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“I’m sorry for frightening you, ma’am,” he said, his gaze flicking from Hannah to the hallway where children’s laughter echoed faintly. “I was desperate and didn’t know what else to do. I’m just trying to find my daughter. Morgan Collins. Please. Can you tell me where she is, and why you have her children?”
Chapter 31
Hannah couldn’t seem to make her brain catch up with what she was hearing.
She looked more closely at the man standing in her parents’ front room. He was in his early sixties, maybe, with thick gray hair cut short and a weathered, lined face that was still handsome.
His shoulders were still broad under his dark jacket. His brown eyes, however, were anything but stern. They looked haunted.
“You’re Morgan’s father?” she managed. “That’s why you’ve been stalking me?”
“Not you,” he said quickly, his tone apologetic. “My grandchildren. Watching over them the best I can.”
His gaze flitted toward the hallway where the music of children’s voices sounded, then back to her. “I don’t understand why they’re staying with you and not with her. Where is she? I just need to know she’s all right. Please.”
His voice roughened on the last word, torn and tormented.
“Morgan told me you’ve been estranged,” Hannah said, trying to remember the few things Morgan had told her about her father.
“We are.” His mouth tightened. “Completely my fault, not hers. I should have gone after her as soon as she left town, but sometimes men can be stubborn.”
Hannah’s gaze slid toward Wes, standing silent near the doorway, Kodi at his side. He didn’t have to tell her that. She was fully aware that men could be stubborn. They could throw away a future in an instant because they were scared or proud or convinced they were protecting someone else.
“Can you please tell me where she is,” Ed asked, his voice close to begging.
Hannah didn’t know how to answer. She wanted to avoid the question completely but as she considered her options, she could see little point in dissembling. She had placed posters all over town advertising the concert and the fundraiser. Anyone who paused long enough to read them would see Morgan’s name.
Yet she didn’t feel right about stepping into the middle of a conflict she didn’t fully understand.
“It’s not my place to tell you her personal information,” she said slowly. “I can promise you she is safe. She asked me to care for the children temporarily.”
He stared at her, jaw tight. “Safe where? Doing what?”
“I can’t say,” she answered, holding his gaze. “That’s for Morgan to share, if she chooses.”
“I love my daughter, ma’am,” he said quietly. “And my grandchildren. The rift between us never should have happened. I want to make things right. If my daughter is in trouble, I need to know. The children should be with me. I’m their family.”
“That’s between you and Morgan. You’ll have to talk to her,” Hannah said, though compassion seeped through her at the clear pain in his eyes.
“How am I supposed to do that when I don’t know where the hell she is?” His voice cracked with frustration, though she caught an echo of what sounded like despair.
“I can tell you this much,” Hannah said. “She’s supposed to be back next week, before Christmas. I’ll let her know you’re in town and that you want to make amends. When she comes back, she can decide if that’s something she’s willing to consider.”
“Meantime,” Wes said gruffly, “stop parking outside Hannah’s house and following the kids around town. They’re fine. They’re safe. They’re where their mother wants them to be right now.”
Ed’s shoulders sagged a fraction. “I suppose that’s the best I can hope for,” he said. “Thank you. I’m sorry for frightening you, ma’am. I was desperate and didn’t know what else to do.”
“Where are you staying?” Hannah asked. “I can let Morgan know. I’ll give her your contact info and she can reach out if she wants to.”
“My phone number hasn’t changed since she left. She has it. If she wanted to reach out to me, she would have by now.”
He sounded so defeated that something inside her twisted.
“I just want to make sure she’s not in trouble,” he said. “Can you promise me she’s okay? That she’s not in some kind of danger?”
Hannah thought of IV poles and hospital hallways. Of Morgan’s gaunt face lighting up when the kids had burst into that consult room. Of medical bills and insurance forms and the way her friend’s hands had trembled when she talked about the future, asking Hannah to consider being guardian to her children if the worst possible outcome became reality.
Every part of her wanted to fix this for all of them. Morgan needed all the support she could find right now as she fought for her life.
