by Rye Hart
“I was going to call you in the morning,” I said.
“I got a call from the police. They found her?” she asked.
“They did. Sydney’s back home.”
“Oh my gosh.”
I furrowed my brow as muffled cries came from Sarah’s end of the phone.
“I’m just so glad she’s alive. And safe.”
“Me too,” I said. “She’s sleeping right now after taking a bath with Daniel.”
“Do they do that a lot?”
I clenched my jaw as I leaned against the wall.
“They did,” I said. “Haven’t done it in a while, though.”
“Are they close?” Sarah asked.
“They are. Very.”
There were more muffled sobs on her end of the line before a phrase fell from her mouth I never thought I’d hear.
“I’m so sorry, Kevin.”
“For what?” I asked.
“For everything. For leaving. For divorcing you. For never coming to see our kids.”
“We’ve been fine,” I said. “They’ve been fine.”
“When I found out that Sydney was taken, it made me sick. I fell to my knees, Kevin. I felt a part of me breaking.”
“Me too,” I said.
“I haven’t been able to sleep or eat. I know my boyfriend thought I was insane,” she said. “But I couldn't stop wondering if she was all right. If she was going to make it home.”
I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath through my nose.
“Well, she’s home and she’s safe,” I said.
“I want to be back in my children’s lives.”
I snickered and shook my head.
“Now’s not the time to discuss this,” I said.
“Please, Kevin. When I found out what happened to Sydney, it broke me. Knowing I had grown so distant from my own family that the father of my children didn’t even think to call me—”
“I’m sorry to hear that. But you did that to yourself.”
“I’m not debating the past. What I did to you and the kids was wrong. And selfish. I get that now.”
“It just took your daughter being kidnapped to see it,” I said bitterly.
“I want to be a part of your lives, Kevin. Of your life.”
“Your boyfriend like that idea?”
“With all due respect to him, that isn’t his call. Those are my kids.”
“No, Sarah. They’re mine. And I’m not in the right frame of mind to have this conversation with you right now.”
“Please, Kevin. Let me try. Let me try to be the mother I should be for them,” she said.
I peeked around the corner of the room and saw Brooke sleeping next to Sydney, curled up around her and protecting her the only way she knew she could. That was what a mother was supposed to do with her children. And that was what Sarah had given up when I woke up and found her gone.
“I’ll think about it,” I said.
Then I hung up the phone, tossed it into my room, and went to slide in bed next to Daniel.
CHAPTER 28
BROOKE
The sun flooding through the windows warmed my skin. I groaned with the ache in my body as I felt something small shift against my torso. I looked down at the mass of brown hair haloed against the pillow.
I was met with Sydney’s sleepy smile as my eyes fluttered open.
“Thank you,” Sydney said.
“For what?” I asked.
“For saving me.”
I bent down and kissed her forehead as she nuzzled underneath my chin.
“I’ll always come for you,” I said. “No matter what.”
“Are you staying?” she asked.
“For as long as you guys want me around, sure,” I said.
But the truth was, I wasn’t sure if I was sticking around. I knew, however, that my presence was comforting to her, and we had gone through a lot. The last thing I wanted to do was tell this beautiful little girl that I wasn’t sure what was in store for us after we left the island.
I hugged Sydney close to me before I rolled us out of bed. It was hard to move. My legs were stiff and my face was on fire. I took Sydney’s hands and she grunted, trying to help me out of bed.
I giggled and shook my head before the two of us started into the bathroom.
We cleaned ourselves up and I wrapped my robe tightly around my body. It was soft and warm and it felt good against my bruised skin. Sydney brushed her teeth and let me do her hair. We even picked out a fun little outfit for her to wear to try and get some normalcy back into the house.
Then we went downstairs and found Kevin and Daniel already eating breakfast at the table.
“Morning,” Kevin said with a smile.
“Morning, Daddy.”
“Sister!” Daniel said. “Hi, Brooke.”
I smiled at the little boy.
“What’s for breakfast?” I asked.
“Pancakes, eggs, bacon, and coffee,” Kevin said.
My stomach let out a loud growl in appreciation of all the food.
“Will you eat with us?” Sydney asked.
“Of course I will,” I said.
“Good. Because I’ve got plates made for both of you. Hold on,” Kevin said.
He got up and went over to the oven and pulled out two massive plates of food. My saliva glands were kicking into overdrive as he set it down in front of me. He handed me a fork and a giant mug of coffee, and I moaned in appreciation.
Both Sydney and I were famished.
“Daddy?” Daniel asked.
“What’s up, bud?”
“When can we go home?”
I raised my eyes to Kevin as he cleared his throat.
“As soon as possible, buddy,” Kevin said.
“Really?” I asked. “I thought we’d have to wait until things were—you know.”
“Wrapped up?” he asked. “They are. I got a call from the Chief this morning.”
“Wait, seriously?” I asked. “What happened?”
“They finally got the guy in custody to talk. He confirmed that he was working with Gianni. They’ve alerted the Italian police and are on the lookout for him, and in the meantime, he’s been put on the No-Fly List. The FBI is looking for him as well as MI-6. He won’t stay hidden for long, and once he’s found he’ll be going to jail for a very long time.”
“So, they’ve cleared us all to leave?” I asked.
“They have. We can leave whenever we want,” he said.
“I wanna go home tomorrow,” Daniel said.
“Me too, Daddy. I don’t wanna be here anymore,” Sydney said.
“That is perfectly understandable. So, if you guys want to go home tomorrow, we’ll go home. Brooke?”
“What?” I asked.
“How does leaving tomorrow sound?”
“I mean, I’ll have to search flights out, but yeah. If you guys are leaving, then I’m leaving.”
“You aren’t coming with us?” Sydney asked.
I looked down at her widening eyes as Kevin took her hand.
“Of course she is, sweetheart. Miss Brooke’s gonna ride home with us on our jet.”
“Your jet?” I asked.
“Yeah. Daddy has a jet, and it’s awesome,” Daniel said with a smile.
“We can drop you wherever you live now before we head home,” Kevin said.
“I’m still in Los Angeles,” I said.
“Us too,” he responded.
I looked up into his eyes as a smile crossed my cheeks.
“Then—it looks like I’m flying home with you guys,” I said.
“Yeah!” Daniel exclaimed.
“Miss Brooke’s coming home with us!” Sydney said.
I went to open my mouth to gently correct her, but Kevin shot me a look. The kids were smiling for the first time in days, so if this was a victory they wanted to rejoice in, I wasn’t going to take that from them.
Following Kevin’s lead, I let them talk about all the things we would do on
the plane going home.
“Could you excuse me for a second?” I asked. “I want to go call Morgan.”
“You do whatever you want,” Kevin said. “The kids and I are going to go upstairs and pack.”
“Sounds like a good idea. I should do the same thing.”
“Don’t wear yourself out,” he said.
I saw Kevin’s eyes fall to the bruises on my cheeks, then he took the hands of his children and led them upstairs to pack.
I finished off the rest of my breakfast and even took a few bites of Sydney’s. I was hungrier than I thought. I filled up my coffee mug one last time, then slowly made my way to the guest bedroom. I sat down on the edge of the mattress and sighed as tears sprang to my eyes.
It felt so good to be back in this room.
“Brooke! What the hell? I’ve been trying to call you for fucking days,” Morgan said.
“Well, I’m here,” I said.
“Where the fuck have you been?” she asked.
I drew in a deep breath before my mouth ran away from me.
“We found Sydney, but at a cost. We worked with the police to set up a sting to pay the ransom. The point was to put a tracking device on me so if they took me instead of the money they could follow it back to where Sydney was being kept.”
“What the fuck? Brooke. When the hell are you coming home? This has gone on long enough.”
“I know, I know. And I’m fine. And Sydney’s fine. We’re packing up and heading out tomorrow,” I said.
“Good. Because that island has held nothing but heartache for you since we fucking got there. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Depends on how you define okay. I’m a bit bruised, but it’ll fade with time.”
“Bruised? What the—? You know what? We’ll talk about this when you get home. All I’m saying is that if you aren’t on a plane tomorrow, I’m flying out there and personally dragging your ass home.”
“I love you too, Morgan.”
“You let that asshole of a man know I’m coming for him. How the hell could my best friend have been abducted and he not even fucking call me?”
“He probably wasn’t thinking straight.”
“Then it’s about time he fucking started.”
“Morgan—”
“Sorry. Sorry. I’m just—fuck me, girl. I’m glad you’re okay.”
I heard Morgan sniffle before she cleared her throat.
“Can I admit something to you?” I asked.
“Of course,” she said.
“Despite all of this, I think I’m actually going to miss Kevin and the kids.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. If you were willing to do all that to get his daughter back, I figured a bond must have developed somewhere.”
“But it’s better that way, right? For me to land at home and get back to my life,” I said.
“It’s whatever you want, Brooke. You’ve spent your entire life doing what you thought was right. Maybe it’s time to do what you want to do for once.”
“The last time I did what I wanted to do, I got kidnapped.”
“Nope. You felt you had to do that because you blamed yourself for Sydney being taken. I don’t think you wanted to do whatever the hell it was you convinced them to do. I think you felt a responsibility to do it. Which is all the more reason for you to do something you want to do for once.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I still have that book to finish and—”
“Have you talked to Kevin about this?”
“What?”
“Have you talked with Kevin about the possibility of staying?”
“None of us wants to stay on this island,” I said.
“Not that, Brooke. I meant staying with them. Have you told him you’re going to miss him?”
“No.”
“Don’t you think you should?”
“I don’t know, Morgan. The past week has been literal hell. I just don’t know if either of us is up for that right now,” I said.
“You need to talk to Kevin about this sooner rather than later. Otherwise, you’ll land in L.A. and go back to your life always wondering what would have happened had you opened your mouth and spoken from your heart.”
“Fine, you’re right. Are you happy?” I asked.
“Oh, yes. I love those two words. I get off on them.”
I giggled and shook my head as I drew in a deep breath.
“It’s not the right time,” I said.
“Why not?” Morgan asked.
“Because he just got his daughter back. Because the last thing I need to hit him with right now is a bunch of questions about the status of our relationship. We both knew this was temporary and that when the vacation was over, we would go our separate ways and he would pay me for the job.”
“But then you fell in love with him.”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, come on. I’m your best damn friend, Brooke. I know when you’re in love. And girl, you’ve got it bad for Kevin. Again.”
“I’m not in love with him.”
“Then you’re damn close to it. Look, the circumstances changed. And they probably changed for him, too. You all went through a lot together. And you don’t save a man’s daughter without earning some sort of closer relationship with him. So, I think the conversation is worth having.”
“At the right time,” I said.
“Fine. At any right time between now and before you leave the island tomorrow.”
I fell back down onto the bed and let the softness of the sheets encompass my body. I knew Morgan was right. This was a conversation I needed to have with Kevin. But I wasn’t ready to have it. After everything we had been through, I wasn’t prepared for the possibility of rejection.
“You done?” Morgan asked.
“Done doing what?”
“Overthinking.”
“Never,” I said.
“Well, try. Now go pack and get on that damn plane tomorrow. And talk to the man. Because if you roll back into this city and the first thing out of your mouth is, ‘I wish I’d talked to him,’ I’m gonna slap you silly.”
“Fine, fine. Get off it already,” I told her, laughing softly.
“Okay, girl. You know I’m right here. You can call me anytime. Let me know what airport you’re flying into and I’ll meet you there.”
“Okay,” I said. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Brooke. Come home. We’ll figure it out from there.”
Hanging up the phone, I rolled over onto my side. I could hear the kids laughing as Kevin chased them around upstairs. I curled up in the middle of the bed as my tears wet the comforter below my face and my chest began to heave. I sobbed as I pulled the comforter from the edges of the bed, wrapping myself up in it as best as I could. The emotions of the last week had a firm grip on me and released themselves at the most inopportune times.
I didn’t know what I was going to do from here, I just wanted to go home.
CHAPTER 29
KEVIN
I eyed Brooke carefully on the jet ride home. I had heard her crying the day before as I helped the kids pack upstairs. I had wanted to intervene, to pick her up in my arms and hold her closely like I had my children. I wanted to be the comfort I knew she needed during this time, but something stopped me.
For some reason, I felt like she needed that time to herself. And it was the very least I could do for her.
The closer the plane got to LAX, the more I dreaded our departure. Every single part of me wanted to ask her to stay. To ask her to come home with the kids and I and stay with us for a while. I wondered where in L.A. she lived. And if she would consider becoming our full-time nanny and staying with the kids. She could be a live-in. I’d make room for her. She could have guests and a house key and come and go as she pleased. I’d pay her handsomely. I’d pay her every penny I thought she was worth after everything we had been through.
“Sir?”
“Hmm?” I asked.
“Yo
u have a phone call,” the stewardess said.
“Hello?” I asked.
“Kevin, it’s me.”
“Sarah,” I said, as I looked over at Brooke.
The kids were asleep against her, but I couldn't tell if she was asleep or merely staring out the window.
“I was wondering if you guys were still on the island.”
“No. We’re in the air headed home,” I said.
“Oh, good. I just got back a couple of hours ago. I couldn't stay there.”
“Me neither,” I said.
“I wanted to talk with you about what I mentioned the other night,” she said.
“Can we do this another time?” I asked.
“Please, Kevin. Talk to me. Please don’t keep putting me off. I want to make amends.”
“I know you do, but I’m not prepared to talk about it right now.”
“We need to talk about it for the sake of the kids.”
“With all due respect, they have little to no idea who you are. And the last time I checked, you didn’t give us much of a choice. Why should you get one now?” I asked.
“I know what I did was wrong. I’ve been paying for it for years.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“Well, I have. And you don’t have to believe me. You can talk to my therapist if you want to.”
“Your therapist?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said, breathlessly. “My therapist. Kevin, I had serious postpartum depression.”
I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath as her admission hit me like a ton of bricks. Was she being serious? Postpartum depression? Was that the reason she’d abandoned us? Why the hell hadn’t she told me? And how the hell hadn’t I seen it?
“Kevin?”
“I’m here,” I said.
“It hasn’t been easy, and some days are still worse than others. But I want a chance at this. At reconciliation. I’m on medication that has stabilized me for over two years. I’m doing really well, and I miss my kids.”
“I can’t talk about this right now, Sarah. I haven’t even gotten them home yet,” I said.
“Kevin, please.”
“I’ll call you later.”
I hung up the phone and handed it back to my stewardess. I looked back over at Brooke and the kids, and I still couldn't tell if she was asleep or if she had overheard the whole thing.