Taylor

She watched her mother in-law’s world fall apart, and what was worse, Jenna left her there. “I had a front row seat to my mom’s breakdown the first time, and I will be damned if I will watch it again,” Jenna said, leaving with the kids as soon as she’d gotten back from the park. To make matters worse, Blake swooped in to play the alpha of the pack and had mandated that they would stay with his parents, offering the help of Taylor in the morning to keep an eye on Libby. Adam had a doctorate class he couldn’t pawn off on his teacher’s assistant, and Jenna couldn’t miss work because they had hit flu and cold season with a vengeance. All the pharmacists were required to work ten-hour days, and Blake’s schedule with the university athletes was in high demand with basketball in full swing.

It didn’t matter that Dexter, Emmy, and Anna had worn her to beyond exhaustion at the park the day before. For October weather, it was surprisingly warm, and she had this wonderful plan to let the kids wear themselves out silly since Libby had Jenna’s girls on Wednesdays, and that meant Blake would expect her to watch them too.

Blake woke her up at six a.m. to fix breakfast, and with all the movement in the house, Dexter was up ready to destroy the world shortly after she got up. Looking around the house, she sat him in front of the television to give her ten minutes to get the bacon and eggs on the skillet, a staple in the Miller house.

Blake walked down the stairs and straight into the kitchen. She could sense his presence and had his coffee ready. Turning to him, she started to kiss his cheek; though he was demanding and controlling, she still loved him. Flashing him a little smile, she backed away because his downward lips sent shivers up her spine. “Good morning, honey. What is wrong? Is it your mother?”

“No!” The edge in his voice both startled her and cautioned her to approach him with the utmost care. “What is Dexter doing planted in front of the television? You know how I feel about the boob tube being his babysitter.”

Oh, that, she thought. “He’s never up this early, and was cranky. We are in a different place, and I didn’t want him whining and waking up your folks.”

“Taylor, you come up with excuses for everything I ask of you. Last week, it was why we needed to put Dexter in preschool; the week before that, it was why the laundry and ironing weren’t done. This week, it’s the television.”

She sat down, determined to hold her tears at bay. That was the number one anger boosting accelerant that seemed to set Blake off more than a fire. “I’m up earlier too, honey. I’m exhausted and tired, and if you haven’t noticed, I’m very pregnant. I couldn’t get to bed last night until the dishes were done; I had the kids at the park all day and running after Anna wore me out. I don’t mind doing this for those I love, and I love you and your family, but I need some understanding.”

He sat down, next to her, and she half thought he was about to apologize. Leaning close to her, she could almost hear the I’m sorry on his lips. Taking her hands, Blake showed his pearly whites, the same smile that had her panties melting in the class he assisted years ago. With a steady tone, he started, “I understand.” He stood and leaned in behind her and whispered, “That you better figure out a way to make this happen, Taylor. I can get Mom to watch the kids, and I’ll make you go back to work. This was our agreement. I make the money; you care for the house.” Squeezing her shoulder just enough as a warning, he sat down in front of her and asked, “Do you understand me?”

She stood to avoid seeing the arrogant bastard who replaced her husband. “Answer me, Taylor.”

She turned around and seethed, “You want Dexter out of the den and away from the television, then you go get him.” Returning to her cooking and knowing that the worse he would do at his parents was squeeze her shoulder, she stared aimlessly at the bacon sizzling in the pan. “I’m not something you own, Blake. I’m a person with feelings, and I love you very much, but you can’t treat me like this.”

He stood so close to her back, Taylor could smell the mint of his toothpaste. “You think you are safe here, Tay?”

“Stop the threats, Blake. I’m a good wife, and maybe if you got off my ass every occasionally, I wouldn’t be such a letdown.”

He left the kitchen, and within a minute, he returned with a very mad three-year-old and plopped him in the high chair that his mom left out for the grandkids. Grabbing his keys and wallet, he turned to Taylor. “This is not over. I’ll see you tonight, and I’ll take care of this, you can bet on it.”

Taylor collapsed in the kitchen chair. “Mommy, I want Clifford.”

She caressed Dexter’s curly brown hair and wiped his tears from his eyes. “I know. I do too, buddy.” She picked him up, turned off the stove, and took him to the living room, turning on Clifford while she sat down on the couch, snuggling with him, content in that for the time being.

* * *

Colette

David sat on the bed of their hotel room early in the morning, watching his wife straighten her skirt around her narrow waist. In all the years, when they were together, David was always near Colette. Scrubbing his face, he worried about what they were about to embark on. She turned around, taking his hands in hers.

“Cole, are you sure about this?”

Bringing his hands to her chest, she said, “David, you’ll never lose me. You and me, we are real and have been since the day I first saw you.”

David was haunted by the possible consequences of his actions that could destroy the firm foundation they’d worked hard to build in the twelve years they’d been together.

“But I think this is our best shot. She’s our best shot. If anyone knows what I escaped from all those years ago, it’s her.”

David grabbed his wife’s hand. “In another life, Cole, we would be normal without this secret.”

“Babe, I’m not sure I’d want another life.” Those were words she told him so often—that he did the right thing all those years ago. “Anyway, in another life, you wouldn’t have had to come in and save me from a man who should have protected me.”

* * *

A few hours later, they pulled onto the street where she’d learned to ride a bike and skinned her knee on the pavement. It was sunny, and Colette could get away with large glasses to disguise her. Her hair was a dark auburn, and she’d gotten her cheeks lifted shortly after she decided to stay with David in Canada. Maybe the only ones who could really identify her were her family, and even then, Colette was convinced that possibly only her mom could pick her out, and only if the situation was perfect.

She knew as a mother herself that the bond between mother and child was too great, but still, it had been twelve years and so much had changed. Colette thought of Mikayla as an old friend who moved away and lost touch. She’d never describe Mikayla as her old self. She had always existed somewhere within Mikayla before David unlocked that part of her; freeing her from the pain she’d endured for years. Colette was the woman today that the girl in Mikayla had made her, and for this one fact, she’d always be eternally grateful.

Her breathing was steady until she took in the house that she had known as her home for so long. “Cole, honey, take a breath. It’s okay.” David’s hand brushed her knee, and with his tender touch, she could breathe again.

She didn’t know she was crying until her cheeks became wet. “I have such good memories here.” She paused and wiped away her tears. “And I have some really bad memories here too.”

“Let’s focus on the good ones, Cole. Okay?” he said, taking her hand and kissing it.

They drove by the house and didn’t see anything unusual. There were no police cars. After circling the block, they parked five houses down under a large tree that offered a source of camouflage for them. “We won’t stay long, Cole. Just ten minutes. We don’t want to attract attention.”

“I know.” A minivan drove up the driveway, and she looked on as a tall, slender blonde exited the van with a kid on both hips. “Jenna,” Colette said. “I can’t believe it. She hasn’t changed in twelve years.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to speak with your sister?”

“No, I’m positive. We must stick to our plan. Bell got the address, so we will go there next. I wanted to see my old house. It hasn’t changed. Not at all.”

Before Jenna could enter the house, a young but very pregnant woman exited and took the kids from Jenna. A small boy with large brown curls followed her. “That’s Dexter and Taylor.”

“I guess we were right to come here first,” David uttered in the awkward silence as his wife looked longingly at the life she once had.

“I guess so.” She watched as all three kids jumped up and down while Taylor put a hat on Colette’s nephew’s head. After buckling the youngest child in a stroller, she started down the walkway.

“I didn’t think you Americans went out when it was so cold,” he teased.

“Ah, that is funny. It’s not as if I grew up in the south. When the sun is out, it’s warm enough to go to the park. I bet you she’s heading to Gilbert Park. It’s two blocks up the street. We went there all the time. Let’s leave before we are noticed and give them time to settle. That may just be the best place to catch her.”

* * *

Libby

With the kids at the park, Jenna sat down next to her mother in bed. In her honest and sometimes brash tone, Jenna began. “Mom, I can’t watch you self-destruct again.” Moving her mom’s legs, she placed one hand on her thigh. “Mikayla is one of the least selfish people in this world. Please give her a chance to prove it. We already know she’s most likely in Canada. I bet you she’s hurting too. You both were always two peas in a pod. She didn’t just abandon you without good reason.”

“Was it that obvious?” Libby asked. She loved her children intently and without waver, but Libby understood she shared a special bond with Mikayla.

“Like an atomic bomb, Mom.”

“Oh, honey, that didn’t mean I didn’t love you or Blake just as much.”

“I know, Mom. I have three kids. I connect with one much better than the others, and I always have since birth. I get it. It doesn’t mean I don’t love Anna or Trent as much as Emmy. We’re all human.”

“Oh, sweetheart, I’m so sorry.” Libby understood she showed Mikayla a certain bit of favor, but it had nothing to do with her love for them. That was equal without fault; but her relationship with Mikayla was as smooth as the water on the surface of a calm and peaceful lake.

“Nothing to be sorry about, Mom. I know you love me.”

“More than words can say.”

Jenna paused for a second, and she recognized the look on her daughter’s face. “Jen, honey, what is it?”

“I’m worried about Taylor. Something is off with her.” Libby knew where Jenna was going with this and didn’t want another smear fest regarding her son.

“Oh, you know that third trimester. It’s hard,” she added.

Jenna’s eyes furrowed in as they always did when her mom blew off her concerns when it came to Taylor and Blake. “No, it’s more. Have you seen the way Blake treats her?”

“Blake? He adores that girl,” she said.

“I know she doesn’t think I like her, but I do, and I’m worried about her.” Jenna was not a girl’s girl. She didn’t take well to many women, and she knew Taylor always felt Jenna gave her the cold shoulder.

“Okay, but I can tell you her change in mood has nothing to do with Blake,” Libby confirmed, always a champion for her kids.