by Margaret Kay
Jesus! Sloan thought. “It’s important. Please, Mr. Bristow. I won’t take up much of your time. Will you be home?”
“Um, okay, sure,” Dale Bristow agreed.
“Thank you, sir,” Sloan said. Then he disconnected the call. His eyes met Kennedy’s. “He said he wasn’t sure what there was for us to say to each other. I’d say he is dead wrong on that.”
Kennedy forced a worried smile. “I’m really nervous about seeing them, Gary.”
Sloan took hold of her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “I’ve got you, babe.” He squeezed her hand. “I’ll hold your hand the whole time.” He put the car in drive. “Thank you for telling me how you feel.” He chuckled a little. “I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces when they see you are alive. Almost payback that they’re due for how they treated you, I’d say.”
Yankee
Kennedy’s palms were moist. She dried them on her jeans as Gary put the car in park. He’d just pulled into the driveway of her childhood home. She wasn’t even sure what to consider this place and her parent’s. This hadn’t been her home in a very long time.
Her parents were her parents, or at least the parents who raised her. She wasn’t sure how she felt about them now though, besides betrayed. She was hopeful that would change once they explained the circumstances of her adoption and why they’d lied to her, her entire life. She hoped so anyway. She didn’t like how she felt since Gary had told her that her DNA proved that she and Melody were identical twins, and that her sister, Kaitlyn, was no blood relation to her.
“You ready?” Sloan asked, his voice cutting in on her all-consuming thoughts.
She shot him a scowl and then opened her door.
A light fall breeze blew. The telltale sound of the skittering of the downed leaves across the driveway, drew her attention. What a difference a month or two made. It was hotter than hell when she was here last, but today the high only reached sixty-five, and it was already dropping. They walked up the sidewalk. As Gary had told her to do, when the door opened, she turned away from it, so her mom or dad would not be able to see her face.
“Hello, Mr. Bristow,” Sloan said after he had opened the door and said nothing.
“Gary,” Dale Bristow said with a faint nod to his head. His eyes flickered to the red-haired woman beside him. He wondered who she was and why he had brought her.
“May we come in, please,” Sloan asked. It didn’t matter if he agreed or not, they would be entering the house before divulging that Kennedy was still alive. That would not be done on the doorstep.
Kennedy’s father rubbed his forehead. “Sure,” he finally said. He stepped aside and motioned them in.
Once inside, Kennedy’s mother appeared beside her father. Kennedy looked up and into their eyes. Both of them locked eyes with her questioningly but didn’t speak. She knew from their silent gazes that they knew it was her. Kennedy’s insides quivered. Tears filled her eyes. “It’s me. I’m alive,” she said and then engulfed her mom in a hug. In that moment, it didn’t matter if Sandy Bristow had given birth to her or not, she was her mother.
Her stunned mother didn’t even embrace her back. “Kennedy?”
“Yes, mom. It’s me,” she said, still hugging her tightly. When she broke contact with her mom, she then hugged her dad.
“I don’t understand,” her mom stammered.
When she released her dad, he held her at arm's length and stared into her eyes and then over her features. “How is this possible? And why the disguise?”
“Kennedy is a material witness in a federal case,” Sloan said, holding up his badge and credentials. “She has been given a new identity and is in the WITSEC program.”
“WITSEC?” Her mother echoed.
“The Federal Witness Protection Program,” Sloan clarified.
“You’re a federal agent?” Her mother asked, gazing at his badge.
“Yes, ma’am,” Sloan replied. Then he put it away.
“If you weren’t killed, who is that girl that looked like you and why did it happen in our kitchen?” Her dad asked. “Do you have any idea what getting that call was like for us? We were on vacation for God’s sake.”
Both Kennedy and Sloan were surprised by his statement. So sorry, how inconvenient.
“Her name was Melody, and she was my best friend. I brought her here with me to try to protect her, but they found us, well, they were only looking for me and they thought she was me. I was in the bathroom when they killed her. I hid.”
“Why was someone trying to kill you, honey?” Her mother asked, horrified.
“What did you get yourself involved in?” Her father asked sternly a beat later.
Kennedy looked away, disappointed her father would think that, well, it was somewhat valid, but she wouldn’t admit that to him. Obviously, nothing had changed in twelve years. Her father still thought the worst of her.
“Kennedy did nothing wrong. She saw something those people were willing to kill to protect. Kennedy was a hero. She saved someone and reported what she knew to the police which put a target on her.”
“We need to right the wrong of the burial,” Dale Bristow said.
“You don’t want to do that,” Sloan broke in. “Melody had no family, so there is no one but Kennedy to miss her, but more importantly, those responsible need to think it is Kennedy that is laying in her grave. Kennedy Bristow is dead. A lot is riding on that.”
“So, we’re supposed to lie to everyone that our daughter is dead when she’s not?” Her father demanded.
“I don’t think you are grasping the severity of this. If these people think for even a second that Kennedy is alive, they will come after her and they will go through anyone they think may have information on her, including both of you and Kaitlyn. Your lives could be in grave danger if these people think Kennedy is alive.”
“Oh, dear Lord,” her mother gasped.
“Besides, I think Melody is exactly where she should be buried. The thing is, we ran both Melody’s DNA and Kennedy’s and surprisingly, it showed they were identical twins. And then we ran Kennedy’s DNA against Kaitlyn’s and guess what we found? It showed no familial relationship between the two of them.”
Both of Kennedy’s parents’ eyes went wide. Then they looked to each other. Her mother looked horrified.
“How is that?” Sloan asked when her parents remained silent with their eyes fixed on each other.
“This is my worst nightmare coming true,” her mother murmured.
Sloan found that statement almost comical. Wouldn’t their daughter’s death be her worst nightmare?
“Kennedy, you have to understand, we always planned to tell you that you were adopted. We always thought we would adopt a second child and both of you would be brought up with the knowledge that you were adopted, but shortly after we got you, I became pregnant with Kaitlyn. And then after we moved here from California, there seemed no reason to say anything. We didn’t want you to feel less than part of the family and we didn’t want you and Kaitlyn to have a relationship that was anything other than sisters.”
The emotions that assaulted Kennedy with her mother’s confirmation that she was adopted hit unexpectedly hard. They had lied to her all her life and here she was trying to justify it.
“Did it have anything to do with the less than legal manner in which the adoption took place?” Sloan asked pointedly.
“Oh, Christ,” Kennedy’s father swore. “It was a private adoption. We didn’t really realize that the broker had probably skirted a few laws until Kennedy was placed in our arms and we were given an original and legal birth certificate with our names on it as her parents just days after her birth.”
“Did you know I was a twin?” Kennedy demanded.
“We weren’t sure. After you were born the broker told us there were two babies born, twins, and we could have both for an additional twenty-five thousand. The amount we paid was supposed to be for the mom’s living and medical expenses during the p
regnancy, plus a small fee for the broker. That’s when we got suspicious. We would have taken you both, but we didn’t have the money, so we said no,” her father said.
“And we couldn’t even be sure both babies were from the same mother at that point,” her mother threw in. “I mean, if your birth mother had been seeing a doctor like we were paying for, how could it have been a surprise to anyone that twins were born.”
“We suspected another adoption had fallen through and the broker was trying to get more money from us and unload a baby he had no home for,” her father added.
“I would have loved a second child, but we had no money left. We’d already paid every dime we had,” her mother explained with a nervous edge to her voice.
Oh my God! Kennedy couldn’t believe it. She was unable to put a clear thought together, let alone any words. She stood motionless, staring at them in denial. When her rational brain kicked in, so many thoughts ran through her mind. Had they really thought it was all legal up to that point? Twenty-five thousand was a lot of money. How could they not have been suspicious? And how could they have just taken her as an infant suspecting the adoption wasn’t legal?
“We always loved you,” her mother said pleadingly. “From the first moment you were placed in our arms you were our daughter, and nothing ever changed that.”
“We didn’t knowingly participate in an illegal adoption, but we wanted a child so desperately that even when we were sure it was, we couldn’t back out of it or report it. We just took you home,” her father added.
“You lied to me my entire life.”
“We thought we were protecting you,” her mother said. “We lived in fear that someone would come asking about you and question the legality of the adoption and take you away from us.”
“That nearly broke your mother,” her father spoke up. “After we moved to Cleveland, it was easier, but that fear never completely went away.”
“Does Kaitlyn know?” Kennedy demanded.
Her mother shook her head. “No, even as we buried you, we saw no reason to say anything to anyone, not even Kaitlyn.”
“Will she be able to know you’re alive?” Dale asked.
Sloan nodded. “She has a top-secret security clearance. She’ll be notified through a secure video chat after Kennedy and I return to my headquarters.”
“Will we be able to be in touch with you? Or know where you are?” Her mother asked.
“In time, you will,” Sloan answered. “Initially, we have set up a secure email you can write to each other at, but you must never say her name in that email or that she’s your daughter. Do you understand?”
They both nodded numbly. In their eyes, Sloan could see that they understood but also that they wanted more contact than that. He understood. There had been so many years wasted in their relationship with her too. Death had a way of bringing regret for wasted time. Sloan handed them the card with the two email addresses on it. It had the secure email address and password that had been assigned to them, and the address that was Kennedy’s.
“One last thing,” Sloan said. “I need every detail of the adoption, names, dates, addresses.”
Both her parents shook their heads. “That was a long time ago,” her mother said.
“Come on. You remember every detail. I know you do. Get a pad of paper and write down how you found the broker, the name you had for him or her, how you paid the fee, how many payments, where you met to get Kennedy, anything you were told about the birth mother, everything.”
Her father nodded. “It’s past the statute of limitations for charges to be filed against anyone, isn’t it?”
“You mean against you? And yes, it’s way past the time charges could be filed against you for anything. At this point what would that serve? The birth mother is dead, and Kennedy is an adult. But we do need to see if the network that sold you Kennedy is still operating.”
“Oh my God, please don’t say it like that. We didn’t set out to engage in an illegal adoption. We thought it was legal up until the moment we saw the birth certificate,” Kennedy’s mother said.
For the next hour, the four of them sat in the living room. They talked about the adoption, the euphoria the Bristow’s felt when they first made the arrangements to adopt her, and when they first held her in their arms. They also talked about the near crippling anxiety Sandy Bristow felt, worrying someone would come and take her daughter away. During this time, Dale and Sandy passed the pad of paper between each other double checking the facts of the arrangement and payments with each other.
“So, what about your music career now, Kennedy?” Her mother asked.
“It’s done, at least for now. I have to remain in hiding for a while, maybe forever,” she said, her eyes going to Gary. “I don’t know.”
“Mrs. Bristow, Kennedy will find her way. She’s strong and resilient, just like the two of you raised her to be. She was a hero when someone needed a hero and I am so proud of her. Don’t worry about her.”
“Thank you, Gary,” Sandy said. “Please make sure she is looked after.”
“I will,” he promised. “We need to go now.” He came to his feet, prompting Kennedy to stand as well.
Kennedy gave each of her parents one last, emotional hug goodbye. “I love you,” she said to them. “I’ll write soon and often, I promise.”
They left with Kennedy having hope that her fractured family could be mended. She’d just had a longer conversation with her parents than she had in twelve years, probably longer. Even that last year she’d been in college, it had been tense between them. Her parents were dead set against her and Gary living together, so she rarely spoke to them that year so she wouldn’t have to lie to them about where she slept. And, they didn’t share her enthusiasm for her music.
Zulu
They got done later than anticipated at the Bristow residence. Sloan text messaged his brother Allen. He and Leslie were already at the high school football field. It wasn’t Sloan’s first choice to tell them Kennedy was alive, and that they were back together in public, but he was in town and wanted to surprise AJ by being at his game. He’d have to trust that Allen and Leslie would listen to the warning he’d give them before he dropped this bomb.
Sloan put the SUV in park. They were late to the game, so he was forced to park in the furthermost lot from the football field. As a player in high school, he’d always gotten there so early he was always parked in the lot closest to the field house, a free-standing structure at the north end of the football field behind the goal post.
He glanced at Kennedy’s profile. They were parked near a light, which shone through her side of the car. As he gazed at her, he didn’t see the thirty-three-year-old brunette. He saw the blond twenty-one-year-old he was last with here at a game. It wasn’t the homecoming game this time, but it was a homecoming for him.
“Are you ready?” He asked her.
“Yes. Are you sure we want to tell Allen and Leslie?”
“Yeah, I need them to know just as you need Kaitlyn to know. Family, it’s important.”
“I know and I am glad I got to see and talk with my parents.” Tears gathered in her eyes. “I am so thankful you made me come see them to confront them. I didn’t know I’d feel so emotional and feel so much love for them still. I’m glad that door isn’t closed.”
“Me too,” Sloan said. “Your death opened the door back up with Allen, for me too.” He paused and chuckled. “Who would have thought you’d have to die for us both to reclaim our families, and each other.”
Kennedy smiled fondly. “Kind of ironic, isn’t it? Our lives took the turns they did because of your father’s death, but it was mine that brought it all back to where it should have been.”
Sloan shook his head. “No, we each lived the lives we were supposed to, and now just as it was always meant to be, we are back where we belong.”
“Now you’re sounding like Landon, except he would be saying it was God’s plan all along.”
“Maybe
it was,” Sloan said. “All I know is we are where we’re supposed to be right now.” He leaned over and kissed her. “And I, for one, am very glad about it.”
“Me too,” she said with a natural smile.
They exited the vehicle. Sloan held her hand, weaving between the parked cars in the lot, heading towards the bright stadium lights that shone over the football field that was home to the Highland Heights Hornets. He was transported back a good fifteen years in time. Memories from his high school years invaded him, bringing with them a smile to his face.
They found Allen and Leslie by the fence at the fifty-yard line, where Allen’s text message said they’d be. Kennedy remained behind him, her face slightly turned away as Gary embraced his brother and then his sister-in-law, followed by a quick hug to his two young nieces, who she’d never met, didn’t know existed before Gary told her. She of course remembered the boys, but they were both so little when she’d last seen them.