HAPTER 17
When Ellyn hung up with the doorman, she was livid with Colton. Why wouldn’t he talk to her? She was his wife.
Derek was at school so Ellyn called them to see if they could keep him longer. They could. With that done, she had to figure out where Colton had been taken. I would think the closest hospital. and once she thought she'd figured out where he must have gone, she called Paul.
“I’m not sure why you weren’t driving him, but Colton was mugged. He’s on his way to the hospital.”
“He wanted to walk part of the way home. I thought it was odd, too. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. I never left the city just in case he needed me again,” Paul said.
“I think I know where he went.”
“I can take you there. I’ll stay with you. What about Derek?”
“He’s staying at school.”
“Let me know if I can have someone pick him up.”
“I have some leeway. Just get here.”
She paced in the lobby, waiting for Paul. He heart raced. Why hadn’t Colton talked to her? Was he that hurt?”
When Ellyn saw Paul, she didn’t wait for him to get out of the car. She jumped in.
“I guess I could have walked.”
“No, you couldn’t. I’ve heard from Colton. He wasn’t taken to the nearest hospital. I know where he is.”
“Okay.”
She sat back, hoping the trip wouldn’t take too long. She was furious and worried at the same time.
“He’ll be okay, Ellyn. He didn’t sound too bad.”
“He wouldn’t get on the phone to talk to me. Why would he do that?”
“Because he probably didn’t want to worry you,” Paul said as he maneuvered through Manhattan traffic.
“I’m his wife. I’m going to worry.”
She stared out the window, willing the cars to get out of their way. This was useless, as this was Manhattan. An island with too many people on it. Of course, Colton would go to a private hospital. Not some public one anyone could get into. He was always himself.
Paul pulled into a lot. “I’ll drop you off at the door of the emergency room and I’ll park.”
“Thanks.”
Ellyn stepped out of the car and found her way into the hospital.
“I’m looking for a patient who was brought into the hospital by ambulance.”
The woman at the computer didn’t even look up at her. “Name?”
“Colton Hamilton.”
The woman typed. “He’s in room 4A, but the doctor is seeing him now.” She pointed behind her. “You can wait in the waiting room.”
“I’m his wife.”
“Then you can wait outside the door to 4A.’
“Which way is that?”
“Past me to the right.”
Clearly having been dismissed, Ellyn went in search of 4A. Nurses bustled in and out and Ellyn tried to catch one of them. Finally one stopped. “Are you his wife?”
“Yes. I’m Ellyn Hamilton.”
It had been the first time she’d said her name to anyone. Sounded odd to her ears.
“You might want to wait in the waiting room. The doctor might be a few minutes,” the nurse said. “Someone will come get you.”
“Okay.”
She couldn’t see into the room, but she wouldn’t be happy until she could see Colton. What was going on in there?
Ellyn found the waiting room, then paced it. Paul came in a few minutes later.
“They aren’t telling me anything,” she said.
“You want me to go try? Sometimes they talk to a man.”
“Please.”
Paul left her, but was back a few minutes later. “I got chased away, too. All they told me was that he was going up for surgery.”
“Surgery? Oh, my god.”
Paul put an arm around her. “He’ll be fine. He’s a tough bird, Ellyn.”
A nurse entered the waiting room. “Are you Ellyn Hamilton?”
“Yes,” Ellyn said.
“Your husband is going for surgery. He isn’t conscious or we’d let you see him. He has some internal injuries and they need to be fixed. I do need your signature on the consent form since Mr. Hamilton is unable to sign.”
Ellyn’s had spun. Surgery. Internal injuries. Oh. My God. “Yes. I’ll sign it.”
The nurse handed her a clipboard. Ellyn scanned the papers, then signed the sheet.
“We’ll be bringing him up. I’ll have someone direct you to the surgery waiting room in a few minutes.”
“Is he going to be okay?”
“He’ll be fine after surgery,” the nurse said. “He’s lucky he got here so quickly.”
She left before Ellyn could ask any questions. “What if he isn’t okay, Paul?”
“He’ll be okay. He’s Colton.”
Ellyn wrung her hands and paced. Depending on how quickly the surgery happened she need to pick up Derek.
“I can get Derek if you need me to,” Paul said. “You'd have to give them permission, probably.”
She shook her head. “You are already on the list. I just have to warn them that you’re coming.”
“I’m on the list?”
“Yes. It seemed like a good idea in case Colton and I were unavailable.”
Paul put a hand to his heart. “I’m touched that you’d trust me with your son.”
“Of course I do, Paul. You don’t need to pick him up yet. I need you for a little while longer.”
“You give me the word and I’ll get him. Otherwise, I’m glued to your side.”
***
Colton came awake, wondering if Ellyn had changed the alarm. He didn’t recognize the beeping that was going on around him. He reached for Ellyn to his right, but she wasn’t there. So he reached left and both times he hit the end of the bed.
Did he fall asleep in Derek’s bed? He struggled to open his eyes. Had someone glued them shut this morning?
Then it all came back to him. His walk home. His being mugged. Where was he? His body wasn’t in pain, but he felt as if he were floating.
He groaned. The sheets were clearly not his Egyptian cotton ones, so he must be in a hospital. Someone was holding his hand.
He shook his head and that hurt, so he groaned again.
“Colton?”
Ellyn? What was she doing here? Not that he wasn’t glad to see her. Well, if he could open his eyes. Finally they did open and he saw her. Ellyn. His wife. His love.
He tried to say “I love you,” but it came out garbled.
“Don’t talk,” she said.
She stood over him, those lines etched into her forehead. She was worried about him. He tried to sit up.
“Don’t move. I’ll raise the bed a little.”
He heard a whirring and then he could see Ellyn better. “Hi.”
“Hi,” she said back.
“You came when I told you not to.”
“Of course I would come here. You’re my husband,” she said.
And that made all the sense in the world. He couldn’t keep any thoughts in his head and he knew he had something to tell her. “What happened?”
“Do you remember getting mugged?”
“Yes.” That had hurt. Who would do that?
“You’re in the hospital. Recovering from surgery. You had some internal bleeding, but they found it and repaired it. They say all of your organs are intact.”
“Oh. Good to know.”
She cocked her head. “You’re on some pretty good pain medication. The nurse warned me that you might not remember this conversation.”
He squeezed her hand. “I won’t forget.”
She smiled. “You will, but that’s okay.” Something made a noise. Ellyn’s phone. “Hold on, honey. It’s Derek’s school. I have to take this.”
Made sense. He settled his head on the pillow and watched his wife talk on the phone. His wife. The woman he loved. Oh, wait. Did he tell her that? When she gets off the phone.
When she disconnects, her eyes are wide. “Derek’s gone from the school. They say his father picked him up.”
“I was right here.”
She blinked at him for a moment. “No, they mean Chance.”
Chance? Oh, right, Derek’s biological father. Not Colton who wants to be his father.
Wait. Chance isn’t supposed to be able to pick up Derek. “Chance?”
“Oh, Colton, I have to go find him.”
Yes, go find our son. Colton blinked. Our son. Yes, he was beginning to think of Derek as his son.
“Get Paul to help you. Is he here?”
“He’s outside waiting for me,” Ellyn said.
A nurse entered his room. “You have to go, Mrs. Hamilton.”
Mrs. Hamilton. Was his mother here? Oh, wait. That’s Ellyn. She’s Mrs. Hamilton, too. He wanted to laugh. He hadn’t thought about that. Ellyn leaned down and kissed him. “I’ll be back later, honey.”
Honey. He liked the sound of that so he smiled at her as she left.
“Your wife is very beautiful,” the nurse said. He took his pulse and felt his forehead. “Are you in any pain?”
He was still thinking about Ellyn. “I love her.”
“I’m sure you do. That’s why you married her.”
Of course, but he’d forgotten to tell Ellyn how he felt. How could he forget? What was wrong with him?
“You should get some rest,” the nurse said.
“No, Derek’s missing,” Colton said.
“Who is Derek?”
“Our son.”
Yes, Derek was going to be his son when he adopted him. He wanted to do that. He could take Colton’s last name or not, but he was going to raise Derek. With Ellyn.
“How old is he?”
Colton had to think about that. “Five.”
“That’s got to be scary.”
“It is, but Paul will help. Derek’s with Chance. That’s who beat me up.”
The nurse gave him an odd look. “The police want to talk to you about that. Are you up for it?”
Colton felt sleep wrestling with him. He was going back to dreamland. “No. I want to sleep. Someone else will have to find Derek.”
The nurse smiled at him. “You sleep. You need rest. You’ve had surgery.”
“Right. Surgery. Tell Ellyn to wake me when she gets back. I think she went for Derek.”
The nurse laughed this time. “Okay. Hopefully she’ll find Derek.”
Derek? “He’s lost?”
“You just, oh. Never mind. You get some rest. The doctor will visit you in a few minutes to check on your incision.”
“Incision?”
“You had surgery, Mr. Hamilton,” the nurse said.
“Oh, right. Surgery. Am I okay?”
“Yes, you’ll be fine, Mr. Hamilton.”
“Call me, Colton.”
“Okay, Colton.”
He smiled at her as his eyelids closed.
*
Ellyn slid into the back seat. Paul turned his whole body to look at her. “Where to?”
“I truly have no idea. I don’t know where Chance hangs out.”
“I have the address of his wife.”
“You are resourceful,” Ellyn said.
What would she do without Paul? Or Colton? She didn’t have the resources to deal with this situation.
“I’m not just a pretty face.”
Ellyn laughed, but she even heard the bitterness in it. Chance had Derek. Of that she was sure. Did he have any idea how to take care of a five year old boy? He’d have to bring the boy back to his wife’s house. He had no other place to live, she was sure.
“Where does she live?”
“In New Jersey.”
Ellyn wanted to laugh again. Chance. In the suburbs. Who would have thought? Not her.
Paul drove her out of the city into New Jersey through a tunnel. Being after rush hour, the traffic wasn’t too bad. Or so Ellyn thought. She didn’t get out of New York often and couldn’t remember the last time she was.
Growing up poor in the Bronx didn’t lend itself to travel.
Once out of the tunnel, it actually didn’t look that much different than Manhattan. Just not as many tall buildings. They soon left the crowded area of Hudson County and into a little less-crowded area with more single family homes.
Still didn’t seem like a place Chance would want to live.
“We’re almost there.”
Paul had remained quiet, leaving Ellyn to her thoughts. She wasn’t sure that was a good thing or not. Night has fallen by the time they arrived at Chance’s wife’s house. A porch light was on as were some in the house.
Ellyn climbed out of the car and looked up at the unassuming house. Why did this woman marry Chance? She already had her own house. Paul came to stand next to her. “You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” she said, taking a deep breath and releasing it.
She was not sure what she should feel confronting the woman who Chance had deigned to marry. What Chance had never offered Ellyn. All those visits in prison grated on her now. She hadn’t expected him to marry her, but she’d expected him to at least pay child support.
Now, she wouldn’t bother. She was pretty sure that by kidnapping Derek, he’d lost his chance at custody. That was the silver lining in all this.
Which she’d rejoice in, once Derek was back with her.
She knocked on the door. Classical music played somewhere inside. The porch was spotless as if someone wanted it to be clean. A woman answered the door. A white woman with a toddler on her hip. One younger than Derek.
“Hello?”
“I’m looking for Chance,” Ellyn said.
She wanted to barge in and demand her son, but she had no idea what role this woman played in the kidnapping. Surely as a mother, she would understand.
“You are?”
“Ellyn. Derek’s mother.”
The woman’s eyes widened and her gaze ricocheted up and down Ellyn. “You don’t look like a crack addict.”
Ellyn blinked. “I’m not. I’m a model.”
The woman’s gaze now darted around. “Uh. Come in.”
She led them into a neat, albeit stuffed and small living room.
“Where’s Chance? More importantly, where’s Derek?” Ellyn asked.
Ellyn resisted the urge to shake the woman. She seemed unable to meet Ellyn’s gaze.
“He’s here, but Chance said he was taking him from you because you were a bad influence. Derek hadn’t eaten when he got here. His clothes were dirty. I had no reason not to believe Chance.”
“Where is he?” Ellyn said. “Derek?”
The little boy appeared at the top of the steps. His eyes were wide. “Mommy.”
He ran down the steps and into Ellyn’s arms. “Oh, honey. I’m so glad to see you.”
Ellyn couldn’t hold him close enough.
“Daddy told me you were dead,” Derek said.
Tears streamed down his face. Ellyn looked over him at this woman who still hadn’t introduced herself.
“I’m sorry,” the woman said. “Uh, I’m Jenny by the way.”
“It isn’t nice to meet you,” Ellyn said. “I’m taking Derek home.”
“Of course. I’m sorry. I guess I shouldn’t have believed Chance,” Jenny said.
“Chance lies. All the time. Did you know he’s been doing drugs?” Ellyn said.
Jenny shook her head. “Well, he’s not going to live here anymore. I don’t want that around my kids.”
Ellyn nodded, picked up her boy and left the woman standing in her living room. She didn’t want to see this woman or New Jersey again. Derek nuzzled her neck as she carried him to the car.
Paul had the foresight to bring the car seat so Ellyn put her son into it. Paul had lingered in the living room, but was now back behind the wheel.
“Does anyone need anything to eat?” he said.
“I want to go home,” Derek said.
Paul nodded. “Home, it is.”
“Are you okay?” Ellyn asked.
Derek held her hand and she sat very close to his car seat.
“I’m okay, Mommy. I was so sad that you died, but you didn’t. Why would Daddy tell me that?”
Ellyn bit her lip. “Sometimes people lie to get what they want. Daddy wanted you to live with him.”
“I don’t want to live with Daddy. I want to live with you and Colton.”
Derek was going to get his wish, Ellyn thought.
***
Colton was feeling much better the next day and was not hooked up to any machines. He’d heard all of the beeping in his sleep last night. He’d asked them to give him a smaller dose of the pain medication. His brain was still a little fuzzy from the anesthesia.
Ellyn was on her way with Derek. He would be out of the hospital in a few days, though he couldn’t go back to work.
“Colton,” Derek said. He ran to his bed, but stopped next to it. “Mommy said you had surgery.”
“I did, son.” He patted the bed next to him. “Come up here.”
Derek looked at Ellyn. She nodded. “Remember what we talked about. Gentle. And if you can’t sit still, you can’t sit on the bed.”
Colton kissed the top of the boy’s head, then smiled at Ellyn. To him, all was right with the world. His family was here.
He hadn’t heard the details from Ellyn about how she found Derek. Paul had filled him in, but he wanted to hear it from Ellyn. And then they needed to have a serious discussion about Chance. He wasn’t holding anything back this time.
He was responsible for Derek and Ellyn now. He’d taken on that task when he’d said “I do.” He always took his responsibilities seriously. Right now, he had to convince Ellyn that she needed to take care of Chance.
Derek remained very still as Ellyn came to sit on the other side of the bed. Colton’s hand snaked out. He wanted to touch his family. To hold onto them.
“You seem more lucid today,” Ellyn said.
“I asked them to dial back the medications. I was a little too loopy.”
She squeezed his hand. “Are you okay like that?”
“I told them they could give me a full dose at night so I sleep. Otherwise, I still have a company to run.”
“Colton. You need to heal. Everyone can wait until you are better.”
He smiled. “I’ve already been on the phone.”
She rolled her eyes. “You have to take care of yourself. Where’s your phone.”
She held out her hand as if he were an errant child. He blinked. Was she serious? “You want my phone?”
“Yes. You cannot make any calls for the next two days. I’ll give it back to you when you get out of here.”
He handed her his phone, which had been sitting on a table next to his bed. “Well, I have something to talk to you about.”
He glanced down at Derek who was rolling a toy car over the bed. He didn’t want Derek to be part of this conversation.
At that moment, Marcia appeared in his doorway. Colton smiled at her. “Hey Marcia.”
“What?”
She knew his tone of voice. Guess she could read him well. “Could you take Derek for a snack?”
“Sure.” She turned to Derek whose face had lit up. “Let’s go, Derek. We’ll find you something to eat.”
Derek hopped off the bed and followed Marcia out. Colton hadn’t let go of Ellyn’s hand. “Okay. Spill it.”
She glanced over her shoulder at the door then back at Colton. “It’s not as if you don’t already know what happened. I’m sure Paul told you everything.”
“I wanted to hear it from you.”
“Chance took Derek. Told him I was dead. Told his wife I was a crack addict so she took in Derek. Can’t completely blame her in this.”
“But you can blame Chance.”
“Yes, but he’ll go back to prison.”
“Yes, he will. And that seems like a good place for him. He kidnapped your son. He didn’t tell you where he was taking him. That’s wrong, no matter who you are. He shouldn’t take Derek without you knowing about it. He’s your son and your responsibility.”
“I know all this, Colton.”
“Then do what needs to be done and press charges against Chance. Do you really think he’s a good role model for Derek?”
“And you are.”
“Yes. I’m a damn good one and frankly I’m tired of Chance being around at all. He’s been high around Derek and that alone should make you think twice about Derek spending time around him.” Colton took a breath. “He took Derek across state lines so that makes it a federal offense.”
Ellyn sucked in her lip then let it go. “You’ve been thinking about this.”
Of course. Why would she think otherwise? “I have. Why not? I married you and that makes both of you my responsibility.”
Ellyn blinked. “I’ve never had anyone want to do that for me. Or my son.”
He put a hand on her face and she turned into it. Her skin was soft and warm. He tugged her to him and lay her head on his chest.
“We’re in this together. You and me and Derek. Please do this. For me and for Derek.”
He never thought he’d be in this place. He didn’t want to be anywhere else. Well, other than out of the hospital. The doctor said he could be released in a few days. Then he’d be home with his family. Ellyn might have to take care of him for a few days, but he didn’t think she would mind.
“Okay. I’ll file charges. I promise.”
“Thank you.”