She was also still reeling from watching the reunion between Wyatt and his daughter. She'd been impressed with the way he'd managed to control his anger. He'd even had Jennifer handcuffed in the hallway so that Stephanie wouldn't be a witness to her mother's arrest. He'd been thinking of his daughter more than himself every step of the way. She was incredibly proud of him.
"Are you girls hungry?" she asked, falling back into her comfort zone as they entered the house. "I can make us some food. Maybe you can help me," she told Sara. The little girl needed something to do, and Wyatt and Stephanie needed a little privacy.
Sara gave Stephanie a long look, then nodded.
Stephanie gazed up at Wyatt. "Can I see my room?"
"Of course you can," he said. "It's just the way you left it."
Thank God, he'd never changed a thing, Adrianna thought. Stephanie would never know the torment her father had gone through without her, at least not right away. Instead, she'd be returning to the same bedroom she'd left.
As Wyatt and Stephanie went down the hall, she turned her attention on Sara. "I bet you're feeling pretty confused."
"I want my mom – and Ben," she said, speaking for the first time. "Do you know where they are?"
"I saw Ben the other day," she told her, not wanting to admit that she had no idea where he was at the moment. "He spent the night at my house.
"Where is he now?"
"I think he's looking for you, honey."
"Emily's mom wouldn't let him come with us. I wanted him to, but she said no."
Adrianna nodded. "I know you're worried about him, but he's okay."
"How come everyone is calling Emily Stephanie?" she asked, her tiny brows knitting into a frown.
"Because that's her real name. Emily was pretend name," she said.
"How come she was pretending?"
"She was having an adventure," Adrianna replied, deciding it was time to change the subject. "What kind of pancakes do you like? Plain or blueberry?" She frowned. "Actually, I forgot we don't have any food. We need to go shopping."
"Can we get Ben on the way? He's probably hungry too," Sara said.
"Where do you think Ben is?" she asked.
"He might be at the motel. If he's not there, he's probably at the park. He always said to go to the park if I got lost. Maybe he went there, too."
"Let's see if we can find him," she said, making an impulsive decision. "I'll just tell Wyatt and Stephanie that we'll be back in a few minutes."
Sara suddenly looked a little doubtful. "Maybe Emily should come with us, too."
"I think she's going to want to play in her room for a bit." She gave Sara a reassuring smile. "You can trust me, honey. I want to get you and Ben back together, and I want to find your mom, too. Okay?"
Sara slowly nodded. Adrianna didn't know if the little girl believed her or if she was just used to being told what to do by random adults.
They walked down the hall to Stephanie's room together.
Wyatt was sitting at the end of Stephanie's bed, watching her talk to her favorite bear. He had such an expression of love on his face that it made Adrianna's heart actually hurt. He'd been waiting for this moment for such a long time.
"Sara and I are going to the store to get some food to cook," she said.
Stephanie exchanged a look with Sara, and then glanced at her Dad. "Should I go with them?"
"Why don't you stay here with me?" he said. "I have some new toys for you to play with. I bought them for your last two birthdays. I was keeping them until you came home." His voice caught a little, and then he cleared his throat. "And we have to call Grandma and Grandpa, too,"
"We won't be long," Adrianna promised, leading Sara out of the room.
* * *
After a momentary hesitation, Stephanie seemed to be fine with Sara's departure. She was obviously happy to be back in her room. He couldn't imagine all the beds she'd slept in the past two years. But he wasn't going to think about that time now. He just wanted to concentrate on her. In fact, he wasn't sure he could ever take his eyes off Stephanie. He kept noticing new things about her, the extra freckles across the bridge of her nose, the full set of teeth she now had, the pierced earring in her ear. He frowned at that, as she pushed her hair behind her ear.
It could be worse, he told himself. So far he hadn't seen any tattoos, no bruising or signs of injury, although he hadn't looked her completely over, but she seemed to be healthy. He should be grateful for that.
"Mommy is going to come back and see us," she told her bear, not looking in Wyatt's direction, although she had raised her voice, so he suspected she was talking for his benefit. "She's going to live here with us, and we're going to be a family again."
Her words broke his heart. They would never be a family again. It wasn't Stephanie's fault that she'd been born to two parents who had messed things up as badly as they had. And as much as he wanted to, he couldn't even blame Jen for everything. He'd missed some early signs. Maybe if he'd paid more attention in the beginning, things wouldn't have gotten so bad.
"Remember this book, Steph?" he asked, hoping to distract her.
He handed her the copy of Goodnight Moon that they had read so many times together.
"Will you read it to me tonight?" she asked.
"As many times as you want," he replied.
Her blue eyes gazed into his. "Where were you?" she asked. "Why didn't you come and get me? Mommy said you were dead. Did you come back from heaven?"
Her eight-year-old mind was completely confused, and he couldn't blame her.
"I didn't die, and I didn't come back from heaven," he said. "Mommy was wrong. I've been looking for you since the day you left -- me and Brown Bear – but we couldn't find you."
"Were you sad?" she asked.
"Incredibly so," he said, feeling a wave of intense emotion. "I missed you a lot."
"I missed you, too," she said. "Sometimes Mommy went away for a long time, and I didn't know where she was."
"She shouldn't have done that."
"Is that why she's going to jail?"
"Partly. She needs to get help, and I'm going to make sure that happens."
Stephanie's gaze filled with concern. "Can Ben and Sara live with us? Their mommy goes away a lot, too, and Ben takes care of me and Sara."
"I'm going to try to help them, too," he said, knowing that promise might be tougher to keep. "You don't need to worry. I'll take care of everything. Now, can I have another hug?"
This time she didn't take as long to decide. She scooted forward and threw her arms around him, and he held on to her for dear life, never wanting to let her go.
"Daddy," she said.
His heart swelled again. He'd never been sure he'd hear her say that word again.
"What baby?" he asked, looking down into her face.
"Can we go swimming later?"
He laughed at her practical question. "We can do anything you want." He paused as his doorbell rang. "Let me see who that is?"
"Do you think it's Grandma?"
"No, but we're going to call her as soon as I see who's here. Why don't you play with your toys? I'll be right back."
Josh was at the door, wearing a broad smile on his face and holding a present in his hand. "She's home," Josh said, slapping him on the shoulder.
"She's home," he repeated, exchanging a smile with one of his best friends. "I can't quite believe it."
"Well, believe it. You did it. You got her back."
"With a little help," he said. "How did it go with Jen?"
"She tried to cry on my shoulder. I wasn't moved." He shook his head. "She acts like the victim in all this."
"She always did," he said. "Did she call anyone?"
"Her parents. They're on their way. I'm sure they'll get her a good lawyer."
"It won't matter," he said, even though it made him sick to think he might still have a fight on his hands. But this time he'd be fighting with Stephanie by his side.
"How'
s Steph?" Josh asked.
"Playing in her room like she never left."
Josh nodded. "Good. Everyone in the department sends their good wishes. The captain said to tell you he's expecting you to take some leave, spend some time with your daughter."
"I can't think of anything I'd rather do."
"Have you called your family?"
"Not yet. I haven't been able to leave her alone." He looked down the hallway, happy to hear Stephanie talking to her bear. "I just don't want to lose her again."
"You won't." Josh paused. "So how did you find her anyway?"
"Adrianna's friend connected us to the music promoter, Brad Pennington."
"Lucky break."
"I've been lucky ever since I met Adrianna," he said.
"Where is she?"
"She went to buy some food, and she took Sara with her. I think they're going to try to find Ben."
"I wanted to talk to you about the other girl. I haven't called the social worker yet, but –"
"Can you hold off a day or two?"
"Well, it is Sunday," Josh said. "But tomorrow, I may need to make the call."
"Understood. I just don't want to tear Sara away from Stephanie without some kind of warning or explanation. There have been too many people ripped out of her life. Jen told me that Becky works for an escort service and she's away on a long job. I gave you that name yesterday, right?"
Josh nodded. "I'll follow up. Hopefully, we'll find her soon, and then we'll know what we're dealing with."
"Thanks."
"So, can I see my godchild now? I brought her a little something."
"After you." He followed Josh into Stephanie's room.
She was very happy to see her Uncle Josh and even happier when she saw the present he'd gotten for her. Wyatt watched from the doorway as she unwrapped a box filled with art supplies.
"I hope you still like to draw and paint," Josh said.
Stephanie gave an emphatic nod. "I love it." She gave Josh a quick hug. "Thank you, Uncle Josh. Maybe I'll draw Mommy a picture."
Josh nodded, then sent Wyatt a pained look.
He shrugged. He was not under the illusion that any of the next few days would be easy. But as long as he had Stephanie, he could face anything.
A short time later, he walked Josh to the door. As Josh stepped outside, he ran into Adrianna, Sara and Ben.
Wyatt was stunned to see them all together.
"I found Ben," Adrianna said with a big, happy smile.
"You're on a roll," he said, grinning back at her.
"I'm going to pretend I don't see anyone," Josh said. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Wyatt."
"Sorry, I ran away," Ben told him. "I wanted to keep looking for Sara and my mom."
"I figured," he replied. "Stephanie is in her room. Why don't you guys join her while I help Adrianna with the groceries?" He took one of the shopping bags out of Adrianna's hands. "Looks like you bought out the store."
"We have three hungry children to feed," she said, as she moved into the kitchen and set the bag down on the counter.
"How did you find Ben?" he asked.
"Sara found him. Ben had always told Sara if she got lost to go to the park, and that's where Ben was. Sara burst into tears, and Ben pretended he had something in his eyes," she said with a soft watery smile of her own. She moved across the room and threw her arms around him. "I'm so happy, Wyatt. You have Stephanie back, and now Sara and Ben are reunited."
He hugged her tight and then said, "It's all good. Did I say thank you?"
"No thanks necessary. How's your reunion going with Stephanie?"
"It's all right so far. She's still talking about her mom, so I don't know what has sunk into her brain yet."
"You'll figure it out." She stepped out of his embrace. "What's going to happen with Ben and Sara?"
"We're going to try to find Becky. The escort service should be able to locate her."
"I was thinking that Ben and Sara could stay with me until you find her."
He frowned. "I don't know, Adrianna. Josh isn't going to call a social worker today, but tomorrow…"
"My apartment is as good as a foster home, and the kids already know me."
"It's not going to be up to me."
"You can make it happen."
He wanted to say yes to the plea in her eyes, but he couldn’t lie. "I don't think I can."
Disappointment filled her expression. "Really?"
"Nothing is going to happen today. Let's see how fast we can find Becky, and then I'll do whatever I can to make sure the kids are in a safe place. I won't turn my back on them. You trust me, right?"
She looked into his eyes. "You know I do."
"In the meantime, we can all stay here tonight."
"You don't want to be alone with Stephanie?"
"Right now I think it's important for her to be with people who are familiar to her. It will make the transition easier."
"What will happen to Jennifer?" Adrianna asked.
"She's going to jail for a while. We'll see how long."
She gave him a thoughtful look. "How do you feel about that?"
"I'm glad she'll be out of the picture. It will be easier to reconnect with Stephanie without her around confusing things."
"Maybe easier for you. I'm not so sure about Stephanie."
"Me either," he admitted. "I'm just going to have to wing it, Adrianna. Just love Steph with everything that I have and hope that's enough."
She smiled. "It will be more than enough." She paused. "I better start cooking."
"One other thing," he said.
"What?"
He pulled her into his arms again. "Last night was amazing. I care about you. I want you to know that."
Her eyes blurred with tears. "You don't have to say anything else."
"I have to put Stephanie first."
"I know that," she said. She drew in a shaky breath. "It's going to be fine. We always knew this wasn't the right time for us to start anything."
"But we already started," he said, wishing he didn't have to hurt her, because despite her words, he knew that last night had meant something to her. It had meant something to him, too.
"So now we end it," she said. "I'll go home after breakfast."
"No, stay for today."
She thought for a moment and then said, "I can't stay all day. But I will make breakfast before I leave."
"I don’t want you to go."
"But we both know I have to." She leaned in and pressed her lips against his. "Whatever happens. Last night was the best night of my life. Meeting you changed me in a really good way. So no regrets, okay?"
"No regrets," he murmured as he kissed her one last time.
Chapter Seventeen
December …
Wyatt woke up to someone kneeing him in the rib cage. He groaned and opened his sleepy eyes to see his daughter's smiling face as she sat on the bed next to him.
"What are you doing up so early?" he asked.
"It's Christmas, Daddy," Stephanie said, delight in her blue eyes. "We have to see what Santa brought us."
"Haven't you gotten enough presents?" he asked. In the past four months, Stephanie had received all the gifts she'd missed for birthdays and Christmas from every member of the family and some of his friends. She had been showered with love and attention, and she'd deserved every moment of adoration. But he knew that at some point he was going to have to tone things down a little. He loved his daughter enough not to spoil her – at least not too much.
"Come on," she said, tugging on his shirt. "Let's look under the tree."
"You mean you haven't already?"
"You told me not to."
That was true. They'd spent Christmas Eve at his parents' house and after tucking Stephanie in to bed, he'd made her promise not to sneak out and take a peek.
"Hurry up, Daddy."
At Stephanie's insistence, he got out of bed and followed his little girl into the living room. She squealed
with delight at the packages under the tree. Falling to her knees, she searched through the boxes, her smile fading just a little as she didn't come across what she wanted.
"Something wrong?" he asked.
"No," she said quickly. "Which one should I open first?"
He reached for a package on the bookshelf that she hadn't seen yet. "How about this one?" he said, handing it to her. "It's from your mother."
Her gaze met his. "Really?"
He saw the hope in her eyes and knew he'd made the right decision. "Yes," he said. "Why don't you open it?"
She took the box in her hands, but she didn't move to pull off the paper and ribbon. Instead she stared down at the tag for a long time.
"It's okay," he said quietly.
"You're not mad?" she asked.
He shook his head. They'd talked a lot about what had happened, the lies Jen had told. For an eight-year-old, Stephanie had shown great maturity. She'd cried a few times, especially when she'd learned that her mother was going to jail for a few years, but in recent weeks, those episodes had been fewer and less emotionally intense.
He'd taken Stephanie for counseling, and the doctor had told him that it was in Stephanie's best interests to have some sort of contact with her mother, so he'd supervised the exchange of letters, and when Jen's parents had sent the Christmas package a few days earlier, he had taken a look at the book of poems and the loving note from Jen and had agreed to give the present to Stephanie.
Some day, he would probably take Stephanie to see her mother, but that wouldn't be for a while, and he would never ever let them be alone again.
"What are you waiting for?" he asked, as Steph continued to stare at the present.
She looked up at him and then put the gift aside. "I want to open your present first, Daddy."
"Really?" he asked, his heart swelling with love.
She nodded. "Which one should I pick?" she asked, looking at the brightly colored packages. He'd stop spoiling her really soon, he told himself.
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