Daddy's Sweetheart Parts 1-5: The Complete Collection

by Rachel Burns

  Brian said that we would go home together as soon as he was finished with business. I wanted to believe him so badly. He had also said that Adam was alive, that he could crawl.

  I never got to see Sarah crawl. How old would she be now?

  Why had all this happened?

  I couldn’t stop myself but tears came then. Daddy seemed so far away. He was all that I had, and he didn’t want me anymore.

  Was it all just a misunderstanding, or was it all an excuse so he could get rid of me?

  It was clear that he wouldn’t want me when I was older. I wasn’t that much older, but I’d had two children. That didn’t fit into the picture he had in his head of how he wanted his family life to be. I was supposed to be the kid, not the mother.

  The car parked at a small airport. Heather’s Daddy was still holding my hand. He marched up the stairs with me behind him.

  “Daddy, what is she doing here?” Heather was there. I just stood there looking at her. So many memories came back to me. She was dressed like a young teenager. She was wearing jeans and a long sleeved top with flowers on it.

  “Heather, I’m warning you, sit down and shut up, or you will be in a lot of trouble,” her husband pointed his finger at her.

  Heather sat down immediately. I was impressed, and I’d bet the teachers at school would have been even more impressed. She looked mad and surprised. I was guessing that this wasn’t the way things usually worked at their house.

  He led me to a seat and sat me down. He even reached down and did up my seat buckle for me.

  “Wait stop. I can’t go with you I already have a daddy.” I looked him in the eyes. If Brian had planned this, then his eyes would give him away.

  He smiled at me. “Your daddy has asked me to take you to your daughter, Sarah, and your son, Adam. He wants you to see for yourself that he is alive. You did very well in court today. He will join the three of you in your new home as soon as he can. Enjoy the flight. We will be there in several hours. Sarah and Adam are waiting for you.” He spoke very slowly with me. He too was saying that Adam was alive.

  Could it be true? I was starting to feel hope. I asked myself where I had gotten the idea that he had died.

  I looked out of the window and tried to remember Adam’s birth. I needed to concentrate. Brian took him into the bathroom and Adam didn’t cry. Tears came to my eyes as I thought about that. Then Brian came back out with Adam wrapped up in a towel.

  Was he wrapped up to keep him warm or because he was already dead?

  He hadn’t cried at all. Brian had been nice to me while I was giving birth.

  Would he have been nice to Adam? Just because he was a doctor, and Adam was a patient in need of help?

  Had Brian saved his life?

  He said he could crawl now, did that mean that he saw him, and that he loved him.

  Why did that seem so hard to believe that Brian could have seen him recently? What was I missing?

  I had a feeling that I was missing lots and lots.

  I was finally waking up, and I was hungry too.

  The plane landed, and Heather’s Daddy took me by the hand again. Heather didn’t like that, and she was letting him know it.

  “Heather, if you don’t shut up right now and stay quiet, you will regret it dearly. You have already pushed me too far.”

  He walked me off the plane and to a car. The flight attendants were loading up suitcases and a huge white teddy bear, which I guessed was Heather’s.

  Once we were all in the car, it took off. Everything was going really fast. The man driving was talking to Heather’s daddy in a different language. Heather and I sat in the back seat together.

  “Where are we?” I asked her. I felt tiny compared to her. She just seemed so much older than me.

  “My daddy and I are on a vacation in Brazil. It was supposed to be just the two of us.” Her forehead wrinkled up as she answered me. I wasn’t her favorite person either.

  “I’m so sorry about the trouble I’m causing.” I was sorry as well as confused.

  “No need, Amelia. We are just dropping you off. You will be home soon, by your children,” her daddy answered.

  “You have children?” Heather asked me, astounded.

  “Yes, Sarah and Adam.” I looked at her daddy unsure as I said Adam.

  He nodded at me.

  Could it really be true? I had given up hope, but now it was slowly returning to my heart.

  A half an hour later, we pulled up in front of a mansion sized beach house. It was really beautiful with palm trees and light colored sand. We had been able to see the ocean as the car drove along the coast.

  “Daddy, I want a house down here too.” Heather also liked what she saw. We were both captivated by the sights outside of the car window.

  “This is really a nice corner of the world isn’t it, girls? Amelia is really lucky to get to live here. Her daddy takes the best care of her.” He was trying to sell this place to me, but it was selling itself.

  We got out of the car. The double doors opened of the house and Nanny was running towards me. “Amelia, my precious child, you’re home now. We’re together again. Nanny will make everything better for you. Come with me, child.” She hugged me and held me tightly.

  She left one arm around me when she reached out to grab Heather’s daddy’s hand. Nanny whispered, “Thank you, Jake” in between her tears.

  I let my hand slip into hers when she let go of his hand. We all walked in, and Nanny ordered refreshments from servants that had been standing there, waiting.

  Nancy and Martin were also there. I hadn’t seen Nancy since Christmas a couple of years ago. I hadn’t seen Martin since I ran into his arms, and he drugged me and took Sarah out of my arms.

  “Hello, Amelia. Welcome home. Your home really is very lovely. Thank you so much for having us.” Nancy hugged me as she spoke.

  I just nodded unsure what I could say, or if I was even capable of speech.

  Martin step forward and hugged me awkwardly too. “Really nice place you got here,” he said to me.

  I nodded at him too, and then I looked around. Would Daddy be here too? I had a feeling like I had just come from him.

  “Your children are right here, in the next room.” Nancy stepped to the side, and I saw a door. My heart was beating like mad.

  Was this a trick or were they really there? Was someone behind the door, who would shoot me, sending me to heaven and thus to my children?

  My hand was shaking as I reached for the handle, and Nanny still hadn’t really let go of me. If someone was about to shoot me, then she wouldn’t want to be standing so close to me, I told myself.

  I opened the door and saw two small children playing on the floor with blocks. I pulled away from Nanny and ran to them.

  I picked up my Sarah and twirled in a circle with her in my arms. “Oh Sarah, mommy missed you beyond words.”

  I looked at her and saw that she didn’t recognize me. She looked scared of me.

  “No, no honey. You don’t have to be afraid of me. I love you so much. Mommy is never going to hurt you, not ever.” I kissed her little cheek and set her down. I turned to look at Adam and Sarah stepped in front of him.

  “He is my brother. Don’t touch him.”

  I knelt in front of them, wanting to appear less frightening. “I understand. You are the big sister, and it’s your job to take care of him. I just want to look at him.” I laid my hands behind my back. “I won’t touch him. See?”

  She nodded and stepped aside, but in a way where she could jump right back.

  Tears were running down my face. My own daughter didn’t recognize me, and she was even afraid of me. I blinked my eyes, so I could see my son better. He was small, but he was sitting there holding a block in his hand.

  “He looks just like Daddy.” Had that been what had saved his life? But then, why had Daddy kicked me out?

  I pushed those feelings to the side and just looked at him. “Hello, Adam. I’m behaving stra
ngely, aren’t I? I’ve just never seen you before.” I looked back at Nanny. “It is really him, right? Daddy didn’t just find another child to fool me, did he?”

  “It’s really him, Amelia. He was very underweight when he was born, but we have been pepping him up, and everything is alright now.”

  “There are no lasting – deficiencies because of what all happened?” I asked Nanny with tears still in my eyes. The memories were all flooding back, and they weren’t good.

  “No, child. He is just fine. You are the only one we are worried about. We will all help make you feel better. You just have to tell us how.” Nanny knelt down on the floor next to me.

  “I don’t want them to ever leave my sight. I’ll take care of them now. Just me. I can do it.”

  “Of course you can. We all know that, but they each have their own nannies, who they love.”

  Sarah was looking at me in a mean way. “Aunt Nancy, I don’t want this person here anymore.”

  I gasped and covered my mouth. Her words had hurt me so much. I broke down, crying. Nanny wrapped her arms around me and whispered, hush.

  “Sarah, you may not talk to your mother that way. I want you to apologize to her, right now,” Nancy scolded her.

  Sarah didn’t and Martin stepped completely into the room too. “You heard what your Aunt Nancy said. We’re waiting, young lady.” He pointed down at the floor as he spoke in a very strict way.

  “I’m sorry,” Sarah whispered almost inaudibly.

  I grabbed on to her and hugged her again. “I know you don’t remember me. I will earn your trust once again. I swear I will. I love you so much baby.”

  “I’m not a baby,” she pushed away from me.

  “Well, you were the last time I saw you. Give me time to get used to you as a young lady. You’re already two and talking like a teenager.” I pressed my finger into her tummy, and she giggled.

  “My beautiful little girl.” I just looked at her for a while. I had a feeling she liked that.

  I picked up Adam and set him on my lap while she spoke of her toys. She was so advanced for her age. I whispered questions to Nanny about their development. Sometimes, she had to ask their respective nannies, but I was getting a lot of information.

  At one point, Heather and her daddy left. He warned her not to tell anyone what she had seen here. She nodded with tears in her eyes as they left. She pitied me.

  Nancy sat down on the floor and started telling me all about the children. She spoke like a waterfall, and I had a feeling that she wanted to hug them and hold them. Everyone loved them.

  After a bit, Adam fell asleep on my lap. His nanny and Nancy told me he needed to go to bed. I carried him to the room they pointed to. I changed his diaper and changed him into something else. I laid him in his bed, and his nanny sat down beside his bed.

  “I’ll be right back after Sarah has eaten. I’ll feed him too, and also when he wakes up in the night. That’s okay. I want to do it.” I took Sarah by her hand like I knew what I was doing, and she didn’t protest. I had never in all of my life talked to a servant that way, but I had done it with such authority that they listened to me.

  I asked where the kitchen was and talked to the cook about what had been prepared for Sarah to eat. I sat with her while she ate and when Nanny laid a plate in front of me. I picked up my fork and knife and ate like a lady.

  Afterwards, I got Sarah ready for bed. I lay down in her bed. We were going to sleep together from now on, I informed them. I insisted that Adam’s bed be pushed up close to ours. Nanny also insisted on sleeping in the same room with us.

  I told Sarah about the night she had been born and how much I loved her. She liked to hear that. She told me a little about Martin and Nancy. Sarah spoke a lot about Daddy. She worshiped him. To her he was everything.

  He had been that for me at one time too, but now too much had happened. I was just afraid of him.

  In the night, when Adam started to cry, I was the one who picked him up and took him into the kitchen and fed him. He smiled at me. Did he remember what we had been through together?

  I smiled back and gave him cooked mashed up apples. I felt proud to finally be giving him something to eat. I wanted to promise him that he would never have to starve again, but it was a promise that I might not be able to keep.

  Martin and Nancy left the next day. Sarah bawled as they left. She stood in the door waving and sobbing. It had taken me until then to realize that Nancy had looked so good. Now, I was the one that was too thin.

  I guessed being with the children was healthy. I was doing a lot better now. I ate whatever was put in front of me. I needed my strength to keep up with them.

  I played with my children, and I didn’t let anyone else touch them.

  I changed Adam’s diapers and Sarah’s underwear when she wet her pants. That was something she was doing a lot. I told her that things like that happen, and that it was no big deal.

  I got her fresh underwear, and I gave her nanny a look like I would kill her if she tried to spank my child for something like that.

  The nannies, mine included, followed us wherever we went. I stayed with the kids in the house in the afternoons, but in the mornings I took them out onto the patio. I laid down several blankets and made a soft bed for us. I read them books and cuddled with them.

  Daddy wasn’t here, and he probably wasn’t coming. I had been with them for two weeks now. I was dead tired, but I just didn’t trust anyone with my children. I was afraid that if I didn’t pay attention, that they would disappear again.

  Travis and Cathy came to visit a lot. I was afraid that they would be mad at me, but they seemed very happy. They lived right next door.

  Cindy had a baby too, but she avoided it. Their nanny was really busy.

  Ours sat around watching me.

  I was feeling dizzy and sick. Nanny wanted me to take a nap. I refused, and she kept at me for days.

  Once, I was so dizzy that I couldn’t stand, she grabbed me by my arm and pulled me to what she called my room. She undressed me and showered me off.

  I had been taking baths with the children. I sighed when she came with the wax. I let her do what she wanted so I could go back to my children.

  Nanny had other plans. She insisted that I sleep in my own bed.

  The next morning, when I woke up Nanny was sitting on my bed, and she wanted to talk to me about the new rules. I was allowed to spend time with the children whenever I wanted, but I had to be in bed at a certain time, and when the children napped I had to too.

  I bargained in a few rules about me not having to leave a sick child, or one that was teething. Nanny agreed, and I went to my children.

  Sarah ran to me and hugged me. She told me that she could hardly sleep without me next to her. I promised that we would nap together this afternoon, all three of us. We played until lunch. I was happy now, truly happy.

  Chapter 22 – Justice For Few

  The trial dragged on and on. It was clear to the whole world that Brian had somehow managed to kidnap his wife and take her to safety. Most had been touched at how he had cried for his confused wife. They thought he was a hero. A man who truly loved and cared for his wife.

  Amelia’s old school did their part. At the moment it felt like James was on trial and not Brian. Brian almost pitied that man. Hadn’t he realized that Brian would play hardball when it came to his wife and kids?

  Several former servants at the Anderson house reported that they were fired because they had been nice to Amelia. They were all saying the same thing.

  A political cartoon had been in the paper this morning of James eating at the table while Amelia dressed in a maid’s uniform peeked around the kitchen door, which was labeled ‘Staff’ and her children were at her feet. James called out asking if the baby was a boy, and Amelia was shaking her head no.

  James Anderson was the most hated man in the country at the moment. Brian was the hero, who had swooped down and saved her.

  The last wom
an on the stand was a maid in the Anderson household. She told the court about what she saw when Amelia was shown her nursery.

  “The girl looked so tired. She was so thin and tiny. Mr. Anderson was talking at her something awful, saying that her children could stay in the room. The room was something that the staff talked about a lot when he wasn’t around. Everyone knew that the late Mrs. Anderson had it done up to welcome her daughter. She did it in yellow just in case it wasn’t a girl. We had to clean that room twice a week and not a thing was allowed out of place. It was a very happy nursery obviously made with lots of love.

  “But Amelia had never been in there. Her mother passed away at the hospital. Mr. Anderson just left the hospital without his daughter. An agency picked her up and cared for her. When she was four, she was brought to the house and given a room in the basement. I still remember him standing over her, yelling at her that she killed her mother.

  “A year later, he sent her off to boarding school. I hoped things would get better for her there. That child deserved a little happiness.”

  “Why didn’t you call the police if the child was being so obviously neglected?”

  “I have five children of my own at home. I was afraid what would happen to them if I didn’t keep my mouth shut. That is the only thing that I will still feel guilty for when they lay me in my grave. I was one of the many people who failed that dear little child.”

  “Why are you speaking out now?”

  “My conscience won’t let me be quiet. Mr. Anderson shouldn’t get Amelia’s children. I’ll admit that she needs help and lots of it, but she is still a better parent than what her father was. If he gets hold of them, then he will drive them crazy too. He likes to mess with people. It’s all a game to him. I know I will get fired for testifying today, and I have already accepted that, but I will not go to my grave feeling guilty for not saving Amelia’s children. I let her down back then, but I won’t today. The children should go to their daddy.” She looked directly at Brian.