by Barb Han
“I never did get into social media other than for the ranch. I started our page and post every once in a while on it,” Amber said. “It helped get word out when we were changing our practices in order to provide organic meats to our customers.”
Rylan remembered that he’d read something about her being a pioneer in the beef industry. He admired her business savvy, but he also knew she respected her animals.
He scrolled through the faces, searching for a resemblance to the sketch. Zach strolled in and joined them, sitting on the opposite side of Amber.
And then it happened. The face he was searching for filled the screen.
“Alicia Ward.” Zach said the name out loud most likely hoping to trigger a memory.
“We have a name.” Rylan shrugged. “It doesn’t ring any bells for me, but at least we have a face and a name to go with it. Let’s figure out who she is. Click on her page.”
“Mind if I?” Zach clicked on the tile with her face and a profile filled the screen. Rylan would call this progress, except there wasn’t much on her page save for a few stock pictures of animals with cutesy quotes underneath.
“How much do people have to fill out in order to show up on one of these sites?” Rylan asked.
“Not much and any information can be faked,” Amber said. “There aren’t as many controls as you’d think there should be. Pretty much anyone can make a page as long as they don’t put up strange or offensive material to get their page reported.”
Zach scrolled through the animal pictures, no doubt looking for some kind of clue about the woman they searched for. “There’s no information about who she is or where she’s from. Do you know if she’s even from Texas?”
“We met in Austin while I was stationed in San Antonio for a training exercise. I was in and out in a few weeks. Went to my friend’s house a couple of times in Austin. Hit Sixth Street to listen to live music. I’d been through a stressful time overseas, and Roger thought I needed to get out more.” Rylan tried to force the memory. He had a beautiful baby girl whose DNA matched his own. He ought to be able to remember the child’s mother.
“Sandy should be easy enough to find. Her information is accessible.” Some of Zach’s confidence had returned. “You said Alicia is Sandy’s friend.”
“That’s right.” All Rylan could remember from those few times in Austin was hanging around with Roger. Most of the weekends were clear as a bell. There was one he couldn’t make heads or tails out of, and that bugged him to no end. Guilt and a strong sense of shame slammed into him. Rylan had never considered himself weak, so a binge weekend seemed impossible. And yet the evidence sat in Amber’s arms.
He fished out his cell and called Roger back. “Hey, sorry to bother you again. Do you mind if I ask a strange question?”
“Not at all, man. Go for it,” Roger said.
“Was I sober when we hung out?” The question probably seemed out of the blue.
“You don’t remember?” Based on the surprise in Roger’s voice, Rylan had caught his friend off guard.
“I know I didn’t choose to drink. But that’s not the same thing as being sober—”
“Well, I didn’t force anything down your throat,” Roger joked.
Rylan let the conversation stay lighthearted. It was embarrassing to have to ask. He didn’t remember falling off the wagon so why was that one weekend so fuzzy? Why didn’t he remember the mother of his child or the making of his child? Hell, he should remember that, at least.
“Let me think back. Damn, it’s been a while since we hung out, and you were definitely a saint. No drinking. But, yeah, there was that one time I wondered about you.” His friend got quiet.
“What did I do?”
“Slurred your speech. You sounded…I don’t know…off. Not like yourself. I even asked what you were drinking, but you denied having a beer.” Roger paused. “Which was strange because I’m not the saint you think I am. I remember thinking there was no reason to lie to me.”
“Was I with a woman that night? Do you remember me being with someone?” Rylan moved his lips away from the mouthpiece and focused on Zach. “Can you send that picture over to him?”
Zach nodded. He got Roger’s number from Rylan and texted Alicia’s photo.
A minute passed before Roger responded. “Wow, yeah, I remember this woman. What did you say her name was again?”
“Alicia Ward,” Rylan said.
Roger drew in a breath. “Of course I remember her. A person remembers someone as good-looking as her. Especially when she comes on to his buddy. I was with Sandy then so it didn’t bother me. But she was smokin’ hot and seemed pretty locked on to you. You didn’t stay in touch?”
“No. I don’t remember much about her, and that’s throwing me off because I quit drinking and got my act together when I signed up for the military.” Rylan wasn’t frustrated with his friend. He was frustrated with himself. “I don’t remember drinking that night because I don’t drink anymore.”
“If a woman who looked like that came on to me, I’d remember.” Roger’s comment issued a strong response from Amber.
She grunted and Zach turned his head to face her. He seemed to know better than to say anything once he got a good look at her expression.
Hell, Rylan knew better than to poke the bear. Part of him—a part he shouldn’t give much credence to—liked the fact that Amber seemed jealous. He knew better than to let the thought take seed. “I don’t remember much about that weekend, to be honest. Do you remember if I did anything to embarrass myself in public?”
“I had my own thing going, and it’s been a long time. Nothing that stands out,” Roger said.
It was too soon to be relieved and Rylan wasn’t any closer to answers, but if he’d slipped he was fairly certain Roger would’ve known it. Which didn’t explain why he didn’t remember Alicia. All he remembered drinking that night was soda.
“Thanks, bro. If you remember anything, will you give me a shout?” It was worth asking even though Rylan doubted anything would spark. A year was a long time to recall something that happened over a weekend. And to a buddy.
“Will do, man.”
Rylan ended the call after saying goodbye.
“I’ll be able to dig around now that we have a name. I’ll get my secretary on a hunt for Brooklyn’s birth certificate. That woman works miracles when it comes to research. Now that we know you’re the father and we have a mother’s name, there are two possibilities for last names, which will narrow the field.” Zach’s mind was clicking through his next steps. Those seemed like good places to start.
“I keep wondering why the unmarked car from earlier sat behind us for so long without making a move. When we bolted, he didn’t try to shoot, either.” That was just two of the puzzle pieces not clicking in Rylan’s mind. “I keep coming back to the fact they were casing us.” He turned to Zach. “There another reason you can think of?”
“I agree with you. They most likely wanted to see who is involved and monitor the threat level for when they come back,” Zach stated.
“Why keep coming back at all?” Amber had been quiet for the past few minutes, and Rylan didn’t necessarily see that as a positive sign.
“It’s obvious that someone wants Brooklyn.” Zach rubbed the scruff on his chin. “You want my honest opinion?”
Amber shot a look that dared him to go ahead.
“The mother got herself in some kind of trouble or decided to sell her baby to a ruthless baby ring. There’s big money in black-market adoptions. A couple might have been promised this child and then the mother reneged. Maybe she didn’t want to go along with this in the first place but felt she had no choice. So, she figures out another way, panics at the last minute and then backs out of the agreement. These guys aren’t having any of that, so they come after the girl. Only these guys don’t ask permission. They’re
used to taking what they want. They get things done. I’ll send a deputy out to speak to Sandy Bonds and see if we can get any information about her friend. This could take a few days, so I want both of you to be prepared for that. I need a little time to investigate, and I need to know all three of you will be safe in the meantime. You’re welcome to stay at my house.”
Brooklyn woke up and started fussing, interrupting Zach. From what Rylan gathered so far about babies, she would need a bottle and a diaper change. “We appreciate the offer, Zach, but we’ll figure out a good spot.”
“How could anyone abandon a sweet little baby like this?” Amber’s eyes sparked as she repositioned Brooklyn onto the couch beside her in order to change the little one’s diaper. “Trouble or not, what kind of person could just drop her off with a stranger and run? She had no idea this man would come find you. He could’ve done anything he wanted to this little girl.”
What did that say? Rylan let the thought sit for a few minutes. He liked to think of himself as a good judge of character. Going on a bender and having a baby with a near-stranger weren’t shining examples of good behavior. Those weren’t making the highlight reel of his life.
Again, he thought about the drinking and chided himself. How could he have allowed this to happen? He’d been to parties with beautiful women before and had never gotten out of control. The urge to drink never went away, but as the years went by sobriety got easier to maintain. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been tempted.
“If you two will excuse me, I have some work I need to get back to. I’ll return as soon as I have something more to talk about.” He extended his hand and Rylan shook it. “I said it before but welcome back to town.”
Chapter Thirteen
“A sheriff’s office is no place for a baby.” Amber hugged the little girl tighter to her chest. She’d changed and helped feed Brooklyn, but the baby had a hard time settling back down. “She’s probably just picking up on all this energy. We’re too stressed, and she’s reading us and there’s too much activity for her to go to sleep.”
“Can babies do that?” Rylan paced circles around the break room while gently bouncing Brooklyn. Seeing such a strong man being so gentle with a little one cracked a little more of the casing around Amber’s meticulously guarded heart.
“Pick up on energy?” She looked at him. “I believe so. I’ve seen it with my nieces and nephews. If not that, she could have a fever.”
Rylan stopped long enough for her to touch the baby’s forehead.
“Is she hot?”
“No. Not that I want her to be sick, but that would explain why she’s so fussy.” Amber followed as Rylan made another lap.
“Everything she’s known for the past three months has changed. She might just be reacting to wanting her mother.” He made a good point.
“I can’t imagine what would have to happen for me to be willing to be away from my child.” Amber’s cheeks almost caught fire for how much she burned on the inside thinking about Brooklyn’s circumstances.
“I don’t remember her.” Rylan stopped. “How much of a jerk does that make me?”
“It’s weird. Don’t you think? You don’t remember drinking and, Rylan, I believe you. You vaguely remember spending time with someone, but it’s all hazy. Have you thought about the fact that this woman might’ve slipped something in your—” she paused for a second “—Coke or tea or whatever you were drinking?”
“Coffee.”
“At a party?” Amber wasn’t a drinker but even she didn’t drink coffee at night. And she loved her some coffee.
“It was winter. Cold outside and I’m not much on soda.” His honesty shouldn’t make her want to laugh. There was something pure in those words and she was more convinced than ever that he didn’t drink, even though she couldn’t prove it and all evidence pointed to him doing just that. “I’d just gotten back from a deployment and was undergoing some training in San Antonio. I had leave so I called Roger. I wanted to get the hell off base and away from anyone wearing combat boots.”
Was he talking about something real with her? Not just cracking a joke when a subject got too intense like when they were kids? She liked the fact that he’d opened up to her. She could see the pain in his features when he talked about the possibility of him drinking.
“Did something happen overseas?” She wondered if that was part of the reason he’d doubted himself.
“A lot happened over there, most of which I can’t talk about. But the worst of it, the worst of human kind came when a grandmother strapped an IUD to her grandson and sent him toward a bunch of us.” He stopped like he needed a minute. Brooklyn fussed a little more, and he picked up where he left off pacing.
“That must’ve been horrific to watch.” Again, she couldn’t fathom a parent or grandparent who could do something so awful.
“The kid didn’t make it near any of us. His life was sacrificed for nothing. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t want any of my fellow SEALs to die—”
“I get it. You wanted his life to mean something. He was young, innocent. If he had to die, it should be for something,” she said.
He stopped and locked eyes with her for a long moment. It was like time froze and the earth shifted. Sure, he was handsome and she’d been attracted to him from the time they were in high school. This grown-up crush just got real. And she couldn’t allow the seed that had been planted to grow because her heart ached for Rylan.
So she cleared her throat and refocused on Brooklyn.
“She probably just needs to get out of here. Your arms must be breaking by now. Do you want me to take a turn with her?” She diverted her gaze because she didn’t want to look him in the eyes when she felt so vulnerable.
“I got this. Looks like I’ll have to get used to it just being me and her at some point. I appreciate all your help, but I have to learn how to care for my daughter.”
“Rylan, do you want to hear a shock?”
He nodded.
“You’re going to be an amazing dad.”
“I doubt that. But I plan to give it my all. My failures won’t be from lack of trying, that’s for damn sure.” He patted Brooklyn’s back, but she only fussed more.
“Maybe try sitting down with her.” She glanced at the wall clock. “It’s time for another bottle.”
It was getting late. They’d been at the sheriff’s office for at least twelve hours. They both knew they needed to leave at some point. They couldn’t stay there all night, not with a baby who needed some comforts.
Amber made a bottle. She needed something to do with her hands anyway.
Rylan settled onto the sofa with the little girl in his arms. He carefully positioned her so he could free his right hand in order to feed her the bottle. She settled down almost immediately as she latched on to the plastic nipple. He had that satisfied smile that dented his cheek. Her heart stirred even though she ordered it to behave.
That was the thing about being with Rylan. Her emotions were as out of control as he was. Amber wouldn’t change a thing about him, either.
“It might be easier to transport her once she’s sleeping. We’ll have a few hours to make our move before she’ll need tending to again,” Rylan said, his voice a low rumble.
“Where should we go and how should we get there?” Amber asked as Zach walked into the room.
“I got a hit on the birth certificate. The baby’s name is Brooklyn Ward, and she was born in a hospital in San Marcos,” Zach informed them. “Her mother listed her occupation as a homemaker. She didn’t list a father’s name.”
“That’s not surprising given the circumstances,” Rylan said.
“The hospital where she gave birth has a reputation for covering up illegal adoptions,” Zach warned. “It seems we were on track with the adoption ring.”
“Can a baby be adopted without the father’s cons
ent?” Rylan made a good point. Amber didn’t have a lot of knowledge of the adoption process, but the question was reasonable.
“In the state of Texas, when there’s no father on record or at the birth, judges usually side with the mother,” Zach informed him.
“How can we find out if paperwork was filed? Or if an adoption has been started?” Rylan started firing questions.
“She can’t be taken away from you legally now that paternity is being established. Technically it already has been, but I’m talking about in the eyes of the law. My favorite lab should be able to confirm what we already know. Brooklyn is your daughter.” Zach glanced from Rylan to Amber. “Why do I get the feeling the two of you were about to leave?”
“This place isn’t good for a baby. She needs a bath and clean clothes,” Amber stated.
“Were you thinking of taking her back to the ranch?” Zach asked.
“That’s probably not a good idea. There will be a lot of attention as soon as news of Breanna’s murder gets out,” Amber replied. “This office will also be inundated. How will we be able to keep this little girl protected with people coming in and out? You know as well as I do the town has been uneasy. Everyone’s been fearing what just happened on the ranch, and we have no idea how much pandemonium the news will stir up.”
“You’re right. We’re already starting to get calls. Word will spread like wildfire from here,” Zach admitted.
“Where is it safe for us to go?” Amber was thinking out loud.
“Maybe it’s best if we don’t say. I know a place we should be safe.” Rylan sounded confident, and Amber wished she shared the feeling.
As it was, she felt like she was damned if she did and damned if she didn’t. Tell Zach where they were planning to hide out and their location could end up compromised. Don’t tell him and there’d be no extra patrol to count on.
Deputy Perry peeked his head into the break room. “Sir, there’s a couple here that has requested to speak with you.”