With careful movements, Wade crouched down in front of her and smiled. “Hi, doll. We were in a bit of an accident. I want to take your mom to the hospital to see if she needs any stitches. Would that be okay?”
Faith’s beautiful eyes looked back and forth between them, trying to process the cuts on her mother’s face and Wade’s hands. Sydney knew if she looked half as bad as Wade, Faith was probably terrified, but to her credit, she didn’t act like it.
“Are you okay, Mommy?” She took a few steps closer, nervously chewing on her lower lip.
“Yes, baby. I’m good, but I could really use a hug.” When she opened her arms the little girl smiled and gingerly wrapped her arms around Sydney’s waist. “I love you, Faith, don’t ever forget that.”
“I love you too, Mommy. Forever and always.”
SYDNEY PACED OUTSIDE THE courtroom, the click of her heels echoing throughout the marble cave that surrounded them. Her arms remained tightly wrapped around her chest as if she were physically trying to hold herself together. Wade calmly sat on a bench with his elbows resting on his knees, watching her teeter on the edge of a nervous breakdown.
“Syd, come here for a minute and then you can get back to wearing a hole in the floor.” He held his hand out to her and smiled.
She was a ball of nerves waiting for the lawyers and the judge to decide their fate. The men and women on the other side of the door had the power to either make her the happiest woman alive or to literally tear her heart from her chest and never let her see Faith again. Either way, when they came out, her life was going to be forever changed.
The not knowing was killing her.
“I don’t know what I’ll do if—” she started, but Wade cut her off, silencing her with a tender kiss.
“We aren’t going to talk like that. You’ve done everything they asked. We both have.”
Time had seemed to slow down over the last few months as they had struggled to sort the whole situation out. Sydney had been arrested the moment she was discharged from the hospital. Wade had been her rock and stayed by her side through it all, until he, too, had been named in Amanda’s death. Some young DA looking to make a name for himself tried to paint the picture that Wade had killed Amanda so Sydney could keep Faith. It was thrown out of court, but it forced Wade to stay in Missouri and tie up loose ends while Sydney had been sent back to Montana to face her charges.
David Post, Wade’s friend from Boston who took her case without hesitation, was every bit the brilliant lawyer she had hoped and prayed he was. He managed to get Agnes appointed as Faith’s foster parent, provided she moved to Montana while all of this was being settled. He even managed to get Sydney supervised visitation once a week with her little girl. It was difficult to see her so infrequently, but considering that she thought she might never see her again after that night, Sydney was grateful for every second she could get.
Wade came to Montana as soon as he could and he brought with him Pete and Cara who closed the diner for a few days once a month so they could stay with Sydney. Never in her life had she known such unconditional love and support as she did in the days after returning to Montana. Even though she was terrified and heartbroken about being away from Faith, she knew that, no matter what, she had people in her life who loved her.
And that would get her through whatever may happen.
“Did you talk to Faith this morning?” Wade asked, trying to occupy her mind with something more pleasant for a while as they waited.
“I did,” Sydney laughed and ticked off all the messages Faith had told her to give to Wade. “She says hello, she misses you, and of course, she wants to know when you’re going to come over again. She has a new recipe she wants you to try.”
Wade laughed and shook his head. “It can’t be any worse than the marshmallow and sunflower seed creation she made me eat last time.” He poked Sydney in the side. “She takes after her mother.”
He meant the words to be teasing, but all they did was bring tears to her eyes. She so desperately wanted to be Faith’s mother. Legally and irrevocably. She glanced at the door.
“Did you talk to Melissa, too?”
“Yes. Thunderstorms in New York have grounded her flight. She’ll be in tomorrow. Poor thing sounded exhausted.” Melissa had flown home the minute she heard about Sydney’s arrest. She put everything on hold and came back to support her friend. It was only at Sydney’s insistence that she returned to Europe to finish her trip. There was no point in both of them feeling trapped. She begged Melissa to go travel through Europe for her. It would give her something to dream of. “I thought she’d never come home. She’s changed her return flight four times now.”
Wade’s hand massaged her shoulder. “Don’t worry about that now. Melissa’s on her way home.”
As her foot tapped out an impatient rhythm, Sydney glared down the hall toward the courtroom. “What’s taking so long, Wade? This has to be a bad sign.”
“Stop.” He kissed her temple. “You’re going to drive yourself crazy.”
They sat, holding hands in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, then the door to the courtroom creaked open and Sydney shot to her feet, her heart slamming against her ribs. David stuck his head out and, with a less than encouraging smile he waved for them to come inside.
It felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the building as Sydney tried to take a breath. Her anxiety spiked, and Wade pulled her into his arms. “It’s going to be all right. Whatever they decide, we’re going to get through it. Together.” He tipped her face up and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. The determination in his eyes gave her the courage she needed to put one foot in front of the other and walk through that door, with Wade’s hand in hers.
Through the enormous doors, the judge sat behind his elevated desk, a stern look on his face. The district attorney and the woman from family court made brief eye contact with Sydney then went back to their conversation. Neither one of them gave any indication with their expressions or body language what the decision had been. On Sydney’s side of the room her probation officer, David, and a few other people had their heads tucked together so Sydney didn’t recognize them until they looked up. Then appreciation and shock slammed into Sydney.
“Cara? Pete?” She launched herself into Pete’s outstretched arms, confused by their presence, but thrilled beyond words to see both of their faces. Cara had tears in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around Sydney, too. If things didn’t go her way, she was going to need all the support she could get. “What are you two doing here?”
“Sydney and Wade, this is Jason, our son-in-law and this is his brother Michael who happens to be a family law attorney. When Jason told him about your custody situation, they flew out here from Chicago to consult with David because Michael found a precedent he thought might help.”
Wade’s hand immediately extended to both men. “I appreciate you taking the time to come all this way for us.”
“I don’t know if we did any good or not. This judge has one of the best poker faces I’ve ever seen in a courtroom. I’ve argued before some pretty stern characters, but he takes the cake,” Michael said with a glance up at the judge who was still shuffling some papers on his desk.
“How are you holding up, honey?” Cara asked, with a motherly smile. “Wade’s taking good care of you, I hope.”
Without hesitation Sydney laced her finders with his. “I’d be lost without him.”
Cara reached up and patted Wade on the cheek. “Good boy.”
“I-I still can’t believe you’re here.”
“Well, believe it, sweets. Luke and Hailey send their love. The two of them are running the diner while we’re gone.” Pete laughed. “Hopefully they don’t burn the place down.”
“You’re both crazy,” Sydney said with tears in her eyes.
“We both love you,” Cara said with a sniffle. “And there’s no way we weren’t going to be here for you.”
The judge cleared his throat and all tal
king in the courtroom ended. Sydney took her place beside her attorney, with Wade on her other side.
“This case is most unusual.” The deep baritone of the judge’s voice echoed off the marble walls. “I’ve listened to the arguments. I’ve spoken extensively to Mrs. Washington’s former psychiatrist, as well as listened to the recommendations of the representatives from children’s services and your probation officer.” He pinned Jason and Michael with a hard look. “I’ve even been woken up at a most inappropriate hour this morning to hear yet another person willing to spout antiquated precedents that support your request for custody, Miss Jackson.”
“Oh, please. It was seven o’clock,” Jason hissed under his breath earning a smack from Cara.
“Shh, you behave.”
“As I was saying, this whole case is unusual. If you just would have turned the girl into the authorities that night, you could have begun the legal adoption process and we wouldn’t be here.” Sydney felt her cheeks flush red, the burden of her guilt and the potential consequences making it hard to breathe. She opened up her mouth, ready to offer yet another apology to the judge. Even if he wouldn’t give her custody, she would plead for visitation. There was no way she could cut Faith out of her life. It would kill her.
Sensing the direction of her thoughts, Wade gave his head a slighted shake and put his arm around her shoulder, holding her in place. Sydney leaned into him and allowed his strength to support her at the most terrifying moment of her life. Staring down the barrel of Charles’ gun was nothing compared to this.
“You have been the model parolee. I see that you’ve met with the court appointed psychiatrist on a regular schedule, and that you’ve completed the community service requirement, and then some.” He pulled off his glasses and folded his hands on the massive desk, looking directly at Sydney. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you kidnapped a young girl.”
“Are you gonna let him talk about Sydney that way,” Agnes barked out, sending Sydney’s attorney to his feet.
“Your honor,” David started, but the judge sent him back to his seat with a glare and threatened to throw Agnes out of the courtroom if she spoke out again.
“I’d like to see him try and get me out of here,” she mumbled under her breath, making Cara chuckle.
“Dr. Lee has been an advocate for you getting custody, as have your psychiatrist, the social worker, pretty much every person in this room.” He waved his arm at the crowd and Sydney was moved to find everyone nodding in agreement. Tears flooded her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. She knew what he was going to say next, and her heart was breaking.
“I wish I could, but with the charges against you, I can’t set that precedent in the eyes of the law. Imagine what other attorneys could argue down the road.”
Wade held her tighter when she started to sway in her seat on the verge of fainting. There was no way she could even comprehend a life without Faith. Without her laughter and smile, or her hugs.
The judge did not miss her distress and called out to the bailiff. “June, get her a glass of water. She’s white as a ghost down there.” He waited until the water arrived and she took a sip. The whole room was holding their breath, wondering what decision he had made about Faith.
“What am I going to do?” Sydney whispered to Wade.
“Be brave. And trust me.” He pressed his lips to her temple and Sydney could feel him pouring all his strength and love into her at that moment. She did trust him, and she trusted the people surrounding her in the courtroom. Cara’s hand rubbed gently on her back giving her what comfort she could. Pete mumbled to Jason, who was doing his best to keep his father-in-law from jumping the barrier and “letting the judge have it,” over his disagreement with what the judge was saying. If she wasn’t so heartbroken, Sydney would have laughed at it all.
But the one person she needed more than any of them wasn’t there.
“This morning I had another person petition for custody of Faith.” The words froze Sydney in her chair. Throughout this whole ordeal of returning to Montana, the one thing Sydney had working in her favor was that Ronald and Amanda had no living relatives who were interested in adopting Faith. All their immediate family had passed away and the relatives social services could find were very distant cousins who wanted nothing to do with a child of Ronald’s. But now, hearing that, Sydney felt the bile rising up the back of her throat.
Blood relatives would trump an outsider’s petition in a court of law.
“He had been quietly going through the process of being cleared by family services. I know you were hoping for custody, Miss Ross, but this person has no criminal record, they have not been implicated in the kidnapping of Faith and he is an upstanding member of the community as countless people have testified.”
Sydney’s heart sank with each positive quality the judge was rattling off about this applicant. It was over. She’d lost Faith.
“Therefore, it is my decision to grant full custody of the minor, Faith Jenny Washington, to Mr. Wade Arthur Jenkins on this, the twenty first of October.” He rapped the gavel down on his desk when the room erupted in chatter.
With eyes as big as saucers, Sydney turned to Wade who was grinning as proudly as she’d ever seen. Cara was weeping behind her and Agnes patted him on the shoulder in congratulation. “You sly fox, Wade. Well done.”
“Y-You applied for custody?” Wade nodded his head slowly, letting her take it all in. “Why?”
“It was your idea, remember? Months ago, you made me promise not to let her end up in someone else’s care. Your exact words were ‘keep her for yourself,’ so I did.” He would have custody of Faith. It was a done deal. But what about her? Had she just lost both of them?
“Your honor!” Sydney sprang to her feet and once again silencing the courtroom with her outburst. The judge looked over the top of his glasses at her with raised eyebrows.
“Yes, Miss Jackson?”
“Wade and I are...involved. Dating. Serious about one another.” She took a deep breath and tried to stop making a fool of herself in front of the man who would decide her fate. “I love him.”
The corner of the judge’s mouth turned up in a grin. “I can see that.”
“But if he has custody of Faith, does that mean I have to give up both of them? Because I don’t know what I’d do…”
“I don’t think you understand my ruling, Miss Jackson. Mr. Jenkins has full custody of the child now. As her custodial parent it’s up to him to decide who the child is able to be around. If he deems you a suitable person in the child’s life,” he shrugged his wide shoulders and sat back in his padded chair, “then who am I to say who can and cannot be a part of this sweet girl’s life?”
Sydney’s heart sprang back to life. “S-So I can see her?” The woman from Children’s Services led a smiling Faith into the courtroom.
“I think he wants you to do more than see her.” The judge motioned back towards Wade who had slipped out of his chair and was beside her, down on one knee with a gorgeous sparkling ring in his outstretched hand.
“Oh, my.” Sydney’s eyes filled with tears as her hand fluttered over her heart.
“Sydney Ross-Jackson, will you do me the honor of marrying me and spending the rest of your life with me and our beautiful daughter?”
“Say yes, Mommy!” Faith squealed in excitement as she ran over and wrapped her arms around Sydney’s waist, jumping up and down. “Do it, do it!”
“I love you so much,” Sydney said looking into Wade’s eyes which were filled with love and adoration. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Wade put the ring on her finger and scooped her up into his arms, pouring all his love and joy into a single kiss. The courtroom erupted into cheers. Everyone from their friends, to the courthouse staff, and even the judge clapped and offered their congratulations as they filed out of the room, giving Wade and Sydney some privacy.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” She already knew the answer, it was written all over
his face. He was thrilled with the idea of being a father and a husband.
“You and Faith are the two most precious things in my life. I love you both.”
Sydney threw her arms around his neck and held onto the man she loved. She never would have guessed what fate had in store when she climbed into her car all those years ago, but she made it through the heartache, and along the way, finally found where she belonged. She laced her fingers with Wade’s and led him toward the door.
“Let’s go home.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am beyond thankful for the amazing people in my life who have helped me along the way. Thanks to Patty who takes a peek to tell me if I’m on the right track. To Niki and Heather who both put up with my inability to correctly place a comma to save my life. I thank you both for your editing skills, your ability to help me avoid my nemesis, the semicolon, and above all else, for your honesty.
None of this would be possible without my dear friend Barb who has been with me since the very beginning of it all. She is the voice of reason yet cracks the whip when necessary. She constantly inspires and helps me with the things I stink at like cover design, web layout, and formatting. This wouldn’t be nearly as much fun without you, Barb, so I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Last, but never least, to my wonderful family who makes me laugh and continues to inspire me in ways they never even imagined. I love you and our crazy cats more than I can say.
ALSO BY VICTORIA MICHAELS
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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, publications, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
CONCEALED. Copyright © 2013 by Victoria Michaels. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.