Page 19 of Defending A Promise
“I was working at a wedding event, and it was finally over. It was a bridezilla-type of thing, but it paid really well, so I sucked it up and dealt with her. Anyway, it was finally over, and the bride was off to marital bliss and the caterers and event crew had everything cleaned up as if nothing had happened. I was going back to my car when I found a note on the windshield.”
“What did it say?” he asks hesitantly.
“Exactly what was on my parents’ door last night – He’s mine and I want him.”
“Is there anyone in your past that would do something like this?”
I shake my head, “No. No one. Every relationship I have ever had always ended amicably. And all my clients were always so happy with my work. I can’t think of anyone that would do something like this.”
Declan wipes his chin with one hand, “I hate to ask…”
“Go ahead. I’m sure you’re gonna ask me what the cops from here to Atlanta have already asked.”
“Is he really Nick’s son? Could he be someone else’s?”
“Only by some sort of miracle, Declan. Nick was the only one I was with in over a year. Nicholas is most definitely Nick’s son.”
He nods, “So, what did you do when you found the note?”
“I called the cops, but they did nothing. They said that there were no fingerprints on the note – and I had to beg them to at least try to dust for fingerprints. They looked at me like I was some kind of nutjob and said it was probably some prank from some kids.”
“Figures. Go on.”
“Finally, they told me that there was nothing they could do because the guy hadn’t broken any laws and since I ‘claimed’ I didn’t know who he was, that I couldn’t even file a protection order.”
“That’s total bullshit.”
“I know, but that’s what Atlanta police told me.” I finish off the rest of my coffee. “But after that, I hadn’t heard from this guy in a few months, and I mistakenly had a sense of relief figuring that he moved on.”
“But he didn’t.”
“But he didn’t.” I repeat. “One day, I got a call from Nicholas’ daycare asking me if it was okay if another family member picked Nicholas up from school.”
“What?!”
“Yep. This crazy person was trying to kidnap my kid.”
“Did you call the cops then?”
“You bet your ass I did. I dropped everything I was doing and raced over to the daycare. I told the director to not let Nicholas out of her sight, that whoever was there was not a family member, and that I’m calling the cops.” I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. Every time I think of that day and how scared I was that I might lose my little boy, my throat closes up and it becomes hard to breathe.
Declan takes my hand in his. “Shh. It’s okay. He’s okay.” He points over to where my son is lying on his back, his head propped up on Bella’s belly and he’s just chattering away to her and, like a good dog, she’s listening.
“By the time the cops showed up, the guy was long gone, and the video cameras only caught a glimpse of his profile in a baseball hat, glasses, and a dark, long coat. But at least they believed me that this was a real thing – even if they think it may be a domestic dispute – at least they knew it wasn’t all in my head.”
“I hate to defend them, but the cops deal more with domestic disputes than outright kidnappings. They were going with their own bias.”
I nod, “I know, but that didn’t make it any better.”
He only nods.
“After filing the report, I thanked the director of the daycare – she was white as a ghost because she’s never had something like this happen at her school before – and I took Nicholas home. He hadn’t, and still doesn’t, know a thing about that day.”
“His little mind doesn’t need to know how fucked up the real world really is.”
“No, not yet.”
“So, how’d you end up here? Back in Hibiscus Harbor.”
