Forbidden

by Pat Warren

  “Do you think I could get some? I love coffee.”

  Like your father, Adam thought as he signaled the flight attendant. “Are you hungry? You slept through the dinner service.”

  “No, thanks. Just coffee.”

  After the attendant brought Sara’s coffee and refilled his cup, Adam turned back to Sara. “I’m sorry we couldn’t get through to your mother, but the Associated Press has reached her by now, I know. She’s been sick with worry over this whole thing.”

  “Mom worries about everyone.” She took a sip of coffee, then sidled a glance at him. She should have guessed the day she’d met him. His blond hair, those eyes, and he had her dimple. How was it no one else had ever guessed? “How long have you known Mom?” she asked, wondering if he’d say more.

  Here it comes, Adam thought. Thank goodness she’d given him an opening. “Seventeen years. She worked on my first election campaign for attorney general in San Diego right after she was graduated from college.”

  “You… you knew her really well back then?”

  Adam cleared his throat. “I fell in love with her, Sara, but I didn’t admit it to myself for a long time. Too long. By the time I realized it, she’d married Richard Fairchild.” He picked up his cup, saw his hand was trembling, and set it back down. “That’s a short version of what happened back then. There’s far more to it, but I’d rather explain the rest when your mom is with us.”

  Sara was silent, drinking her coffee, but Adam was feeling anxious, hoping she wouldn’t hate him, fearing she might. “How do you feel about being related to me?”

  “I’m not sure,” she answered honestly.

  “You don’t seem as surprised as I thought you’d be.”

  She set down her cup and ran her finger idly around the rim. “When I was fourteen, my appendix burst and I had to go in for emergency surgery. I needed a blood transfusion, so they brought my parents in. Neither one was the right blood type. I found all this out later, that Dad was an O and Mom an A-positive. We studied genetics and hereditary blood-typing in school. It bothered me, so I asked Mom if maybe I was adopted. She told me absolutely not, said the hospital must have gotten the blood tests wrong that day. But I’ve always wondered.” She looked up, met his eyes. “I’m AB-negative. What’s your blood type?”

  He sighed. “AB-negative.”

  Sara kept staring, struggling with myriad new emotions at a time when her defenses were down after the ordeal of being held against her will. “I want you to know I loved my father very much. He was a wonderful man.”

  “I knew him, and I agree. Sara, I want you to know that I won’t try to take his place. Perhaps we can build a different kind of relationship, in time.”

  “Maybe.”

  So much to make up for, Adam thought. Lost years, lost opportunities. He noticed the dark shadows under her eyes and took her empty cup. “Why don’t you try to get some sleep?”

  Sara didn’t protest, stretching out her legs and snuggling back down.

  Adam tucked the blanket around her, then leaned back and closed his eyes. Somehow he’d see to it that the three of them had the chance to make up for the lost years.

  CHAPTER 24

  The people streamed out of the jetway, but the two faces Liz was watching for didn’t appear.

  “The Secret Service is probably holding them back,” Fitz explained. “It’s easier to keep an eye on things if they’re the last ones off the plane.”

  More than a dozen photographers and reporters clustered on both sides of the double doors. Liz hoped they wouldn’t mob them as they stepped through. Uniformed officers held back the crowd loitering in the area, some undoubtedly drawn by the scandalous news articles. Like it or not, Adam’s every move was monitored by the press. Impatiently she shifted from one foot to the other.

  Then she saw them, Adam with his arm at Sara’s waist, leading the way. But even before she cleared the doors, Sara saw her mother and broke free, running to her. Liz blinked back the tears as she embraced her daughter, holding on as if she’d never let go. All she could think of was, Thank God she’s safe.

  They smiled, they cried, they laughed, they rejoiced. Liz hoped she’d never have to go through such a torturous experience for as long as she lived. Now that she had her daughter clutched close to her heart, she looked up.

  Over Sara’s blond head, Liz saw Fitz shake hands with Adam and clap him on the shoulder. Peripherally she saw Wayne and Justine arrive, followed by two men in dark suits. She was vaguely aware of flashbulbs popping, of microphones being thrust at Adam and Wayne, of reporters scribbling in notebooks and speaking into tape recorders.

  Through it all, she saw Adam. He looked a bit rumpled, needed a shave, and his face was a bit strained; but his eyes, those wonderful blue eyes their daughter had inherited, were bright and shining and gazing right at her. She knew the press was watching, but she had to go to him.

  Shifting so that her arm remained around Sara, she hurried to Adam. He broke into a smile and embraced her, including Sara in the hug. The three of them stood like that, locked in an emotional reunion. The buzz of the crowd around them grew louder, more insistent, the flashbulbs all but blinding them.

  They ignored them all.

  “Thank you,” Liz whispered, for his ears only.

  Tightening his hold on both of them, Adam swallowed a lump in his throat and kissed Liz’s forehead as he pressed her closer.

  In her suite at the Hotel Del Coronado just south of San Diego, Diane Cramer McKenzie blew smoke at the ceiling as she watched the happy reunion on television. There was a bitter taste in her mouth. She crushed out her cigarette.

  She’d gambled and lost. A smart woman knew when to fold and when to stay. Diane had always been smart, and resilient.

  She knew exactly what she had to do. The only thing she could do. She clicked off the television set, rose, and went into the bedroom.

  * * *

  Later, in Fitz’s Chevy Chase apartment, to which he’d graciously given them the key, Adam accepted the cup of fresh coffee that Liz handed him and drew her down to the couch beside him. They could hear the water running as Sara took a long hot shower. He slipped his arm around Liz and kissed her. “You have no idea how great it is to be back home.”

  “I can only imagine. Did Sara talk much on the plane? I didn’t want to ask too much tonight since I know she’s still exhausted.”

  “We didn’t talk about her ordeal. She didn’t bring it up, and, like you, I thought it best to wait until she’s ready. We did talk, though, about the fact that I’m her father.”

  Liz’s nerves jumped, then settled. “That reporter’s question in Dublin? Or did she read the papers?”

  “Not the papers, but she heard his remark. Later, she introduced the subject while we were in the air. Did you know she had suspected something was amiss since her appendicitis surgery and that business about neither you nor Richard having her blood type?”

  Liz leaned against him, needing the contact. “She’s smart. Too smart, I sometimes think. She was only fourteen. She asked me if she was adopted, and I don’t think she believed me when I told her she wasn’t. Now the pieces have fallen into place for her.” She brushed back a strand of hair. “I’ve hated living with a lie. I just wish we could have told her together rather than having her find out in such a shocking way.”

  “She’s handling it. She told me you worry too much. I agreed. I assured her I had no intention of taking Richard’s place. She seemed to accept that. I hope she learns to accept me in time.”

  Liz tilted her head and smiled at him. “How could she not?”

  He edged her closer. “I love you.”

  “Mmm, me too.” But as she reached to kiss him again, the phone rang. “I didn’t think anyone knew we were here.”

  “It’s probably Fitz.” Adam reached for the phone. “Hello?”

  “Congratulations, son,” Palmer Ames boomed in his best political voice. “I knew you could do it.”

  The
hell you did. “Is that right?”

  Palmer leaned back on his leather desk chair, annoyed at the sarcastic tone. “Listen, I know you want to catch up on your sleep, but we need to talk. I’d like to hear all about your trip. It’d probably be best if you hold off talking to the press till we discuss the whole thing.”

  “You’re right, we do need to talk. What have you done on the McCaffrey-Davis situation, Palmer?”

  “I told you I’d handle that, and I will.” Who did this young upstart think he was, calling him to task? Palmer gritted his teeth as he picked up his coffee cup.

  “I certainly hope so. Naturally, I haven’t had time to check things out with Fitz or my staff, but I want you to know that I won’t drop the plane crash investigation. And Palmer, I won’t be on a ballot with a man involved in a cover-up.”

  A little over two months till election and this had to happen. Palmer wondered how he could keep the boys at McCaffrey-Davis appeased until after the election and keep Adam from rocking the boat till then. “There’s nothing to worry about, son,” he said, wishing that were true.

  “Glad to hear it, Palmer. Let’s meet tomorrow. Is one o’clock good for you?”

  “Fine. At my office.”

  “Good.” He’d have time to check out what Palmer had done so far before their meeting. “I’ll bring Fitz. Good-bye.”

  Palmer hung up, then quickly drained his coffee. He’d call a meeting of his aides for this afternoon. He had a hard choice to make, weighing Adam’s popularity against the votes McCaffrey-Davis could bring in. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head back wearily.

  As Adam hung up, Liz rose. “I think I’ll go talk with Sara for a few minutes. I haven’t tucked her in in quite a few years, but I really want to tonight.”

  “I’ll wait here for you.”

  Liz found Sara sitting on the edge of her bed, brushing her long hair. She was wearing her favorite nightshirt, the one Liz had tossed into a bag and brought along. “Glad to be home?”

  “Boy, am I.” Sara set down her brush and scooted under the covers. “I feel as if I could sleep for a week.”

  Liz sat down next to her and stroked her cheek. “I’ve never been so glad to see anyone as I was to see you tonight.” She leaned close to hug her daughter.

  “Me too, Mom. It was pretty awful.”

  Liz’s eyes showed concern. “But no one hurt you?”

  She shook her head. “No, and Mr. Parker was with us every minute. They kept us in this dirty hut with three cots. The food was awful. Justine and I hardly ate any of it. Mr. Parker kept saying he was positive someone would rescue us, but I wasn’t so sure.”

  “I knew Adam would find a way.” Idly her hand smoothed the sheet. “I know that learning he’s your biological father has come as a shock to you.”

  “How did it happen?” Sara blushed, feeling awkward. “I mean, I know how it happened—how / happened—but…”

  “It’s a long story, too long to go into tonight when we’re all tired. Let me just say this, Sara. I met Adam when I was just a few years older than you. I fell deeply in love with him, yet things didn’t work out for us back then. Afterward, I couldn’t turn off my feelings for him, even though we had both married others later. It would seem he couldn’t, either.”

  “Didn’t you love Daddy?”

  “Yes, but there are many kinds of love. Richard was very good, very kind and generous to both of us. I loved him for that and the many wonderful years we had together.”

  “But Adam’s the one you really love.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Yes. It’s complicated. One day, when you meet someone special, you’lllinderstand.”

  “Mom, I’m not a child. I understand now. But I’ll always love Daddy.”

  Liz leaned down to brush back Sara’s hair from her forehead. “Of course you will. I want you to. But now there’s Adam. Are you able to accept two men as your father, each in a different way? Adam is so thrilled to learn you’re his daughter, and he wants very much to get to know you.”

  “He didn’t know about me?”

  Liz shook her head.

  “Did Daddy know I wasn’t his?”

  “Yes, but it didn’t stop him from loving you with all his heart.”

  Sara stifled a yawn. “It’s going to take some getting used to. Are you going to marry Adam?”

  “We’ve been too busy worrying about you to discuss marriage. Would you be upset if I did?”

  “I don’t think so. He seems nice enough, and I want you to be happy, Mom.”

  Liz kissed her cheek. “We’ll talk more later. Get some rest now. I’ll let you sleep late.”

  “I love you, Mom.”

  Liz pressed her lips together as her emotions threatened to bubble over. “Me too, sweetie. Sleep tight.” She left the room and returned to Adam, dabbing at her eyes.

  “Is something wrong?” Adam asked as she sat down beside him.

  “Just hold me for a minute, would you, please?” He did, and she closed her eyes, absorbing his strength, the comfort he offered. Finally she drew back, her eyes shiny. “No, nothing’s wrong. Everything’s right now that you’re both safe, both here with me.”

  “Is Sara okay?”

  “Sleepy, but okay. I think she’s accepting this very well, considering all she’s been through.”

  “My daughter’s tough.”

  She smiled at that. “What decision did you come to with Palmer?”

  “I’m going to check him out, see if he’s done what he said he’d do about the McCaffrey-Davis situation. I gave him enough time to save face. If he hasn’t, I have no choice but to reveal the cover-up myself.”

  “That will undoubtedly cost you the vice presidency.”

  “Probably.” He kissed the top of her head. “That doesn’t pose the threat it once did. I like being in the Senate. And, as I told you before, if they won’t reelect me, Fitz and I will open a law office in California. We’ll be all right.” He shifted to look at her. “How would you feel if I left public life?”

  “I want what would make you happy, but I will say that I wouldn’t be crushed if you went back to private practice. I don’t like the limelight.”

  He knew that yet knew also that she could handle it if things worked out in that way. She’d been a tower of strength and poise since this whole mess started.

  Liz’s pride in him showed on her face as she hugged him hard. “You’ve changed, and I’m so glad. Palmer can’t hurt you. You’re your own person.”

  Holding her close to his side, he tried to explain the changes, to her and to himself. “You know that auto accident I was in a while ago? I was driving on a country road that night, not the highway I usually take. I do that sometimes to relieve the monotony. If I’d fallen asleep on an expressway, chances are I wouldn’t be here today—a random choice, and I lived.”

  “Thank God.”

  “Fitz and I were discussing this recently. So much in life is governed by the choices we make. We can’t change the decisions we’ve made in the past, but we can try to make up for the bad ones.” He picked up her hand, held it in his. “We have a chance few people do, Liz—to start over. I’m not going to blow it this time. I caved in to fear years ago and walked away from the only woman I’ve ever loved. Never again.” He tipped up her chin. “Marry me, Liz, please. Let me try to make up for all the lost years, for all the tears I’ve caused you. Let me try to be a father to Sara. Let’s make a life together.”

  Searching his eyes, Liz finally believed him. “Yes, I’ll marry you,” she whispered.

  CHAPTER 25

  Friday, August 28, 1992

  Southern California

  “You have to consider it a victory,” Liz told Adam as they sat at the kitchen table in her Pacific Beach home. Outside the window a steady rain fell, but she didn’t feel in the least gloomy. They’d flown in yesterday evening after Adam’s meeting with Palmer. She’d needed to get back because Sara would be starting school on Monday. Pleased with Adam�
�s success in freeing the hostages when they’d landed, Palmer had insisted Adam take a few days off to rest, so he’d decided to stay with them.

  Finished with his breakfast, Adam shoved his plate aside. “I guess you’re right.” He’d had a call from one of his aides in Washington minutes ago. In a move that surprised Adam, Palmer had called a press conference, demanding that McCaffrey-Davis recall one and all planes in their last shipment. He also stated he was launching a full-scale investigation into the plane crash. He’d promised Adam at their meeting that he’d act. Until now Adam hadn’t believed him. “I’ll bet some of the good old boys are madder than hell at him.”

  “You think he knew about the cover-up?” Liz rose to clear the table.

  “I can’t be certain, but I seriously doubt that his hands are clean.”

  “I think he wants you on the ticket more than he wants the approval of the good old boys.”

  “Did you ever hear that leopards seldom change their spots?” Adam asked, carrying their cups to the sink.

  “Perhaps if it’s politically expedient, they do.” Liz began to load the dishwasher, the cozy domestic scene oddly comforting after the harrowing week. Sara and Adam were getting along well, with few awkward moments between them. They were finding more things they had in common every time they talked, which pleased Liz enormously. Sara had skipped breakfast and gone over to pick up Justine so they could hurriedly get in some shopping for school clothes.

  Liz felt happier than she had in a very long time.

  “I doubt Palmer’s going to roll over and play it straight on every issue,” Adam continued, his mind still on his running mate. “However, he’s also not stupid. He knows I’ll be watching his every move and that I’m not afraid to turn him in.”

  “Will you mind being his watchdog?”

  Adam shrugged. “I’m not nuts about the role, but it’s better than the alternative, to trust him without reservation.”

  As Liz turned on the dishwasher, the phone rang. She wiped her hands and picked it up. “Oh, hi, Fitz…. Sure, he’s right here.” Fitz had flown in with them and gone to the San Diego office early this morning to get caught up on some paperwork. She handed the phone to Adam.