Emily's Daughter (16 page)

“Did you find any information at the courthouse?” she asked quietly.

He started to lie to her, but he couldn’t. She’d been lied to enough. He just wished they could enjoy this happiness a little while longer, but their daughter was never far from her mind—or his.

“Yes,” he replied.

She turned to him in excitement. “What?”

“Let’s talk about it later when we’re alone.”

“But Jackson—”

His finger over her lips silenced her. “Later.”

“Okay,” she whispered, and he felt her disappointment. He just couldn’t tell her the rest, not here. He would later, though, as he’d said. He’d show her the birth certificate and pray she had enough strength to handle it.

B
Y THE TIME THEY’D FOLDED
the last chair and finished cleaning up, it was four in the morning. Becca had gone with her friends for an early breakfast. Emily felt as if she was walking on pins and needles, and she wasn’t going to get any relief until she heard what Jackson had to say.

As soon as they got into the car, she turned to him. “What did you find out? I
have
to know.”

Jackson started the engine and backed out of the parking spot. “Let’s go for a walk on the beach,” he suggested, avoiding her question.

She frowned. “Did you hear me?”

“Yes, I heard you, but I’m tired and I need to clear my head. It’s been a long night. A walk on the beach. That’s all I’m asking.”

“Okay,” she agreed slowly, but she had an uncomfortable feeling she couldn’t shake.

She bit her lip all the way to Rockport to keep from asking questions. She’d be patient and wait until he was ready to talk. When they arrived at the beach, they got out and walked in silence. Her high heels kept sinking in to the sand and she couldn’t continue. She whirled to face him. “It’s bad news, isn’t it? That’s why you’re stalling. She’s dead or something. That’s why there was no mention of an adoption in the records.”

He held her face in his hands as the wind whipped
around them. He kissed her cheek and could taste the salt on her skin.

She leaned heavily into him. “Just tell me, please.”

He had wanted to prepare her, but he could see it was only making matters worse. She
had
to be told, and he wasn’t looking forward to this. Her world would shatter into so many pieces he didn’t know if he could put it back together. He had dealt with the news for the past two days, and inside he was a mass of broken parts, but he was holding himself together—for her.

Wrapping an arm around her waist, he led her back to the car. “Okay.” He couldn’t postpone it any longer. “The information is in my room at the hotel.”

As they drove away from the beach, he asked, “Did you name our daughter?”

“No, I couldn’t. I just always called her my little angel.”

She noticed his hands tighten on the steering wheel. “What is it?”

“That’s what I’ve been calling her for the past few days. It’s strange that we’d both call her the same thing.”

“No, it isn’t. She is our angel,” she told him. “Did you find a birth certificate?” She didn’t understand how he could have, but she had to ask.

“Yes,” he answered quietly.

“And there was a name on it?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

“We’ll be at the room in a few minutes and you can read it yourself.”

“Why can’t you tell me?”

“Emily, just be patient,” he pleaded, and he felt like a coward, but he didn’t know how else to handle this.

“I can’t…because I feel you’re trying to prepare me for something bad.”

He pulled into the parking lot of the hotel and killed the engine, then reached over and stroked her hair. “I don’t think it’s bad,” he said quietly. “There are just a lot of things that need explaining.”

She started to speak and he gave her a quick kiss. “No more questions. Let’s look at the document and then we’ll talk.”

As they got out, dawn was trying to break through the dark clouds without much success. It was a foggy, misty morning, and the wind had picked up; Emily sensed a storm was brewing. But that didn’t worry her—only one thing was on her mind.

Jackson unlocked the door and they entered his room. Emily didn’t even notice her surroundings. Her attention was on Jackson. “Where is it?”

“Have a seat,” he said. First, he had to tell her everything he’d found out.

She sat on the love seat, rigid and tense, and willed herself to be strong for whatever Jackson had to say.

He drew a chair close to her. “I didn’t tell you everything I discovered in San Antonio.”

She swallowed hard. “Why?”

“At first I had to understand what I’d learned, and then I knew I had to be with you. I couldn’t do it over the phone.”

Oh, God. Her daughter was dead.
She inhaled deeply. “Just tell me! I can’t take much more of this.”

“When I went back to the hospital records office and talked to the woman there, I noticed letters and numbers on the bottom of one page. With a little incentive, she told me what they meant.”

“Hospitals used to do that, but now things are more
straightforward.” She frowned. “I didn’t notice the codes. All I noticed was her weight and size.” Her eyes caught his. “What did the codes say?”

Jackson took a quick breath. “They said both mother and baby went home in good condition—about nine minutes apart.”

“The new parents picked up our daughter at the same time I left the hospital?”

“You’re not following me,” he said softly. “The records say that the mother and baby left
together.
”

“What!” She sat on the edge of the seat, her eyes enormous. “Jackson, that’s not true.”

“I know,” he assured her. “You don’t have to tell me that.”

“But why? Why would the records show such a thing?”

He took her hand and held it, and the nervousness in her stilled…for a moment. “This is where the water gets a little murky, and I need you to listen to everything and not overreact.”

She bit her lip. “Okay.”

“I told you about the adoption agency. With a lot more incentive, I was able to go through their records.”

Her hand gripped his. “Oh, Jackson, then you have the name of the people who adopted her.”

He took a painful breath. “No, I don’t.”

“But—”

He cut in. “This isn’t easy, so I’ll just say it.” He waited a moment. “The records show the adoption was canceled.”

Incredulity shifted through her eyes as she tried to grasp what he’d said. She shook her head fervently. “No, that’s a lie. The adoption was never canceled. They took my baby and now they say…say…” She couldn’t go on, the words locked tight in her chest.

“Emily.” Jackson called her name and she jerked her eyes to his. “Don’t fall apart on me. There’s more to come.”

Emily suddenly remembered why she was here. “The birth certificate.” She grabbed on to it like a lifeline. “You have her birth certificate.”

“Yes,” he said. He got up and walked to his suitcase and brought back a piece of paper, which he laid in her lap. He wanted to spare her, but there was no other way.

She stared at the name on the certificate and it didn’t make any sense. A shudder rattled through her. She tried to concentrate, but she couldn’t. It just didn’t make sense. But Jackson would explain it. He seemed to know what was happening.

She raised her eyes to his. “Why is Becca’s name on our daughter’s birth certificate?”

“I was hoping you could tell me. That’s why I asked if you’d given her a name.”

She gave him a confused look. “No, I always called her my angel, like I said. I don’t understand this.”

“I didn’t, either, so with some help from a private investigator I was able to get a copy of Becca’s birth certificate.” He laid another piece of paper in her lap.

This certificate made sense. There was Becca’s name, and Rose and Owen Cooper listed as her parents. She was born June 5. Everything was just as it should be.

“I didn’t know what to think, either,” Jackson was saying. “Everything was getting complicated and bizarre, but I knew something was very wrong. Colton’s friend, the investigator, found the one document that pulled it all together. Here it is.” This was the hard part, and there was no way to soften the blow, so he placed the paper in her lap.

The words at the top of the page were definite and
shocking.
Death certificate,
it read.
Rebecca Ann Cooper. Date of death—July 19.
As Emily stared at the words, a lump grew in her throat and things started to spin out of control. No, she had to hold on. She had to figure this out. There had to be a logical explanation.

“No, no, no,” she cried, shaking her head wildly. “Becca’s
not
dead. She’s not dead. Jackson…” She buried her face in her hands as sobs started to rack her body.

Jackson’s heart tightened in such pain that he couldn’t breathe for a moment. He moved to her side and folded an arm around her, knowing she wasn’t allowing herself to focus on the reality behind the death certificate. “Think about this rationally,” he coaxed in a soothing voice. “Our daughter has the same name as your sister and—”

“No!” She jumped up and held her hands over her ears. “Don’t say it! I don’t want to hear it.”

She was shaking visibly and couldn’t seem to stop. Jackson had opened a wound deep in her soul and the trauma was so great that nothing registered but the pain. Nothing…and she wouldn’t
let
anything penetrate because what he suggested was too horrible to face.

Jackson took her in his arms and rocked her gently. She held on tight, needing the security of his embrace, the security of something real—something she could feel and understand.

“We have to talk to your parents,” he whispered against her hair. “They’re the only ones who know what really happened.”

The words seeped into her tired mind. Yes, her parents. They would explain the birth certificates. There had to be an explanation.

She whirled out of his arms and started for the door, then suddenly stopped and grabbed the phone. Jackson didn’t try to stop her. She was on the verge of hysteria;
she had to do something and he had to let her. She punched out a number and within seconds she was talking to her father.

“Dad, meet me at the hospital.”

Pause.

“No, nothing’s wrong. I just need to talk to you.”

Her eyes swung to Jackson. “He’ll meet us there, and then they’ll tell us what these weird documents are all about.”

He stepped close to her and cupped her face in his hands. “Emily, love, please try to—”

“No.” She pulled away. “Don’t say the words. They’re not true and I don’t believe them. My parents will explain. Let’s go.” She wheeled toward the door before he had a chance to take a breath, and he knew how this day would go—hard and debilitating—but he intended to be there for her every step of the way…no matter what.

On the ride to the hospital, they didn’t speak. There was nothing to say until she’d talked to Rose and Owen. She clutched the certificates in her lap, glancing at them repeatedly, but she refused to think about them. She couldn’t. If she did, her whole life would explode into a million scattered bits.

The wind grew stronger as they walked from the parking area to the hospital, but Emily hardly noticed. When they emerged from the elevators, her father was waiting for them. Without a word, she handed him the certificates. His shoulders slumped and a desolate look came over his face.

“You have to talk to your mother,” he said brokenly.

No denials. No explanations. Just a sentence that told her so much, and suddenly the lock on her mind lifted and pieces started to filter through and she had a desperate need to see her mother.

She took the papers and ran down the hall to her room. Jackson and Owen were right behind her.

Before she opened the door, Owen said, “Remember she’s not well. Try not to upset her.”

Emily sucked air into a chest that felt sore; she knew what she had to do. She gave the papers to her father again. “Let’s make this as easy as we can. I just want to hear the truth. I have to know the truth.”

Owen nodded and they entered the room. The lights were on and Rose was awake, sitting up in bed. She frowned at them. “Emily Ann, why are you all dressed up?” Her frown deepened as she stared at Jackson. “What’s
he
doing here?”

“It’s time, Rose,” Owen said quietly.

“Time? For what?” she asked, clasping her hands, twisting them together.

Owen laid the papers in front of her. “They know, but they want to hear it from you.”

Rose glanced at the papers, and with one hand she shoved them and they fluttered onto the floor. “No,” she muttered, “I don’t want to talk about this.”

Emily picked up the papers and walked close to her mother’s bedside. She exhaled a trembling breath. “Why is Becca’s name on my daughter’s birth certificate?”

A strangled cry left Rose’s lips and she stared down at her clenched hands. “I told you not to do this, Emily Ann, but you wouldn’t listen. You never listen to me.”

“Why, Mom?” Emily persisted. Not until she heard her mother speak the truth would it be real to her.

“Owen,” Rose appealed to him.

“You have to tell her,” he said in his quiet voice. “She has to hear it from you.”

But Rose remained quiet, and tears started to roll down her cheeks onto her hands. Emily’s heart constricted, but
she immediately hardened herself. She couldn’t give in to these emotions. She had to insist on the truth. Clearly Rose was struggling for words and Emily decided to help her.

“My sister was born June 5 and died July 19.”

“She was so tiny,” Rose choked out. “I gained all that weight, but she barely weighted four pounds. Her lungs weren’t fully developed and her heart had a murmur. Every breath she took was agonizing, but she kept holding on, and as each day passed, we prayed she’d make it, but…” Her voice wavered on the last word and she had to stop.

Emily reached for Jackson’s hand. She needed his support or she wouldn’t be able to get through this.

“She was born with dark eyes and hair.” Rose started talking again. “Just like you and Rebecca. My three girls, all alike… Your baby pictures all look the same.”

Rose was rambling and Emily didn’t know how to stop her. She didn’t even know if she wanted to—or if she could endure the truth.

“But Rebecca was different, wasn’t she, Mrs. Cooper?” Jackson asked, unable to keep quiet.

Rose’s eyes narrowed on him. “Rebecca’s always been different.”

“And you hated that, because you couldn’t control or manipulate her like Emily.”

“Yes, I had a hard time raising Rebecca.”

“Because she was very different from you and Owen,” Jackson kept on, knowing that eventually she would tell them what she’d done.

Rose’s eyes didn’t leave Jackson’s face. “My Emily Ann was perfect, never gave me a minute’s trouble until you came along. You ruined her life then, and now you’re doing it again. To satisfy your male ego, you’re willing to sacrifice my daughter’s happiness. If you have any feelings
at all for Emily Ann, you’ll walk out that door and leave my family in peace.”