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her up at the school.
Just like that. No thought to what was best for our child. Georgia
hadn’t seen her mother in eight months until she showed up at the
school that day.”
    Dan’s mouth tightened, as
he thought of the dark-haired woman he cared a great deal about.
“And Georgia?”
    “ Took me two months to get
her back. Her mother kept putting me off. Or would have security
alert her ahead of my arrivals, so that she’d take Georgia away for
a few days. Two months we played that game. Georgia would call me
at night, begging to come home. Her mother was telling her all
sorts of lies; about how I hadn’t wanted her, that she was bogging
me down. Things designed to drive a wedge. It didn’t
work.”
    “ And then what
happened?”
    “ I stormed the capitol.
Walked right in during a session, claiming it was a family
emergency involving our daughter. She had to go with me, to save
face if nothing else.” Dennis smiled, though the expression was
grim. “I told her if she ever pulled a stunt like that again, I’d
make it all public. The affairs, the political machinations, how
she treated our daughter, all of it. Told her I had proof, photos,
that sort of thing. Told her Georgia was coming home with me, that
she couldn’t, wouldn’t, stop it. Told her she wasn’t to ever
interfere with my child’s life again. Threatened her. And she knew
I’d carry through if necessary.”
    “ And?” Dan asked. “Why are
you telling me this now?”
    “ Because it took me months,
maybe even years to get back on the same footing with my daughter
after that. The things her mother had told her had left an
impression. Even though Georgia knew I loved her, her mother had
had two months to work on her. I can only imagine what your little
girl has heard for the last fifteen years.”
    Dan swallowed. “I did it
all, too. With Kelly, Emma, even the baby. There was nothing like
being a dad, you know? And then they were just gone. I know how to
parent a ten-year-old. But she’s twenty-six now. And frankly, not
quite what I expected. How do I do this?”
    “ I don’t know. One hour at
a time?” Dennis slapped him on the back. “Guess if my daughter had
come home with purple hair I would have freaked. Still, she’s a
remarkably beautiful young woman―even with purple hair. And
Dan―I’ve seen you with Agent Sparks and Agent Daviess―even with
Georgia. Treat your daughter the way you do those three, and I
think you’ll do fine. In the meantime, how do you feel about going
for a walk? Maybe toward a certain coffee shop?”
    Dan followed the direction
the older man nodded. Kelly and the little doc were sitting down at
a small table, two cups of coffee and some cookies in front of
them. Dan nodded.
    “ Tell you what, I feel like
a good cup of coffee myself. How about I walk with you?” Dennis
asked.
    “ I’d appreciate it. Kelly
never did well with confrontation. Always needed time to think
things through. She had a tree house. I’d find her up there, just
staring. She’d be up there for hours when something was bothering
her.”
    “ Kind of like coming to the
roof?” Dennis nodded to the distant arches over the city. “She get
that from you?”
    “ Probably. I guess she
did.” Dan smiled at the thought. “Guess she did.”

Chapter
14

    Ally didn’t have a clue
what to say to her friend. Didn’t even know where to
start.
    Kelly hadn’t had an easy
home life―one only had to know the girl a week to learn that about
her.
    “ Well.” Kelly sat her
coffee down with a thud. Brown liquid sloshed to the table. She
wiped it up slowly. “That’s a real bite in the ass. Hell of a first
day for us, huh? Babies in elevators, long lost fathers―next thing
we know our one true loves will come around that corner and sweep
us off our feet.”
    “ You don’t believe in one
true loves, remember? I’m not sure I do anymore, either.” Ally kept
her tone level. She knew how her friend worked, how Kelly’s