When Wishes Collide (27 page)

Tears streamed down her face, and her lips trembled. "Mommy said you were dead."

"I'm not dead," he said, fighting the urge to turn back to Jen and rip her apart for the lie. "I've been looking for you for a very long time."

"Mommy said we had to hide. There were bad guys after us. She said people had to call me Emily. I don't like the name Emily."

"You can be Stephanie from now on," he said, fighting for calm. "The bad guys are all gone. How about a hug?" He opened up his arms and waited.

It was the longest minute of his life. Stephanie looked to her friend, to her mother, to Brad and Adrianna. And then she turned her serious blue eyes back on him.

He wanted to reach for her. He wanted to beg her to come to him. But something inside told him that he had to wait, that it had to be her decision. He just prayed that she would make that choice, and that she wouldn't turn to her mother.

Jen had been her anchor for two years, her only parent. She'd told Stephanie lie after lie. Who knew what was going on in his little girl's head? How much damage would he have to repair? But he would fix it, he told himself. However long it took, he would find a way to make it all better.

Emotion choked him the longer the silence went on. It would kill him if she ran away. He'd finally found her; he couldn't lose her now, not again –
not to her mother
.

His arms began to ache. Stephanie bit down on her lip, the way she'd always done when she was uncertain. He hated to have to put her in the position of choosing between her mother and her father, but that's all he could do.

Finally, she moved -- one step at a time -- until her little arms were around his neck and her face was pressed against his chest.

He held her small, trembling body as tightly as he could. "I love you, baby," he whispered. "I always have."

When she lifted her head, she was gazing at him in wonder and what looked like happiness. "I'm glad you're not dead," she said.

Tears filled his eyes. He'd never cried, in all the days that she'd been gone, but now the pent-up emotion was threatening to let loose. He had to hang on. He didn't want to scare her anymore.

She put her hands on his face. "You don't have any whiskers," she said.

He smiled at the familiar statement. She'd always loved to watch him shave. She used to sit on the counter and they'd talk while he got ready for work in the morning. How he had missed those days.

"Can we go home?" Stephanie asked.

"We can absolutely go home."

"Can Sara come with us?"

He looked over Stephanie's shoulder to see an extremely worried expression on the little girl's face. "Yes," he said, knowing that was the only answer he could give at that moment. He could not take Stephanie away from her best friend. They would have to sort everything out later.

Adrianna moved next to him. "Hi Stephanie, do you remember me?" she asked.

"You're the nice lady who gave us pizza."

"That's right. Why don't I help you get your things together? You, too, Sara," she added. "Ben is going to be so happy to see you both."

"Do you know where Ben is?" Sara asked.

"I know he's been looking for you," Adrianna said. "Where are your clothes?"

"In the bedroom," Stephanie answered.

"Why don't we go get them?" she said.

Stephanie looked to him for an answer, and he nodded. "Go with Adrianna," he said as he got to his feet. It was difficult to let Stephanie out of his sight for one minute, but he knew he could trust Adrianna to keep her safe. And he needed to speak to Jen alone.

When the girls had gone down the hall, he turned to his ex-wife.

"What happens now?" she asked, crossing her arms with a defiant gesture that told him she might be defeated, but she still didn’t think she'd done anything wrong.

"You're going to jail," he said flatly. "You violated a custody order. That's kidnapping."

"You can't do that to me. Think of Stephanie. Think of how she'll feel if she sees you arrest me."

"You weren't concerned about Stephanie when you told her that I was dead. How could you do that, Jen?"

"I had to. She wouldn't stop crying. She kept saying,
I want to see Daddy
. It drove me nuts."

It drove him nuts to think that his daughter had been asking for him, and he hadn't been there.

He pulled out his phone and hit speed dial for Josh. "I've got Jen," he said shortly. "Send a car to 1426 Hyde Street." He could hear Josh swearing with excitement as he ended the call.

"Look, I don't know what's going on here," Brad began, confusion on his face.

"You're harboring a fugitive," he replied.

"Well, I didn't know that. I was just giving her a place to stay for a few weeks. She's nobody to me. I'm not involved with her."

"But you love me," Jen said to Brad, as if she were shocked at his response. "You said you were going to take care of me."

"You didn't tell me you kidnapped your own daughter," he yelled back. "What kind of a lunatic are you?"

"You can't kidnap your daughter when you're her mother," she said hotly. She turned back to Wyatt. "I have as much right to Stephanie as you do."

"No, you forfeited your rights when you put your addiction before your child."

"I'm clean now. I have been for months. Tell him, Brad. Tell him I'm a good mother."

The other man shook his head. "I'm going to call my lawyer."

"Yes, call your lawyer," Jen said. "Ask him to help me."

"No," he told her coldly. "This is your problem, not mine." Brad walked down the hall.

And then it was just the two of them
.

Wyatt faced the woman he'd once loved, the woman he'd vowed to stand by for all time. A montage of images flashed through his brain, their first meeting at college, their big production of a wedding, the night Stephanie was born, the day she'd been arrested for DUI, the pill bottles he'd found hidden away in his house, the nights he'd spent alone in his bed wondering where she was and when she would come home.

"It didn't have to be this way," he said.

"Of course it did. You weren't going to let me see Stephanie, because of one mistake."

"It wasn't one mistake; it was a hundred. And I did let you see her. That's when you took her." It was clear that Jen had no remorse for what she'd done.

"She loves me. I'm her mom. You can't keep us apart."

"You mean the way you did?"

For the first time her gaze softened. "I just love her so much."

"Do you? I don't believe you were thinking of her at all. I know you used to leave her with your friend, Becky. I know my daughter was begging on the street with some other kids. How could you let her live like that?"

"I was doing my best. I couldn't get any money from my parents. And the jobs I could get weren't paying enough. But she's fine. She's great. And she loves me."

She sniffed back a tear. He stared at her, completely unmoved.

"I'm clean now, Wyatt. I know I made some mistakes in the past."

"You drove while you were high. You could have gotten our daughter killed. And who knows how many times you did that before you actually got caught?"

"I had a problem, Wyatt, but instead of helping me, you had me arrested. You sent your buddies after me."

"I didn't. I wish I had, but I didn't know at the time how far gone you were." He paused. "But I was still willing to help you, to give you another chance, and you ran."

"Stephanie is fine. I have protected her and loved her for two years, and I am a good mother."

"Save your breath. You'll never convince me," he said harshly.

"I wish you could understand –"

"That will never happen. Now, tell me, why do you have Sara – where's her mother?"

"Becky is working for an escort service. She had to take a long trip with one of the clients. I said I'd watch Sara until she got back."

"What about Ben?"

"I couldn't take both of them. It was hard enough having an extra kid but Stephanie wouldn't go with me without Sara."

"Did Becky know you weren't taking Ben?"

Guilt flashed through Jen's eyes. "I don't know."

"Of course you know.
 
You left a twelve-year-old kid to fend for himself. That's despicable."

She shrugged. "I gave him some money. I did the best I could."

"Which as usual sucks."

"You loved me once, Wyatt. Can't you just try to help me one more time?" Tears streamed down her face. "It was the drugs that made me act crazy. But I haven't taken anything for six months."

"Good for you. I hope it continues, but I don't care. You're going to pay for what you did."

"You think Stephanie will let you cut me out of her life?" she asked. "She'll hate you."

He didn't want to think about that part right now. He needed to talk to his daughter, spend hours, days, and weeks with her, discussing anything and everything. He wanted to know her again, to rebuild the trust and the love that they'd once had.

The doorbell rang, and he buzzed in his fellow officers.

"I have to say good-bye to Stephanie," she said somewhat desperately.

He wanted to tell her no, that she had given up all rights to say goodbye, but he didn't want to rip another parent out of his daughter's life.

"Wyatt?" Adrianna called his name from the hallway.

The girls were huddled behind her. Stephanie had a backpack around her shoulders and was holding a plastic bag that appeared to be filled with toys and stuffed animals. Sara had the same.

"You can come in," he said. He looked at his daughter. "Your mom has to go away for a while. She wants to say goodbye."

Stephanie's bottom lip began to tremble. "I don't want Mommy to go."

His heart ripped again. "I'm sorry, baby, but she has to. Don't worry. I'm going to take you home, and you're going to see Grandma and Grandpa and everyone that loves you. It's going to be okay."

A knock came at the door. He walked over to open it.

Josh and two officers entered the room. "Are you ready for us?" Josh asked, his gaze perusing the room.

"Just about," he said. "Jen is going to say good-bye to Stephanie."

"Hey kid," Josh said to Stephanie. "Remember me?"

"Uncle Josh," she murmured, a small smile blooming on her lips.

"I missed you," he said.

"I missed you, too."

"You can talk more later," Wyatt said, eager to move things along. "Jen, it's now or never."

"Please, don't do this," she begged him.

"Now or never," he repeated.

She drew in a big breath and walked over to Stephanie. "I have to go away now, but I'll see you again soon, honey."

"Why are you crying, Mommy?"

"Because I'm sad, and I'm going to miss you."

"Then why are you leaving?"

"I have to," she said.

"Where are you going?" Stephanie asked.

"I don't know yet," Jen replied. "But I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy," Stephanie said, as Jen gave her a hug.

The hug went on and on. Finally, Jen let go and straightened. "Brad?" she called.

The other man reappeared, the phone next to his ear. He saw the cops and his expression grew grim. "Yeah, they're taking her away now," he said into the phone. "I'll call you back."

"Can your lawyer help me?" Jen pleaded. "Please."

"I'm sure they'll get someone to defend you for whatever you did. You played me, Carly. I don't ever want to see you again."

Jen's face paled at his words, as if it were finally sinking in that no one would come to her rescue.

"Take her into the hall," Wyatt told the officers. He didn't want his daughter to see her mother cuffed and read her rights.

Jen gave Stephanie one last, yearning look and then the door closed behind her.

"Is Mommy going to jail?" Stephanie asked, looking to him for answers. "Am I going to see her again?"

He really didn't want to be the one who'd put her mother in jail, but he also didn't want to lie to her. He just had no idea what the right answer was. "We'll talk about everything," he promised. "Right now I want to take you home."

Adrianna couldn't believe they were walking up to the front door of Wyatt's condo with Stephanie and Sara. Wyatt had a hold of Stephanie's hand, and she doubted he'd be letting go any time soon. Sara had taken her hand when they'd gotten out of the car, obviously seeking reassurance. She couldn't blame her. The little girl was obviously very confused. She didn’t know Wyatt. She didn’t understand why Stephanie's dad had just shown up when he was supposed to be dead. She didn't know where her brother or her mother were. Poor thing. Adrianna's heart went out to her.

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.