“Of course. But we never came up with anything.”
Gillian prayed she wasn’t stirring false hope. “Do you know if Amanda was ever fingerprinted?”
“I don’t think so. We didn’t have any reason to believe her prints were on record.”
“If her elementary school participated in a safety program, they may have her prints on file.”
“I’m willing to try, but we’ve checked out every possible lead over the years.”
“In Texas?” she questioned quietly.
“Of course.” Then it struck him. “You think he may have gone beyond the borders?”
“One of the matching crimes on the national computer bank was in Louisiana. It’s not a stretch to believe he could have dumped the bodies outside the state the crime occurred in.”
“To find Amanda after all these years….” He met her eyes. “Even if it means there’s no chance she’s alive.”
“We have the technology to match the prints from a younger child to someone older,” Gillian told him, knowing it was probably a futile chance, also knowing they had to pursue even a minuscule lead. She gripped his hand. “I didn’t tell you about the pattern before because I didn’t want to build up your hopes. There’s only a slim chance. Remember that.”
He returned the pressure. “I’ll take what I can get.”
IT TOOK ONLY TWO DAYS to link the prints Amanda’s school provided with a Jane Doe discovered in Louisiana a few months after Amanda’s disappearance. At the time of her abduction, the information from state to state wasn’t connected by a national data bank as it was now.
Brad used his connections in the department to get the body exhumed swiftly and returned to Houston. Until the confirmation, a tiny part of him had wanted to believe they would find Amanda, older, perhaps unaware of her real family, but miraculously all right.
Instead, he helped plan his sister’s funeral.
He expected the day to be bleak. Instead it was a perfect day. Although bright, the sun wasn’t sweltering and a light breeze cooled the air. The gathering was small since they had decided on a private grave-side memorial.
His parents were sad but restrained. So many years had passed since they’d held their daughter, had fully believed in her safe return. Still, tears escaped as the minister spoke and they remembered the lively, beautiful girl Amanda had been. She would have liked the day, he realized in surprise. The gentle song of birds and the chatter of squirrels as they chased up and down the giant, towering oaks. And the thought was a good one.
Brad felt Gillian’s hand in his, silently offering her support. And that was good, as well.
The minister completed the service with a prayer for the Mitchells. The flowers, roses and daisies, were Amanda’s favorites and they added a poignant sweetness.
Gillian placed her other hand on his mother’s arm. “I’m so sorry.”
Elizabeth looked at her with newly regained spirit. “Don’t be. We needed this closure. All of us. Gillian, life has no guarantees, and I know now we should make everything we can of each day we’re allotted. I regret the many wasted years. But I’m not going to dwell on the past any longer. It’s time to face tomorrow.”
Gillian hugged her former mother-in-law.
“You will come to the house, won’t you?” Thomas asked her. “It will be a small gathering.”
“Of course.”
“I’ll drive her,” Brad told his father.
He watched his parents walk away arm in arm, realizing, despite their sadness, it was the first time they’d had a future in many years.
As he drove toward their home, Brad pulled off the main road.
Gillian straightened, looking out the window. “Where are we going?”
“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten this place.”
She turned to look at him. And it was obvious they were both remembering the same thing. It was a spot they’d used for romantic picnics. A special, poignant, meaningful place.
He parked the car and turned off the engine, the silence sudden. But Brad knew he had to brave the many silences between them. “Will you walk with me?”
She turned toward him, her eyes searching, her voice subdued. “Yes.”
As they walked beneath the thick canopy of overhanging branches, Brad realized Gillian had never looked more beautiful. The black of her dress didn’t detract from her appearance, instead the dramatic color enhanced her translucent ivory skin and dark, flowing hair.
He took her hand. It felt so right within his. Everything in his life was better with her beside him. They paused on a lush, grassy slope and he faced her. “I’ve been thinking about what my mother said. Do you really believe life has no guarantees?”
She lifted liquid eyes. “Yes. And even though it’s difficult, life comes with loss as well as joy.”
Loss he now knew they both shared. “Gillian, would you consider changing your job?”
Visible exasperation gripped her. “Haven’t you learned anything from all we’ve been through?”
“I don’t mean completely give up your job. But I thought you’d want to be a full-time mother. I know some bureau employees work part-time from home, in less dangerous positions, ones that allow them enough time for their families.”
“Oh…”
Brad knew he was tackling the riskiest but most important mission in his life. “I love you, Gilly. I never stopped loving you. And even though it’s taken me awhile, I believe our lives would be fuller with children.” He swallowed. “What do you say?”
Her lips trembled, and tears she couldn’t suppress flooded her eyes. This was what she’d dreamed of, longed for. But even though she loved him desperately, she couldn’t ignore the past. “You have to want a child. Just as it couldn’t be an impulse generated by pity, it can’t be a compromise.”
“It’s not. You asked me if I’d learned anything. I have. I’ve learned I have to be willing to love…and to lose. I’ve already done both with you.” He stroked her cheek. “And I’m willing to risk loss if it means having children with you, ones I can love with all my heart.”
She bit her lip to stop the trembling.
Brad drew her closer. “More important, I know I never want to be without your love again. It’s the one constant that’s never wavered, only grown.”
Her arms crept around his neck. “I’ve never stopped loving you, either. I never wanted to. I always hoped—”
His lips fitted against hers, echoing the hope that had been etched in their love.
They swayed together beneath an ancient oak, pledging eternity. The breeze whispered around them, carrying away the pain of the past while August roses released fragrant promises in the sunshine. Promises Brad and Gillian were always meant to share.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-3646-2
VANISHED
Copyright © 2003 by Bonnie K. Winn.
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Vanished (Harlequin Super Romance) Page 16