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“It was a long time ago. He’s probably married with a dozen children by now,” I said.Not everyone spends twenty-five years alone.But I wasn’t alone, I was doing what I needed to. Raising MaKayla and keeping her safe.I will never regret that decision.
“There’s one way to find out. Let’s google him,” she smiled.
I chuckled. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Why not?” she prodded. “Afraid of what you’ll feel when you see his face again?”
“Because not only don’t I know where he is from, I don’t even know his last name.” It sounded so odd even as I said the words.
“Mom, is this like when you wouldn’t tell me anything about my father?” she glared at me, totally untrusting. “You know how that went over. Not well.”
I deserve that.
“No. I promised that I would never keep secrets from you again. I am telling you the truth. I don’t know his last name.”
“Then how about his first?” she asked.
“Declan.”Captain Declan.
“Declan. That’s a nice name. And how did you meet? Did he come into the restaurant, and you locked eyes and fell for him?” she teased.
“First of all, I have never had a spare moment at the restaurant to even think about a customer in any other way than if they were happy with the food and service.”
“And secondly?”
“I didn’t meet him there.” No matter how she questioned, I would never tell her how I met Declan. That he was the man whom Michael sent to sail me and MaKayla away from Tabiq and to Canada. He was hired to be my protector for almost a month. It wasn’t abnormal to fall for him. Just unfortunate. Opening up was going to cause her pain. She could feel as though I didn’t search for her father because of Declan. That wasn’t the case, but it could appear to be.
“Is he from Tabiq? From before you had me?”
“You were already born, and no, he is not Tabiqian. I don’t know what nationality he was. And honestly, after all these years, it doesn’t matter. I’m not interested in learning anything more about him,” I replied, not really a lie. It was so long ago that it didn’t matter what I wanted.
“Really? Because maybe Damien could help you find him if you tell him everything you know about Declan. He’s very good at what he does.”
“Obviously because you found the truth you were looking for all those years ago and on top of that, a husband too,” I grinned. Hoping to change the subject, I said, “Who probably is missing you right now.”
“He’s off with his brother Draven and his best friend Brian.”
“Ah, yes. He makes me...nervous. It’s like when he looks at you, he is trying to see if you are hiding something.” Which of course might be just me feeling guilty for hiding something too.
“Well, he does work for the FBI so I’m sure it’s how he is with everyone. I remember the first time he came and visited me and Damien in New York. He kept looking at me so much that I became self-conscious. But now since I know him better, it doesn’t bother me. Actually, I don’t even notice it anymore.”
“What does he do at the FBI?” I asked, happy we weren’t talking about Declan any longer.
“I guess he searches for missing people, kind of like Damien. Hey, maybe he can help you find Declan,” she suggested.
And we are back to Declan.
“I told you; I’m not interested in finding him,” I said sternly.
“Too bad. I bet Damien and Brian could find him.”
“Damien has his hands full. Not just with the wedding, but President O’Connor mentioned that Damien is going to be heading up a team to assist Tabiq locate some of the missing women. He doesn’t have time to waste chasing someone who doesn’t matter to me,” I stated.
“You’re right. He’s become very invested in helping Tabiq heal from some terrible things that had happened in the past. Not sure exactly what that was, but Damien said the past doesn’t matter, it’s the future that we need to focus on. I’m really trying to learn that. Not easy. You know how I am. I want to know everything,” she sighed.
“Yes, I do, but in this case, Damien is right. Trust your husband.” It was easy to say because I was the one who always found it hard to trust anyone.
“I love the fact you call him my husband already and we haven’t even exchanged our vows yet.”
