Emily's Daughter (22 page)

“Yeah, that was a shock.”

“You can say all the nasty things you want, but I’ve always been there for you in one way or another since you were born. We have a connection, and now I treasure it more than ever.”

Becca raised her troubled eyes to Emily. “You gave me
away,” she cried, the words coming from deep within her. “You weren’t strong enough to fight for me.
You gave me away.
”

Guilt ripped through her. She gasped from the pain and struggled to keep her emotions in check—for Becca and herself. She’d been trying to talk to Becca for weeks and now that they were talking, she had to help her bridge that gap from past to present.

She let out a tight breath. “No, I wasn’t strong enough then, and I’ve suffered every day since for that weakness.” She had to pause as her throat thickened. “When I told you about my baby, I though you understood. You were very compassionate.”

“But it was
me.
I didn’t know it was
me.
”

Emily had to find the words to assuage her daughter’s pain without considering her own. “I didn’t, either, but I’m so glad it
was
you. At least you’re not with strangers and I’ve always been part of your life. That I’m very grateful for.”

Becca’s eyes pierced her. “Then why do you have to study my face and look at my baby pictures over and over? I’m still Becca, and you can’t find someone in me that I’m not.”

“Becca, I—”

“Don’t deny it, because you act weird and do things you wouldn’t normally do. Jackson doesn’t. He accepts me for who I am. Why can’t you? Why do you have to treat me differently?”

Intense pain gripped Emily as Becca’s words slammed through her. Becca was right; she was treating her differently.
She
was the reason Becca was so confused. She could see that now. Oh, God, she was driving her daughter away! She’d asked Jackson to back off when in reality she was the one who needed time to come to terms with the
new revelation in her life. She was overwhelming Becca and frightening her—exactly what she’d told herself she wouldn’t do.

Gulping in air, she said, “I’m sorry, Becca. You’re right, I have been acting differently.”

Becca didn’t say anything.

“You see, I’m fighting to keep us together, but the truth is we’ve always been together, so I’ll stop rushing you and…and acting weird.”

“Fine,” Becca mumbled.

“I still have that tooth you mailed me.”

Becca made a face. “It probably stinks by now.”

“I don’t mind.” Emily wanted to sound lighthearted, although she was trying desperately not to fall apart. “And I’ll have the room changed back as soon as I can.”

Becca glanced around. “I guess it’s not so bad. The pink was getting too girlish.”

Emily bit her lip, grateful for this small concession. “Live with it awhile and then we’ll discuss it.”

“Whatever.”

Emily wanted to hold Becca, but Becca wasn’t ready for that. Still, Emily felt they’d taken a step toward the future. At least they were talking. She would hold on to that and she would stop acting
weird,
as Becca called it. That was hard when all she wanted to do was surround her daughter with love.

T
HEY SETTLED INTO
an easy routine. Becca seemed like her old self at times; at others she was sullen or subdued, but they were coping. Emily tried to get Becca to see her friend, the psychologist, but again Becca obstinately refused.

Emily got her a job at the clinic as Dr. Hillson’s receptionist. Things went relatively well for a couple of weeks,
and Emily began to hope the worst was over. Then Mrs. Henry’s grandson, Dylan, came to visit. Mrs. Henry was an elderly neighbor with whom Emily had always had a pleasant relationship. Becca started to hang around with him, frequently inviting him to Emily’s place, where they watched TV and listened to music that got on her nerves. Emily didn’t like him. He had shifty eyes and she caught him staring openly at her body on several occasions. She wanted to slap his face and tell him to leave her home—but she didn’t. She and Becca were making progress and she didn’t want to ruin that.

Then Becca started missing work and Emily had to talk to her, which caused a big argument, but Becca promised to do better.

Things between her and Becca were increasingly strained because of Dylan and Emily’s objections to him. He was twenty-three, too mature for Becca, but Becca wouldn’t listen.

The urge to call Jackson was strong and she didn’t understand why she couldn’t just pick up the phone and do it. She loved him and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, yet she couldn’t sink her pride enough to make the first move. Would the past never let her go?

It all came to a head one morning. Dr. Hillson’s secretary called to say that Becca hadn’t showed up again. Emily quickly phoned the condo, but there was no answer. She called Mrs. Henry, who said Becca had gone with Dylan to get a burger. She thought Emily knew. Emily told her to have Becca call as soon as she got back.

Emily was fuming, but she tried to see patients, tried to get through her normal routine. By two o’clock, Becca still hadn’t called, so Emily phoned Mrs. Henry again. She said they hadn’t come back and she was worried. She was call
ing Dylan’s mom because she couldn’t handle him. Emily told her that was a good idea.

At three Emily had had enough. She told Jean she had to leave and that she’d have to take care of the patients. Jean didn’t say anything because she was aware of the turmoil in Emily’s life.

When Emily entered her condo, she stood there for a moment in shock. Pizza boxes and beer cans and other trash were all over the place. The coffee table was overturned. The litter showed there’d been more than two people here today. How many?

Mrs. Henry came up behind her. “Oh, my God, what happened?”

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Emily said. “Looks like someone had a party. Surely you heard something?”

“Just the loud music. Dylan said Becca invited him over. I didn’t know, Dr. Cooper. I’m sorry.”

Emily ran both hands through her hair. “Where do you think they’ve gone?”

Mrs. Henry shrugged. “I have no idea, but Dylan likes beer and bars. That’s why his mom sent him to live with me awhile. He had his driver’s license taken away and was one step away from jail. She thought a change of atmosphere might help.”

Emily let out a long breath. She’d figured Dylan had a past and Becca was no match for someone of that type. She had to find her daughter.

“There have to be a thousand or more bars in Houston,” she muttered under her breath.

“I’ll call his mother.” Mrs. Henry headed out the door. “She might know, and she’s coming to get him ’cause I’m not putting up with this.”

Becca’s Mustang was in the garage, so that meant she was with someone else. But who? And where? Probably
with Dylan and his older friends in some bar, drinking. That answer tortured her mind. Becca was way out of her league with these people, who didn’t care anything about her. The boys were only looking for a good time and Becca knew nothing about the kind of games they had in mind.

Fear gripped her—fear for Becca. She sank to the floor, her wobbly legs unable to hold her. Tears welled up in her eyes and she brushed them impatiently away. She’d cried so much in the last weeks that she wasn’t going to cry anymore. She sat there feeling lost and alone.

But she wasn’t alone.

Someone loved Becca as much as she did. Finally she knew what she had to do, what she should’ve done weeks ago. Why had it been so hard before? She crawled on her hands and knees and reached for the phone, pulling it down to her. Her pride, the past, nothing mattered now. She called Jackson. Pride came before a fall, they said. Well, she had fallen and she needed Jackson to pick her up. Oh, she needed him.
Becca
needed him.

J
ACKSON WAS LIKE A ZOMBIE
as he went through the routine of each day. Colton had practically taken over the running of the company, gaining confidence and establishing good working relationships with their customers. Colton was no longer the man behind the scenes; he was out in front and relishing his new role. Jackson was glad because he was in no condition to concentrate on work. He helped when a major problem arose and tried to bolster Colton’s ego, but other than that, he could have been hundreds of miles away, and he wanted to be—with Emily and Becca.

Becca hadn’t called in two days and he sensed that something was wrong. He tried calling the condo, but there was no answer.

When his private line rang, he immediately picked it up and his heart twisted as he heard her voice. “Jackson, I need you. I can’t do this alone anymore. She’s gone and I don’t know where to look for her. She’s with this wild boy and…” Her words trailed away.

“Where are you?”

“At the condo.”

“Hang on. I’ll get there as fast as I can.”

“Colton,” Jackson shouted, not bothering with the intercom. Colton appeared as if by magic.

“What’s wrong?”

“Call Bart. See if he’s free and can fly me to Houston. I need to get there as fast as I can. Meanwhile, I’ll check with the airlines.”

“Sure thing,” Colton responded, and disappeared into his office without another word.

The airlines didn’t have a flight right away. Jackson slammed the phone down as Colton came back. “You’re in luck. Bart says he was just sitting around wanting something to do.”

“Great,” Jackson said, heading for the door. He ran to his car. He’d waited what seemed like forever for Emily to call him, and now that she had, he wasn’t going to let her down. The pain and despair in her voice got to him, and his insides roiled with fear at what lay ahead.

Fifteen minutes later, he was in the sky on his way to Houston.

Please, Emily. Be patient. I’m coming.

E
MILY COLLECTED HERSELF
before Mrs. Henry came back. Jackson was coming. She could deal with the situation now.

Mrs. Henry rushed in, waving a piece of paper. “His mother wasn’t sure about the name, but she said his fa
vorite bar was called something like this.” She handed Emily the paper.

She studied the names. Peek a Boob. Peek a Babe. Babes and Boobs.
One of these or something similar
was written at the bottom. Great, she thought sarcastically. This would be like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. She grabbed the phone book. There were two clubs with similar names and she jotted down the addresses. These clubs were for older people who favored a risqué lifestyle. Becca didn’t know anything about such places. Emily knew very little herself, but she was certain they weren’t for Becca.

Scribbling the addresses again on a pad, she handed it to Mrs. Henry. “Mr. Talbert is on his way from Dallas. When he arrives, please give him this.”

“Don’t you think you should wait for him?”

“I can’t,” Emily said, running for the door. “I have to find my daughter.”

Emily drove around and around, and she felt as if she was going in circles. She’d never been in this area of Houston and she got lost several times. Finally she located one of the bars. As she walked inside, her skin crawled with revulsion at the dimly lit room, the scantily clad girls and men with leering eyes. But she forced herself to keep looking. She sat a table and scanned all the faces. Becca and Dylan were nowhere in sight. She ordered a beer because she was expected to order something. A man came over and tried to pick her up. She told him she was waiting for her boyfriend and he moved away. Clearly Becca wasn’t here, so she gladly left.

Wondering if Jackson had arrived yet, she phoned her condo before going to the next bar. Mrs. Henry said he hadn’t. Her heart sank, but she told Mrs. Henry where she
was so Jackson wouldn’t have to waste time at the first club.

She found the second place easily. She waited a few minutes, gathered her courage and went inside. This dive was worse than the other. It was filthy and full of depraved men screaming catcalls at a topless dancer on a runway in the center of the small room. One man reached up and yanked her bikini bottom and it came off. The men shouted and hooted, and the girl ran from the stage. Emily glanced around, but she didn’t see Becca or Dylan. They weren’t here, either.

She’d just started for the door when someone pushed a young girl onto the runway. She wore a miniskirt and a halter top. Emily froze. It was Becca. A Becca she’d never seen before. Her face was heavily made up and huge earrings dangled from her ears. The skirt barely covered her rear, and the top left little to the imagination.

Becca wrapped her arms around her naked belly and she was visibly trembling. Her eyes were glazed and filled with fear. What had they done to her child? Was she drugged?

A mother’s rage ran through Emily and she pushed men aside to get to Becca. She reached up and pulled her from the runway. Sobs of terror emanated from Becca’s lips and Emily had to drag her bodily to the door. She had one goal—to get her out of here as quickly as possible.

A big man with tattoos down each arm stepped in front of them. “What the hell do you think you’re doin’?” he asked, his voice thick.

“I’m getting my daughter out of here,” she said angrily. “She’s underage, so get out of my way.”

The room suddenly became quiet and the man didn’t move. “I don’t think so, lady. I paid that boy for this girl to dance and she’s gonna dance.”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Dylan lurking in a corner and she wanted to scratch his eyes out.

“My daughter is not dancing,” she repeated fiercely.

“I’ll refund your money.”

Emily tried to get past him, but he wouldn’t budge. “These good ol’ boys want to see the little girl without her clothes and that’s what they gonna see. Now, you can either leave or enjoy the fun.” He seized Becca’s arm, pulling her toward the runway. Becca made a whimpering sound and Emily went after the man. She grabbed his arm and kicked him in the shin.

“Let go of her!”

The man slapped her hard across the face. Emily tumbled to the floor. The room spun and voices were muted in her head, but she couldn’t lose consciousness. She had to help Becca. She crawled to her knees and the man kicked her in the ribs knocking her backward onto the floor. Pain ripped through her, but she struggled to get up.