“When I was on the run, sleeping in alleys, camping out beneath bridges, it wasn’t thoughts of my desk or my office that kept me going, kept me sane.” He looked at her again, his eyes brimming with love. “It was thoughts of you, Juli. You were my strength and my hope.”
He stood and moved across the room, then burrowed his face in his hands. “I’ve been such a fool, such a stupid, crazy fool. I’ve been somehow trying to prove myself to my father, to myself, and instead, alienated you. I don’t know how it got all messed up. All I know is I want you back in my life, Julianne.” He pulled his hands down and looked at her once again. “I want to fulfill those dreams of yours, I want to share your days and nights, listen to your thoughts and plan our future together. No more broken promises or missed picnics. Just tell me you’ll give me one more chance.”
Julianne stumbled from her chair, tears blurring her vision as she reached out to him. He pulled her against his chest, his heart thundering in the same rhythm of her own…the rhythm of love.
“Oh, Sam, I’ve never been very strong where you are concerned,” she finally said. “I want to scream at you, I want to be angry with you, but I can’t.”
He looked down at her. “Does this mean you’ll give me a chance to be the husband you want? The kind of husband you deserve?”
She nodded, her heart too full to speak. His lips claimed hers in a sweet, tender kiss that was filled with the taste of a new beginning and a glorious future.
“Daddy!” Emily’s excited squeal interrupted their kiss. As they broke apart, Emily launched herself at Sam.
“Hi, sweetcakes,” he greeted her, swinging her up onto his hip.
“Daddy, I’m so happy,” Emily exclaimed.
“You are? And what has you so happy?” Sam asked.
She put her arms around his neck and laid her cheek against his. “You’re here and it’s daytime and you aren’t a ghost daddy anymore, are you?”
“No, Emily, I’m not a ghost daddy anymore. And I’m never going to be a ghost daddy again.” He looked at Julianne, his eyes so blue, so filled with love, it stole her breath away. “I intend to be the best daddy and the best husband in the whole world. We’re going to have lots of tea parties, and picnics and special time together from now on.”
“I love you, Daddy,” Emily said.
Sam closed his eyes and squeezed Emily tight. “I love you, too.”
She wiggled impatiently. “I gotta go now, Daddy. Aunt Carolyn is waiting for me in the front yard. We’re gonna spray the sand off the twins.” Like a tiny whirlwind, she blew out the door.
“Juli?” He motioned her back into his arms. “What do you say we get married again…do the renewing vows thing?”
“Are you serious?” She looked up at him, touched and thrilled at the thought of marrying him all over again.
“I think we should. It will be a new start, a fresh beginning.”
She snuggled close to him, wondering how she ever imagined she could live without him. “I think it’s a wonderful idea.”
“Juli…you promise when the preacher asks if you’ll take me as your husband, you’ll say ‘I do’?”
She grinned teasingly, knowing her love for him was there in her eyes, radiating to him. “Gosh, Sam, I can’t make any promises.”
He growled and nuzzled her neck. “Don’t tease me, Julianne.”
She sobered and took his face in her hands. “Sam, I love you. I’d be happy to marry you again.”
“Oh, Juli, and I love you.” His mouth descended to claim hers in a kiss that pledged a lifetime of love. As his lips sweetly caressed hers, Julianne knew the rest of her life would be spent loving Sam.
Epilogue
For the first time in years, all the Baker brood were gathered together. The police had finally released the charms, and the family had come together at Sam’s house to pull up the mysterious computer program that Joseph had created before his death. While the adults sat in the living room, the children played in the kitchen, their laughter filling the house with joy.
Later that afternoon Sam and Julianne were renewing their vows in the same church where they had married eight years ago. As Julianne watched her husband feed in the secret codes from the back of the charms, she marveled at the changes that had taken place over the past month.
Sam seemed to have finally found peace with himself and was no longer driven by the demons of work. He put in eight-hour days and was always home by dinnertime. Julianne had resumed her work at the day care and enjoyed sharing the details of her day with Sam over dinner.
They had grown from the people they had been before, taking pleasure in time spent together, new intimacies explored, sharing private pieces of each other without fear. It had been a magical time, a good basis for a life-long marriage.
“I’m in,” Sam said, pulling Julianne’s thoughts to the present. Colleen, Bonnie and Carolyn all crowded around Sam as the file appeared on the screen and Sam hit the print button on the printer. As the printer whirred out a copy, Sam frowned. “This doesn’t look like any kind of incriminating evidence,” he said thoughtfully.
“What is it?” Beau, Carolyn’s husband asked, moving to stand behind his wife.
“It looks like it’s a letter…a letter to all of us,” Sam replied.
The printer stopped, and Sam picked up the hard copy as everyone else found seats around the living room. Julianne remained at Sam’s side, her hand on his shoulder in a gesture of support.
“Read it, Sam,” Bonnie said impatiently.
He nodded and cleared his throat. Julianne squeezed his shoulder, sensing his emotions rising to the surface.
“‘My dear children,’” he began. “‘If you are reading this, then I must be gone. I’ve had a sense for the past weeks of time running out, and as I face the possibility of death, I find myself looking back over my life.’” Sam cleared his throat once again, obviously emotional. “‘I am saddened to discover I am a man who’s led a relatively empty life. When your mother died, leaving behind the four of you, I was filled with fear at the daunting task of raising you. I knew mergers and bottom lines. I didn’t know children and emotional needs. I thought by not parenting and leaving the parenting to housekeepers and good schools, I couldn’t make a mistake. I was wrong.’”
Sam paused a moment to draw in a deep breath. “‘I made my mistakes through love, for none of you should ever doubt that I love you. And my wish for you all is to find love and be happy. If the corporation becomes a chain around your necks, sell it. Don’t make the mistakes I did. Find and surround yourself with love. Have children and surround them with love. For in the end, that’s what is important.’” Sam folded the paper, indicating that was the end of their father’s message to them all.
“He wasn’t a bad man,” Carolyn said softly. “Just a frightened man.” Her husband Beau pulled her close.
Sam nodded, and Julianne knew he was thinking of his own fears, fears that had nearly destroyed their marriage. “How ironic that the file that broke the entire case was simply a letter from a father to the four of his children,” he observed.
“A letter we all needed to hear,” Colleen said. She reached for Gideon’s hand. “Hearing Dad’s words has filled up a hole in me I didn’t realize I had. Although in my heart I always knew Father loved us all, I didn’t realize until now how much I needed to hear his love in words.”
“Me, too,” Bonnie agreed, leaning against her husband Russ.
Sam smiled at his sisters, then threw an arm around Julianne’s shoulders. “But Dad must have done something very right for all of us. We’ve come through a hard time, and we’ve managed to fulfill his final wish.” He looked at Carolyn and Beau, Bonnie and Russ, Colleen and Gideon, and finally to Julianne. “We’ve all found love, have surrounded ourselves with it. We’ve learned what’s important, and it’s right here in this room. Family…and love.”
“Hey, speaking of love, don’t we have a wedding to attend?” Bonnie quipped.
&nbs
p; Julianne smiled at her sisters- and brothers-in-law. “Since we’re all here, why don’t we make it a quadruple ceremony? All the Baker brood renewing their vows in honor of Joseph?”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Sam said as the others agreed.
“However,” Julianne cautioned them, “I don’t intend to share my second honeymoon with the entire Baker brood.”
They all laughed and in their laughter Julianne beard the sounds of healing, of forgiveness, and most of all, love.
* * * * *
eISBN 978-14592-7997-1
DADDY ON THE RUN
Copyright © 1996 by Carla Bracale
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this woik in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
Printed In U.S.A
Table of Contents
Cover Page
Table of Contents
Excerpt
Dear Reader
Books by Carla Cassidy
About the Author
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Epilogue
Copyright
Daddy On The Run Page 13