“Really?” Jake asked, not too happy about the thought. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not? I’m getting good at finding people.”
“You might not want to find her. She left a long time ago, twenty-three years. She could have returned at any moment. She didn’t. Aside from a few Christmas cards and random birthday presents, she didn’t want us in her life. How could finding her now possibly make things better for any of us?”
Dylan shrugged. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I’ll think about it later. Tomorrow I need to get home and go back to work before I lose my job.” He stretched his arms over his head and let out a yawn. “Anything else I can do for you tonight?”
“No, you’ve done more than enough,” Jake said. “The rest I have to do on my own.”
* * *
Sarah peeked into the master bedroom on the second floor just before ten o’clock Saturday night. She couldn’t believe the police had finally let her go. She’d been afraid they would keep her overnight, and that by the time they released her Jake and Caitlyn would be gone. But here they were—the two people she loved more than life. She blew out a breath of relief.
Jake was stretched out on the bed on his side. Caitlyn was cuddled up next to him in the middle of the bed, her thumb in her mouth, her blanket in her hand. She was fast asleep. Jake stroked her forehead and whispered to her as he watched her breathe in and out.
The tender sight broke what was left of Sarah’s heart. Jake had his daughter back, and he would never let her go. He was a good man. He was a great father. And he deserved to be with his child. Where did that leave her?
Jake saw her standing in the doorway. He waved to her to come in. She moved across the room, stopping by the side of the bed across from him.
“She called me Da-da,” Jake said, a smile on his lips. “She remembered me.”
Sarah smiled back at him, her eyes blurring with tears. She wouldn’t tell him that Caitlyn called every man she saw Da-da. She wouldn’t take this moment away from him.
“Of course she remembered you,” Sarah said instead. “How could she forget her father?” She had spent the last few hours worrying about whether Caitlyn was at home screaming for her, but it was clear Caitlyn was happy with her dad.
“She’s grown up so much,” Jake said. “She’s like a little person now.”
Sarah sat down on the corner of the bed and gazed at her daughter’s face. In sleep Caitlyn truly looked like an angel sent from heaven. Or maybe she’d been sent to save Sarah from herself. “Giving birth to Caitlyn is the greatest thing I’ve ever done in my life. She’s the best part of me.”
“And me,” Jake murmured.
“I never believed I’d have a family after what happened with Victor. Once I was on the run, living my life in disguise, I thought it would be impossible to have anything close to a normal life again. I didn’t think I could trust another man, or that I could risk bringing a baby into my life. But you changed all that. The two years I spent with you were wonderful. You brought me back to life. You made me feel hope again.”
Caitlyn squirmed a little in her sleep. Sarah crawled onto the bed, stretching out on the other side of her daughter. She put her hand on Caitlyn’s forehead as her baby frowned and sucked on her thumb again. “I hope she isn’t having a nightmare. She’s been through so much today.”
“With any luck she won’t remember it.”
Sarah gazed over at Jake. “I should have brought her back to you. I don’t regret taking her when I did, because you weren’t in town, and there was no one I could trust. I had to make that decision.”
“Maybe at that moment. But in seven months, Sarah, there had to have been a time, an opportunity for you to find a way to reach me.”
“I was too busy trying to survive on my own. I thought about calling you a million times, but I kept remembering how they killed Andy. I was afraid for you, and I loved Caitlyn so much. I knew what it was like to grow up without a mother.”
“So did I,” Jake said. “Did you think I could let Caitlyn grow up without a father? You were selfish, Sarah, and you put our child in danger.”
“It wasn’t fair to you,” she agreed. “I was just in too deep. I didn’t know how to get out of the mess I was in. I kept thinking that something would change and I’d find a way to get back to you, that it would just be temporary.”
“That sounds like another lie you told yourself.”
“More like a wish. I loved you, Jake.” He looked away from her, but not before she saw something flare in his eyes. “When I met you, I was a lot older and a lot wiser than when I was with Victor. I wasn’t looking for a fairy-tale prince anymore, but the truth is, I found one. You and I had great chemistry right from the start, but there was also an emotional connection between us. I loved that you were strong and protective when it came to your family, to your brother, to your grandmother. You cared about your work and your friends. You threw your mind and body into building a dream house for us. You had values, a sense of right and wrong. You understood responsibility. I knew that I couldn’t let you get away. And that old optimistic part of myself that refuses to die told me to hang on to you as tightly as I could. I didn’t believe that I could tell you the truth and keep you. I thought you would walk away. I honestly believed that.”