicker knot. Reece reminded himself that this was no different than a trial, but the trials he’d been involved with hadn’t impacted his family the way this moment could. Right now, upstairs, Taylor was watching the press conference from her hospital bed. Ms. Fairmont had made sure it was all set up for her.
He cleared his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve come here today to see if we can put this story to rest. Five years ago my wife Rebecca gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. One I never have gotten to see until recently. As some of you may know, the culprit of this confusion was not interested in our families, only in taking our children.
“Today I am thankful that the switch in children is the only damage that occurred from this situation that could have been so much worse. But as Ms. Lawrence and I struggle to right this past wrong, we ask for your compassion and consideration.” Until this moment, Reece worked on keeping his focus just above the heads of the audience as he spoke. But with the burden of what he was about to say weighing on him with a mixture of fear and hope, he turned his eyes to the television camera closest to him and stared directly into it, as if he were speaking to Taylor, just Taylor. “The fact is, I love Taylor Lawrence, and I want to create a family with her.” A buzz of voices rippled through the crowd. Reece turned away from the camera and looked out at the audience. “You’ve gotten everything you can about this story from us. So for the sake of our surviving daughter, Emily, I’d ask that you leave us in peace. Let us have our chance to heal and start over. Seek out the bigger story if you must, but for now, we are done giving any further comment.”
Now stay away from my family, he wanted to add. He felt like he had swallowed a brick. Ms. Fairmont placed a hand on his back and Reece moved away from the podium, leaving her to handle the flood of questions that rose from the crowd. He eased out of the conference circle as quickly as he could, making his way toward the emergency room.
Both Emily and Taylor were waiting for him to return. But while Emily was dressed and ready to go, Taylor wasn’t.
“Daddy!” Emily squealed as she jogged up to him. She held up her toy zebra, who was sporting a brightly colored neon pink bandage. “Jessie has a boo-boo, just like Mommy.”
“I see that.” He kissed Emily on the head and headed for the edge of Taylor’s hospital bed. “How are you feeling?”
“Not so hot.” She held up the slinged arm. “They said it’s just a bad sprain and to baby it for a week or so. They want to keep me overnight for observation.” She blinked a few times, too quickly. “That was quite a press conference.”
Reece grasped her hand lightly and held it, giving it a small squeeze. “I just said what I thought had to be said. And I meant it. All of it.”
Taylor squeezed his hand back. “I know. But there are some things we still need to work out, and I’m not in any shape to talk right now. I’m really tired.” She tried to adjust her position and winced.
A tightness stole over his chest. What if she wasn’t all right? What if she’d been hurt worse than they realized?
Emily tugged on his sleeve. “The doctor said I did really good and he gave me this.” She held out a red lollipop for an instant, then sucked it back into her mouth.
He picked her up and held her close, her sticky hand against his cheek.
“Can we go home now, Daddy?”
He looked at Taylor. There was sadness in her eyes, but acceptance lingered there, too. “That’s up to your mommy, sunshine.”
Taylor bit her lip and nodded. “I think that would be best for now.”
“You just get some rest, and we’ll be back in the morning.”
He carried Emily on his hip as he left the room and thought he heard the soft, muffled sounds of crying. Down in the parking garage, the familiar gnawing of guilt ate at him. How was any of this fair to Taylor? Why hadn’t he been able to protect them?
He buckled Emily in her car seat as she babbled on, telling him all about the hospital and the nurses. Reece heard only half of it, because deep inside he was still contemplating. As they pulled out of the parking lot a multitude of thoughts crisscrossed his brain. What if he had lost them today? He never would have had the chance to tell Taylor what he had discovered. He loved her, he knew that now. And he wanted her in his life forever.
Chapter Seventeen
The next morning, bright and early as promised, he was at the hospital with Emily by his side, waiting for Taylor to be released. He helped her to the car, then ran around the other side to buckle Emily into the car seat. But the minute he took the off ramp from the freeway to his home Taylor’s face crumpled.
“You’re going the wrong way.”
Reece gripped the steering wheel tighter. “No, I’m not. We’re going to my house.”
Taylor glared at him, then glanced in the backseat. Reece saw in his rearview mirror that Emily had fallen asleep.
“We’re not staying at your house again. Please take us home.”
Reece slowed the car and pulled off onto the side of the road. “You’ve just had an accident and need to recover.”
She turned away from him, looking instead through the front window. “And I can do that best at my home.”
“Taylor, you don’t understand. I want you and Emily to come live with me. I love you. I want to marry you.”
She snapped her attention in his direction, her eyes narrowing. “No.”
Her response slapped him harder than she ever physically could. “What do you mean ‘no’?”
She turned in the seat, looking him straight in the eye. “Don’t you see? You’re just asking me because of the accident. You’re afraid of losing us just like you lost Alyssa and Rebecca. Fear isn’t a solid foundation for any marriage. You didn’t want to marry me before and you don’t now.”
“But you don’t understand—”
“I understand more than you think, Reece. You’re acting on gut instinct. You haven’t thought this through. If you had, you’d have a ring. You don’t have a ring, do you?”
Inwardly he cringed. Part of what she was saying was right on target. But more importantly part of it wasn’t. “Well, no…” he hedged.
“The problem is there’s someone else in your life besides me…and it’s Rebecca. Until you grow past her loss and live your life, there isn’t enough room for you to really love anyone completely. I thought I was doing the right thing to ask you for Emily’s sake. But I was wrong. The fact is that we’re going to be separate parents for now.”
All the air left his lungs, leaving him drowning in his misery.
“Taylor, please don’t do this to me.”
She reached out, touching his cheek. “When you ask me, I want it to be because it’s right and real, not because you’re running scared and I’m some life preserver in your sea of doubt. And not because you think I need saving, either.”
He slumped back into his seat and nodded. He understood what she was saying, but he was still concerned about her taking it easy while she recovered.
He pulled the car back onto the road and found a place to turn so he could head toward her house. The tension in the air was thick, and he needed the excuse of paying attention to his driving to calm him.
“Will you at least call your mother to come and help you out over the next week?”
“I’ll be fine. I’m not going—”
“You should at least call her about the accident.”
Taylor tried to cross her arms and winced, letting out a grunt of pain. “Why should I? It’ll just make her sick with worry.”
“Because if you don’t, sweetheart, then she’s going to have a lot of questions when I call her up and tell her you need her here.”
She narrowed her eyes and stared at him. “You wouldn’t.”
Reece leveled his gaze at her. “Try me.”
She sighed heavily. “This is coercion you know.”
He turned his attention back to the road. “Yes, but at least I’ll know you’ve got some help since you won’t let me watch over you.”
“Fine, you have me at a disadvantage. But I warn you it won’t last.” She gave him a small, lopsided smile.
Early Easter morning, a week later, Taylor was awakened by Emily bouncing on her bed.
“Come on, Mommy! Get up, get up! It’s Easter!”
“I thought kids were only supposed to be like this on Christmas,” she mumbled.
“Hurry, we’ve got to go egg hunting at Daddy’s today.”
Taylor rolled her eyes. “Oh, so that’s what this is about. You can’t wait to find candy.”
Emily hopped off the bed and sped out of the room. She appeared minutes later, struggling with the zipper of a butter-yellow dress laden with lace.
“You couldn’t wait to wear the dress Grandma sent, could you?”
“She’s going to be at Daddy’s today, isn’t she?”
“For the twentieth time this week, yes.”
“Is she coming to our house first?”
“Yes.”
Taylor padded into the kitchen, Emily at her heels.
“Can we leave soon?”
“Not until Grandma gets here and I have a shower.”
Her little lip pushed out into a pout. “What am I going to do?”
Taylor reached out and drew her little girl close for a hug. “How about breakfast?”
Emily’s mouth lifted in a lopsided grin. “Oky day.”
“What?”
“Oky day. Daddy taught it to me.”
“What else has Daddy been teaching you lately?”
“Hopscotch.”
Emily’s response caught her off guard. “Daddy plays hopscotch?”
Emily nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, he’s really good at it.”
Taylor burst out laughing at the thought of him hopping from square to square. She poured her daughter a bowl of cereal and headed for the shower.
Her mother arrived before she could dry her hair. She stood behind Taylor holding a conversation with her in the mirror.
“So have you two worked things out?”
“Sort of.”
Edith harrumphed.
Taylor applied some blush. “We’re on good terms and it’s okay.”
“And he knows about the baby?”
Taylor bit her lip.
Her mother threw up her hands. “Good grief, you mean you haven’t told him yet? Taylor Louise, you’re impossible.”
Taylor clicked the lid of the compact closed. “I’m still not showing too much.”
“How could you, wearing that kind of outfit?”
Taylor looked down at her bulky sweater and flowing skirt and then back at her mother’s reflection.
“What’s wrong with this?”
“Nothing if you’re fifty pounds overweight and trying to cover it up. You don’t have anything to hide. Well, at least I thought you didn’t.”
Taylor tucked her hair behind her ear.
“I was planning on telling him today, Mother.”
Edith waggled a warning finger at her. “If you don’t…”
“What? The big-bad-secret fairy is going to come and bite me in the”— Taylor spied a little face in the reflection beside her mother— “in the behind?”
Edith looked down at her granddaughter and smoothed her dark hair with a tender touch, before grinning at her daughter. “Something like that.”
An hour later she drove up to Reece’s with her mother and daughter in tow. Taylor rolled her window down to punch in the gate code. Outside the air smelled green and sweet, and daffodils and tulips marched in heady profusion along the driveway.
As they passed through the gate, she noticed the oversized pastel eggs hanging from the naked trees in the yard. Reece had gone out of his way to celebrate the holiday, taking Emily for most afternoons the last week to decorate.
They crowded together at the front door and rang the bell. For a moment, things felt awkward. It was like she was waiting for entrance into her own home. Reece opened the familiar oak door.
“Come in, come in!” He hugged each of them in turn and took their coats.
Emily grasped her grandmother’s hand. “Come see what we’ve got.” She pulled Edith into the kitchen and Reece and Taylor followed.
Edith gasped when they entered the kitchen. “Reece, this is marvelous! Taylor, you really outdid yourself on this.”
Taylor beamed. “I do good work when I’m inspired.” She slid an assessing look over at Reece. He winked at her.
Emily yanked open the refrigerator and pulled out two clear plastic corsage boxes neatly tied with pale blue satin ribbon.
Edith clasped her hands together. “What a wonderful surprise.” She took the box from Emily and kissed her grandchild on the cheek.
Emily held out the second box to her mother.
Taylor’s eyes started to prickle with heat. It was so sweet. Taking the box from her hand, she cupped Emily’s face in her palm. “Thank you, Emy.” She bent at the knees and gave her daughter a big hug.
“Happy Easter, Mommy.”
Taylor could feel Reece standing beside her. Her skin hummed with the vibration he alone created for her.
He cleared his throat. “May I?”
Taylor stood up and handed him the box.
With a gentle touch, he took the delicate orchid out. His h
and lingering as he swept her hair back, then pinned the corsage to her sweater. “You look beautiful,” he murmured huskily into her ear.
They both looked over to see Edith pinning her own corsage in a no-nonsense fashion. “There now, I believe we have a little girl very eager for her egg hunt.”
All of them focused their attention on Emily who stood, basket ready, hand on the doorknob to the patio. “Can we go now?” she pleaded.
They all laughed. “Go on, Emily. I saw the bunny out there very busy this morning.”
Emily opened the door and zipped outside. Edith followed. Taylor’s hand sparked with sensation as Reece slipped his hand over hers. Together they walked to the patio where a table set for brunch awaited them.
For a half hour Emily darted about the yard, snatching colored eggs from birdbaths, bushes, and grassy nooks, while the adults enjoyed their conversation, pastries, and freshly squeezed orange juice. She lugged the full basket back, groaning dramatically as she hefted it onto the patio table.
“There’s still more out there, sunshine. I think you missed a few,” Reece teased as Emily popped open three eggs and downed the candy.
Emily licked her lips. “I’m going to get them, but I need help.” She leaned into Taylor’s leg and gave her an imploring look. “Mommy, will you please help me?”
Taylor set down her glass and got out of the chair to follow Emily back out into the yard.
“Make sure you find them all,” Edith called from her seat on the patio. Taylor turned and smiled at her.
They looked high and low and found only a handful of the colored spheres as Taylor let Emily search. But when they passed the same blue egg four times, Taylor couldn’t resist the urge to point it out to Emily. “I think there’s one over there, sweetie.”
“Where?”
“Near the bottom of the bushes.”
Emily peeked down there. She grasped the egg and shook it. “I don’t think this one has anything in it.”
Taylor grinned. “Why is that?”
“It doesn’t rattle. All the ones with candy in them rattle. Open it, Mommy. Let’s see what’s inside.”
Taylor laughed, infected with her daughter’s excitement. She gave the egg a twist and popped off the narrow end. A scarlet strip of satin spilled out of the egg, revealing a glittering diamond ring underneath.
The Switched Baby Scandal (A Scandals of San Sebastian Novel) (Entangled Bliss) Page 20
