Second Chances: A PAVAD Duet Read online

  It took her less than two minutes to find Kelly, the St. Louis layout very convenient. Ally’s office in Indianapolis had been clear across the building from the lab where most of the processing had been done. She’d never understood that.

  Kelly was ready to go, having passed her on-going analyses on to one of the lab techs. He’d watch them for the overnight hours and Kelly would read the results in the morning. They walked through the lobby together.

  “Kelly! Kelly!” Female voices rang out over the lobby and both Ally and Kelly paused. Two redheaded girls waited next to the information counter. Ally recognized the younger girl as Grace, Kelly’s sister. Emma was probably the older one. Ally stayed one step behind Kelly as she rushed to her sisters.

  “Emma! You’re supposed to be in school, and how did you get Gracie?” Kelly’s greeting wasn’t welcoming, was more worried than Ally had ever heard her. “Does Mother know?”

  “No.” Gracie shrugged, then readjusted the black backpack over her shoulder. She was at least two inches taller than Ally, but still had the body of a young girl. Her hair was a shade darker than Kelly’s―more red than blond. Closer to the color of her father’s. She was dressed in clothing typical of the average fifteen-year-old girl.

  Emma was a more feminine copy of Kelly. No black and dark purple clothing for the middle sister. Her hair hung nearly to her waist and it curled softly. She wore a dress of flimsy white and lavender material, the cut slightly risqué but still aware of her young age. She was absolutely beautiful. Through the face she looked enough like Kelly for them to be twins. The Reynolds sisters were flat out the most beautiful trio of girls Ally had ever seen.

  Emma was drawing the attention of several of the younger agents in the lobby, as well. She didn’t even appear aware of the looks as she placed her hands on her hips and looked up at her slightly taller sister. “I simply told the school secretary that there was a family emergency and I needed my sister.”

  “She was new. Didn’t know it was Emma and not you.” Gracie pushed her glasses up her nose and grinned wickedly. “I’m sure by the time they realized Em wasn’t allowed at my school we were already across the state line.”

  “Great. Making it a federal kidnapping case,” Kelly said. She wrapped her hand around Emma’s arm. “When Mother finds out she’ll never let either of us see Gracie again. Did you think of that when you were hatching this little scheme?”

  “By the time the old crone realizes I’ve taken Gracie, little sister will be safely instilled in Daddy Dearest’s living room.” Emma shrugged. “Absolutely nothing she can do about it.”

  “Except charge both him and you with kidnapping.” Kelly’s voice rose at the end.

  “Not unless she wants to go to jail.” Emma laughed wickedly. Several male agents stopped to give her another glance. Ally was very glad she wasn’t responsible for this girl. Emma Reynolds appeared to be one hell of an instigator. No wonder Kelly was almost obsessive about keeping tabs on her sisters.

  “What do you mean?” Kelly asked in a much lower tone.

  “Simple. According to the divorce decree I found, Mother doesn’t have custody―never had custody. So since Gracie is under eighteen, as long as she’s in the state of Missouri, Mother can’t make any decisions without his say so.”

  Ally felt her eyes widen as she caught on to what Emma had planned. She’d told Kelly what Edward Dennis had told her. Apparently she’d not passed that information on. Kelly looked completely overwhelmed, her eyes worried and fearful. Ally wondered just what type of treatment the mother had subjected Kelly to as a child to put that frightened look in Kelly’s eyes.

  “So...what you’re saying is...” Kelly started, just as her cell rang. She flipped it open, her entire body tense. A shrill voice was partially audible to Ally and the others.

  Kelly paused a moment. “No, Mother. I haven’t seen Emma. She took Gracie? Where?...yes, I’ll get back to you as soon as I find out what’s going on.”

  Tense minutes passed as the conversation continued, Kelly reiterating the lies she’d just told, adding a bit about Emma having plans to visit Joe. She snapped the phone shut and turned back to her sisters. “We are so screwed.”

  “So where does Daddy live?” Emma asked. “And how fast can we get Gracie there?”

  “Oh, God. You’re going to get us all arrested!” Kelly’s hands rose to cover her face.

  “We’re going to have to ask someone where your father lives.” Ally stepped in and took charge. What she knew of Kelly’s parents made it an easy decision. Kelly’s mother was apparently a horrible woman and Dan Reynolds was well-liked around the division―and he deserved a chance to get to know his daughters. Ally made up her mind in that moment that she’d do whatever she had to in order to help him do just that. “I'm not sure if he's home yet, but he has a tenant who may have a key. Kelly, you run and tell Marianna what's going on and tell her to pick up my children.”

  Chapter 21

  They picked up a tag-along―but Dan had half expected it. J.T. Tompkins was around Josh’s age, and the two had been friends for about as long as Dan had worked with Josh. J.T. was a good kid, a bit clumsy, a bit disorganized, a bit awkward―also highly intelligent.

  They’d share a six-pack, watch the Cards, and relax. The way men were supposed to. That sounded like a good plan to Dan. Hopefully he could get that little girl―and her resemblance to his Emma―out of his mind.

  Josh and J.T. were in Josh’s SUV behind Dan’s when he pulled into his drive. A green Ford SUV sat in his drive―one he didn’t recognize. He chalked it up to one of Paige’s friends, who hadn’t realized the girl had her own parking area around the back of the house. He parked beside it and killed his engine. By the time he was out of the vehicle Josh and J.T. had beaten him to his front door. No surprise―the two younger men didn’t have to limp their way up the steps.

  Before he could work the key his front door swung open. He stepped back, surprised. Paige’s friends used her entrance, not his.

  A young woman stood in his doorway, her eyes hesitant and her mouth trembling. She was beautiful. She was…

  It took Dan a minute to find his voice. “Emma? My God, baby―”

  “Daddy!” She threw her arms around his neck and held on, just like she would as a little girl and he’d come home after being gone on assignment. He held her, just held her liked he’d wanted to do every night for fifteen years. His baby. One of them.

  “Emma-girl,” He looked over her shoulder, into his foyer. Doc Brewster stood beside a gangly teenager, her eyes damp as she smiled at him. “Let’s get inside.”

  Emma pulled back, grinned the same mischievous smile he remembered. “You don’t seem quite as tall as I remember.”

  “Funny. You don’t seem as short.”

  “You always told me I’d get as tall as Kelly―you should know, that never happened.” Emma had always been his little comedian, mouthy and quick. It thrilled him that she hadn’t lost that. He’d remembered her laughter the most.

  He kept an arm around her shoulders as he approached the young girl in his living room. She darted a nervous glance at the woman beside her. The doc stepped closer to offer support. His Gracie. He swallowed―she was practically a woman grown, now. Taller than the doc. She’d be an adult in just a blink or two. And he’d missed all of it with her.

  He’d missed so much with this child. He’d never get to make that up. Ever.

  The doc earned Dan’s undying loyalty when she wrapped an arm around the girl. “Grace, this is Dan.”

  The girl nodded. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you. Kel and Em have told me stories.” Her voice trembled only a little bit.

  “Good ones, I hope.” He searched her face, looking for some remnant of the baby he remembered. He saw himself in her, more strongly than her sisters. He saw parts of Kelly and Emma, too. A bit of his own sister around the eyes and mouth. He saw very little of Beth. This was definitely his Gracie. “It’s nice to meet you again, Grace.”
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  A tense moment passed before Josh spoke. “Dan, we’ll rain check on the steaks and game. Give you all a chance to catch up.” Dan had forgotten the younger men where even there.

  Emma smiled first at Josh, then much wider at the gawking J.T. “We didn’t mean to ruin your plans. Please stay! It’s just that I’m sure mommy-dearest has called out the bloodhounds, by now. So we kind of have to stay right here for a little while.”

  “Excuse me?” Dan asked as J.T. and Josh excused themselves to the back porch where the grill sat. Dan appreciated their not hurting Emma’s feelings by refusing. “Bloodhounds?”

  “Well, there’s the matter of the restraining order she has against me. Kept me from getting within four hundred feet of Gracie.” Emma snickered.

  “OK, why?” Dan was beginning to understand how Alice had felt in the rabbit hole. His daughters were back, in his house, but one might be wanted by the cops? He needed some clarification, fast.

  Chapter 22

  Ally knew exactly how Dan felt. Emma was a complete tornado; to keep up with her made a person slightly dizzy. Even though her clothes were more muted, she was just so much louder than Kelly that it was almost hard to believe they were sisters. And Gracie was like neither of the older two.

  Dr. Compton and his blond friend―who reminded Ally of Marianna’s son Ted, complete with cowlicks and thick glasses―were barely visible through the patio windows. Ally knew how they felt, too. They were human buffers, acting as protection against what had to be one of the most difficult things the Reynolds’ had ever experienced.

  Dan asked the question that had to be burning a hole in his mind. “Why does your mother have a restraining order against you?”

  “Because Mother and I will never get along. And I refused to let her blackmail me into doing what she wants.” Emma shrugged. Ally had never seen anyone with such total disregard for her own mother before. What the girls must have gone through for Emma to feel that way… “Mother keeps Kelly in line by threatening to keep Gracie away from her. I refuse to play Mother’s game.”

  “And how did you get your sister here?” Dan asked, from where he stood next to Ally. He had to be hurting, the hand he clutched the stone mantle with shone white around the knuckles. He stood so tense.

  “Borrowed some of Kel’s clothes. Walked right in and signed her out of the school.” Guilt flashed across the girl’s face as she pulled an ID badge from the purse at her feet.

  Ally took it, recognizing it as the security badge Kelly had lost months ago. “Emma...your sister got into serious trouble for losing this.”

  “I know. But I needed it. I’ll apologize.” Emma smiled, an attempt at innocence. “But it was for the greater good. Kel will understand.”

  “And what do you plan to do now?” Dan asked. “I take it you’re officially on the lam?”

  “Not anymore,” Gracie said from her perch on the couch’s arm. “Em’s finally got the stuff we need, so that I never have to go back to Mother ever.”

  “Ok, girls, explain.” Dan finally sat. Ally sat beside him, the loveseat just big enough for the two of them. She had a feeling the other parent in the room needed the support.

  Emma sighed. “It’s really a long story. Too long to get into right now. I’m sure she’s called back and browbeaten Kelly into confessing by now, anyway.”

  “Go on,” Dan said. His shoulder brushed Ally’s briefly.

  “Gracie?” Emma looked at the younger girl, who quickly pulled a thick manila envelope from her backpack. She handed it to her father. Emma waited until he opened it before continuing. “That’s everything you need to ensure Mother never gets near Gracie again. It took me eight months of planning, research, and calling in favors to get it. But it’s done.”

  Dan skimmed the envelope’s contents, face going first white then the red of anger.

  Ally recognized the papers for what they were. She’d seen enough in her career. She waited for him to say something. He finished reading the paperwork before looking at his daughters. “Does your sister know you have these?”

  “No. And I’d prefer she never does.” Emma’s eyes were old, clear, as she looked at the father she’d not seen in fifteen years. “She’d not want you―or Allison―to know this.”

  Gracie grabbed Emma’s hand. “Mother hates Kelly. Always has. But if Kelly doesn’t have to worry about me anymore, then Kelly won’t ever have to speak to Mother again. See why I had to run away? Don’t make me go back! Please!”

  Chapter 23

  Dan looked into two sets of identical green eyes―eyes just like his own. “Sweetheart, you will always have a place with me. You and your sisters. Your mother will never be able to stop that.”

  If his ex-wife had been in the room right then, Dan wasn’t entirely certain he wouldn’t have killed her for what she’d done to his children.

  Knowing the medical reports he held had his child’s name on them hurt him in ways he’d never be able to articulate.

  “Was it just Kelly?” He had to know. He looked at his hands as his mind filled with images of his oldest as a little girl. His hands trembled. He’d never once lifted a hand to his girls, not even to spank them. The doc covered one of his with her much smaller, paler hand. He looked at her briefly―having almost forgotten she was even there. He saw the understanding in her face―the understanding of a parent who’d realized that they’d failed to protect their child in the most important of ways.

  He turned his hand over and squeezed hers quickly. She smiled. She was a sweet woman. Beautiful, inside and out.

  “Mostly,” Emma looked out the window, watching J.T. and Josh for a moment. Then she looked back at her father. Ally’s breath caught at the memories in the girl’s eyes. “Mother isn’t...right...at times. Blames her problems on everyone else.”

  Dan nodded. Beth had always been like that. It had taken him a while to realize. “Go on.”

  “She’d say things―horrible things. Kelly would argue at first. After a while, it’s like Mother forgot about you―and focused on Kelly instead. And then as we got older and Uncle Ted left Mother snapped. Blamed all of us―even you―for her unhappiness.” Emma shivered once. Gracie sank down on the couch beside her sister. “Things got worse then. Kelly protected Gracie and me. Got Mother to agree to boarding school for us. I only had a few years left. Gracie was nine. But Mother has been manipulating Kelly ever since. Using Gracie.”

  “Not anymore.” Dan rose as quickly as he could. “I need to make a few phone calls, girls, doc. Please join Josh and J.T. before they blow up my grill―again. They’re extremely bright boys―but household appliances and J.T.―not a real good combination. I’ll only be a few moments. Then we’ll see what we can do.”

  “I should be going,” the doc said. “I don’t want to intrude, and I need to get my children from Marianna.”

  Dan protested just as a dark blue minivan pulled into the driveway, followed by Paige’s familiar Ford Escape.

  The doc followed his gaze. “Never mind, looks like Mari brought them to me.”

  “Please stay. I’ve plenty of steaks, and I’ll send J.T. and Josh for some potato salad and kid-friendly foods.” Dan wrapped one hand around her elbow as his daughters rushed outside to meet his eldest―who’d just climbed from Paige’s vehicle. “It’ll help Kelly, I think, to have you here. It’ll help me, too. I’ve not been a parent in fifteen years―and frankly, I’m terrified. What do I do with them?”

  “You love them.” It was all she said. “That’s all you can do.”

  “I already do.”

  She sighed, her expression soft and sweet, before nodding. Then she surprised him by stretching up and placing a soft kiss on his cheek. “Congratulations, Daddy. You’ll do fine. I have complete faith in you...now...I should go get my own daughter...”

  Her words trailed off as her brows rose. Dan followed her gaze. His eldest stood holding a tiny elf of a girl―with bright strawberry blond hair. But what surprised a laugh out of him was the
grape-purple streaks running through the child’s curls.

  “Doc, does your daughter always have purple hair?” he asked.

  “God, no.” The doc laughed. “It must be contagious.”

  They shared a smile then stepped outside together―to greet their purple-haired daughters.

  Chapter 24

  Dan didn’t know how it happened, but by the time he’d gotten his mind around all the changes that had suddenly taken place, his house was full of people. Not only were his daughters―his daughters, for crissakes―milling around with wary expressions on their pretty faces, but the little doc and her kids, Dr. Glendower and her kids, and even Dennis and little Mattie were waiting on Josh and J.T. to finish up on the grill.

  The kids didn’t even seem to realize something earth-shattering had just happened―at least to Dan. The little doc stayed right by Dan’s side almost unconsciously. At least when her children weren’t pulling her away.

  They were good kids, polite and articulate. Even the little girl, who he’d guess to be barely four. She spoke clearly, no lisping. She was also quite the little flirt. Dan had already held her―she’d come right to him from her mother’s arms with a chirpy hi. Probably because he’d been introduced as Aunt Kelly’s daddy.

  The boy was a little slower to warm up. He was small for his age, Dan figured, but still taller than his best friend Ted Glendower. He was skinny and had the look of his mother, though his hair was a darker reddish blond. He eyed Dan and all the other men suspiciously, especially when they spoke with his mother. Protective. Of his mother and sister, and even Kelly. He alternated between staying by his mother or Kelly’s sides and running around with the rest of the boys and his little sister.