21

Nikki sat on the edge of her bed at Bethany’s house. She was tired and exhausted and wanted to go home to Florida, where she could climb into bed and collapse. There was something she needed to do but she couldn’t quite grasp it. The man, the needle jab, something had gone haywire. She started to do something but got tired. And when she’d woken up again, she’d driven home, barely able to stay awake.

Would this never end? This went much deeper than a McMann family issue.

The attack last night meant it wasn’t over.

Maybe Lucas was right and the problem wasn’t Kathryn Rites.

An epiphany went off inside her mind. She should have called the FBI last night. But Agent Goode had given Nikki her cell-phone number too. She’d call her soon.

Bethany and Cassie were at church and Ray was at the hospital.

She’d enjoy one last day with her family and then go back to Florida tomorrow.

The FBI had taken charge of the situation. There was nothing more for her to do.

And the sooner she was away from Lucas, the better. He muddled up her thinking. Their time together had been too intense. It brought back too many memories that needed to be forgotten.

She walked downstairs. Fresh coffee and the last of the nutty-cinnamon muffins sat on the counter. A note was emblazoned with her name.

Look out the front door. B

She walked to the front door and opened it.

A strange man stood at the door.

“Who are you?”

A moment later, Lucas walked up the steps with a bouquet of flowers. “Good morning.” He handed her the flowers. “For you.”

“Why are you here and who is that man?”

“I’ll explain everything if you let me come in.”

She opened the door wider. “You don’t have to give me flowers every day.”

“It seems only right, considering what I keep putting you through.”

“You aren’t responsible for the actions of other people.”

“I agree, but I like giving you flowers anyway. After all, one of these days you might just become the flower lady.”

“I just got up.” She pointed at her pajamas.

“So I see. Nice look.”

“I need some coffee.” She walked back to the kitchen and poured a cup for both of them. She stared down at the muffin. Only one. “I’ll share.”

“Not necessary. I already had my breakfast. Coffee’s fine.”

After sitting down and taking a few sips, she looked at him. “OK, why are you here and who’s the man?”

“He’s FBI.”

“FBI? I told you I didn’t need any babysitters.” Her tone was too harsh. She smiled to offset her tone. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, but it’s not necessary.” Well, maybe it was, considering what happened last night.

“I wasn’t taking chances with your safety. Agent Goode and I had a talk last night and we became a bit worried about you. She decided you needed some security. Not me. If you’re upset, talk to her.”

“You’ve been here all night?”

“No, just since about two this morning. When I called Agent Goode.”

“Did you get any sleep?”

He took a sip of coffee. “How sweet of you to be worried about me.”

How could he be so happy without any sleep? She needed her solid eight hours before even thinking about being cheerful. “I suppose this is as good a time as any to tell you I was attacked last night in the FBI parking garage.”

He set down the coffee cup and stared at her. “You were what?”

“I was walking to my car and someone pushed me down.”

“And I’m just now hearing about it. Are you hurt?”

“As you can see, I’m fine.” No need to tell him they’d drugged her.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“I was so tired. I just wanted to come back here. I planned to call Sarah today.” She stared at him. Should she tell him what the man had said? Did it even matter?

“I knew it. I knew you were in danger. I don’t care what you say. You’re keeping the security.”

“I can do that for today, but I’m going back to Florida tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Why so soon?”

“I’ve done all I can here. The FBI doesn’t need my help to get to the bottom of this.”

“That’s probably a good idea. You’ll probably be safer in Florida, but before you go, we need to have a serious talk. I know a lot of time has passed, and I know I hurt—”

“There was nothing to forgive.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“I would. If you remember, I’m the one who broke up with you.”

“My father gave me a choice, college or you. The next day, you called and told me you didn’t want to see me anymore, so I went to college.” Lucas sighed. “Several years later, he told me the truth, but by then, it was too late. You were married.”

“See, I’m right. You really did nothing to be forgiven for. You were a victim.” More than he would ever know.

His gaze met hers. “We were both victims, Nikki.”

Her heart thumped. She wanted to go to him, have him put his arms around her and tell her everything would be all right. Instead, she smiled at him. “Good. That’s all settled.”

“And that brings us to the present. All the secrets, all the hurt is behind us.”

Nikki didn’t want to talk about secrets. “Now we can both move on with our lives.”

“I agree. And there’s no reason we can’t do that together.”

Oh, there was a big reason. “Lucas, that can’t happen. It’s a sweet, romantic idea, but it’s not practical. And you know it.”

“Love isn’t supposed to be practical.”

He was making this so hard.

“Maybe not, but someone has to be. I’d like to pretend that it could work. That we could have a fun and exciting whirlwind romance. But in the end, it still wouldn’t work.”

“Why not?”

“To make it very simple, before the end of the year, you’ll probably be a senator in DC. Where you belong and I don’t.”

“I just don’t understand why you aren’t willing to give it a chance. To give us a chance.”

Her heart was breaking but she had to do this. For Cassie. “You will always have a part of my heart, but we are not meant to be together.”

“You’re wrong, Nikki. Please give us a chance.” He bent his lips to her. “I love you.”

She didn’t move away. She wanted him to kiss her forever. When they separated, she shook her head. “I loved the you I knew when I was sixteen. And you loved the me that I was then. We can treasure what we had, but it’s time for us to move on with our lives. I can’t be a senator’s wife and you can’t be a private investigator’s husband.”

“That does sound ridiculous when you put it like that.” He looked at her and brushed her hair away from her cheek. “We can find a way to make it work.”

She shook her head. “No, we can’t.” She picked up her coffee cup and walked to the sink.

“Are you sure?” He moved closer.

She forced herself to step back. “I’m sure.”

“If you ever change your mind…” He touched her cheek once more.

The silence between them grew. He put a hand on her shoulder.

She closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of his hand on her, knowing it would be the last time.

With a light caress, he touched her hair. “If you change your mind, you know where to find me.” In Washington, DC—where he belonged.

As much as she’d like to change her mind, she wouldn’t. Cassie came first. When she heard the door open and close, she let the tears fall.

****

By the time Bethany came back, Nikki was showered and dressed.

“I see the guard is still here.” Bethany set her Bible on the coffee table.

“Just for the day. He’ll leave when I leave.”

“That’s certainly nice of Lucas.”

“He’s FBI, not a security guard Lucas hired. Besides, I got tired of arguing.”

Bethany laughed. “You, tired of arguing? I guess you really have changed.” She sat down in the recliner.

“Very funny. Where’s Cassie?”

“I dropped her off at the library.”

“I didn’t know kids still went there.”

“Her English teacher gave them some sort of assignment that could only be done at the library. She wants them to learn how to use it. And not just the internet.”

“I thought you’d like to know what happened yesterday.”

Bethany leaned forward. “I was being polite, waiting until you brought it up. So did Kathryn Rites get arrested?”

“She did, but we aren’t sure if she was the one responsible for me getting shot.”

Her eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

“Well, at first we thought the case was closed. Until I was attacked and drugged, then—”

“You were attacked and drugged?” Bethany jumped up from the chair.

“Don’t get yourself in a panic. As you can see, I’m fine.”

“No wonder Lucas insisted on having security with you. I don’t think you should go back to Florida.”

“But that’s what the mugger wanted me to do.”

“Since when do you let someone bully you?”

“I don’t, but that’s what I planned to do anyway. So, I’m not being bullied into not doing what I’d already planned.”

“I think that makes sense.” Bethany sat back down. “The truth is, the farther you’re away from Lucas McMann, the safer you’ll probably be.”

She didn’t know about safer—but it certainly was easier. It was just too hard being around Lucas and knowing they could never be together. She nodded. “It’s my last day. What do you say; want to go eat at the diner?”

“Sounds good to me.”

When they returned, Bethany looked at her watch. “I can’t believe Cassie’s not home yet. She should have been home over an hour ago. Unless she’s in one of her moods again.”

“Any reason she would be?”

“She doesn’t need one. Anything can set her off at any time.” Bethany picked up the phone and hit a number. As she waited, she rolled her eyes. “She's not answering her phone. I hate when she does that.”

“Maybe she turned it off since she was at the library. You know, you’re supposed to be quiet there.”

A few minutes later, the doorbell buzzed.

“I’ll get it, Bethany.” Nikki hoped it wasn’t Lucas again. But she was pretty sure it wouldn’t be. He seemed to have gotten the message. There was nothing more either of them could say. The past was over and they each had a future but it wouldn’t be together. She opened the door. “Rachel.”

Cassie’s best friend stood there, her face streaked with tears. She was out of breath. “I…I…they grabbed her. Put her in a van.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Cassie. They kidnapped her.”

“Did she say kidnapped?” Bethany’s voice rose and cracked.

“Tell me what happened.” Nikki led the sobbing girl to the sofa.

“Cassie left the library first. I was trying to catch up to her. She was a few blocks away when a van stopped. Someone got out of it and grabbed her. At first, she was fighting, but then she sort of collapsed. I was running as fast as I could to get to her. To help her. They put her in the van and drove off. I screamed for help but no one came.” Rachel dissolved into tears.

“Did you call the police?”

“Didn’t have my phone with me. I forgot it. I just came here.”

Bethany had turned pale and looked as if she couldn’t breathe.

“Bethany, call 911. Now.”

****

Lucas sat on the sofa, pretending to read the newspaper while his mother watched TV. In reality, he was thinking about Nikki. Something didn’t fit. He could tell she had feelings for him. He could see the love in her eyes. Yet she refused to acknowledge that. She kept talking about them living in different worlds, but so what? That only made them as a couple more interesting, not impossible. He smiled at the thought of introducing Nikki to his stodgy friends as a private investigator. Could his ego be telling him that Nikki felt the same way as he did, but in reality, she was over him? He sighed.

Mama gave him one of her sidelong glances. She probably could tell something was wrong, but she wasn’t hounding him. She’d wait until he was ready.

He wasn’t ready. Nikki had asked him to respect her wishes, and he would do that. For now. But he wasn’t giving up. He was sure God had a plan for them—together. He turned another page of the paper and tried to focus on the words.

The TV broke in with an Amber Alert.

When he heard the word Maiden, he looked up from the paper.

His mother’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, my goodness. Who is it?”

Then the picture flashed on the screen.

Lucas stared, not believing his eyes. His baby sister, who died of meningitis when she was four years old, stared at him…older, but with the same flaming red hair and bright blue eyes. This was what Mary would have looked like if she’d lived. Had she…he looked at his mother, not understanding. Then he heard her name—Cassie Martin. “That’s Nikki’s niece. But she looks just like Mary. How can that be?” He looked at his mother. “Did you see her? Doesn’t she look just like Mary?” The expression on his mother’s face scared him.

Tears filled her eyes, but she still didn’t speak.

“Mama, do you see her?”

“This is…this is horrible. Her family must be worried to death.”

“How can Nikki’s niece look that much like Mary? I don’t understand.”

His mother took a deep breath and then met his gaze. “Because she’s not really Nikki’s niece.”

He sat down on the sofa, not able to breathe. Not able to think. Finally, he found his voice. “What are you saying, Mama?”

“She’s Nikki’s daughter.”

Lucas stared at his mother. Nikki had a daughter. A daughter who was sixteen. How could that be? The pieces of the puzzle clicked into place. It couldn’t be true. “And….and I’m her father.”

His mother nodded but didn’t look at him.

“I have a daughter. And you’ve known about it.”

“Only for a few years.”

“And you never told me. How could you not tell me, Mama? I had a right to know. She’s my daughter.”

“She is Ray and Bethany’s daughter. They are her parents. No matter who had a part in creating her, she is their daughter. We don’t have the right to shatter that child’s life because of our own selfishness.”

“How can you say that? She has a right to know I’m her father.”

“She has a father and you aren’t him.” His mother met his gaze.

“How can you say that?”

“Because I’ve had a lot of time to think about it. To pray about it.”

“You never thought Nikki was good enough and I guess her daughter…my daughter, isn’t good enough either.”

“Stop right there, Lucas McMann.” She stood up and faced her son. “Don’t you think I wanted to hug my grandchild the first time I saw her? Just like you, I knew immediately she was a McMann with that flaming red hair and the picture of Mary. Don’t you think I haven’t lain awake at night praying for guidance, praying that telling you was the right thing? And every time I did, the answer came back the same. Cassie doesn’t belong to me or to you.”

Anger coursed through him. He would have never thought his mother would have hidden such a thing from him. Betrayed him like this. His father, yes. But not his mama. “You know how much I’ve wanted a child.”

“And now you have one. So act like a parent. Put your child’s needs ahead of your own.” Her blue eyes blazed with righteous anger. She wasn’t backing down.

He was tempted to throw the fact in her face that she’d let his father’s needs take precedence over her son’s. But that wasn’t true. He’d wanted to please his father. That had been his choice.

A choice that had left Nikki alone and pregnant.

Oh, dear God. He sent his thoughts heavenward.

No wonder she had been so angry and bitter. She’d had to give up her child because he hadn’t been man enough to stand up against his father.

No wonder she’d kept Cassie away from him.

It all made so much more sense now.

What had he done? With shaking knees, he sat back down on the sofa. “Doesn’t Cassie have a right to know who her real parents are?”

“She knows who her parents are. And it’s not you and Nikki Kent. For whatever reason, Nikki made a decision. In spite of what we did, she could have come to you and told you she was pregnant. Or she could have come to us and asked for more money. But she didn’t. She put that child’s needs first. And as much as you’d like to, you haven’t the right to tell that child anything different.”

“But she’s been kidnapped. Am I supposed to sit here and do nothing? Pretend I don’t know who she is?”

“Of course not. Go put every resource you have into finding her. And when she’s found, you’ll step back and let her family celebrate her homecoming. Her family, not yours.”

“But I’m her father.”

“Then act like it.”

His first act as a father was to call Elizabeth. He left a message for her. “Elizabeth, I have an emergency. It’s not me. I’m fine. But I need you to do something for me.”

“Just when you need her, she’s not answering. Lousy timing.” His mother paced.

“Chances are she’s in or near a national forest. No cell-phone reception. It happens all the time to me when I drive here.”

“The TV reporters didn’t give many details. Can you call Nikki to find out what happened?” his mother asked.

“Better yet, I’ll drive to her sister’s house.”

She put a hand on his arm. “I know it’s not my business and I have no right to ask, but I am. Please don’t upset them any more by telling them you know the truth. This isn’t the time.”

Could he do that? Could he really pretend he didn’t know? He wasn’t sure if he could keep the masquerade up forever, but his mother was right. They didn’t need more stress at the moment. He could keep quiet now.

Cassie’s parentage wasn’t what was important. Finding Cassie was all that mattered.

“I’m not asking you to lie. Just keep quiet. Once you’ve had time to think about it, you’ll know the right thing is to not disrupt Cassie’s life. Think how betrayed she’ll feel. She’ll feel as if everyone important has lied her whole life. Think how horrible that would be.”

“I won’t say anything right now. But I’m not promising I won’t later. When she’s safe. But for now, I’ll keep quiet.”

His mother kissed his cheek. “I know you’ll do the right thing after you’ve had some time to think about it. Pray about it, Lucas. God will tell you what He’s been telling me. Do not disrupt that precious child’s life.” She left the room.

Lucas walked over to the mantel and slipped the picture of Mary into his pocket. He walked out the door and got into his car.

As he drove to Ray and Bethany’s house, he tried to still his mind, but it was going a hundred miles per hour. To discover that he had a daughter, and that there was an Amber Alert out for her. Mind-boggling.

When he arrived at the house, there were two police cruisers and several other vehicles. He pulled in. Trotting up to the house, he prayed for calmness and courage. But most of all, he prayed for wisdom.