Kidnapped At Christmas. Barb Han

      Still, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. The child, real or imagined, was obviously very important to her. So much so that she was trembling.

      And then she looked up at him with those blue eyes that he’d liked looking into right before he fell off the cliff during sex. Okay, not the time for that thought, Jackson.

      “I can’t imagine how all this must look from your point of view. Thank you for the coat. I must’ve left mine in the restaurant. I was in such a hurry to catch you because I knew if you left it was over. I’d never have the courage to email again. You should know that I don’t want anything from you. I just thought you had a right to know about your daughter.”

      Whether he believed her or not didn’t matter. She seemed vulnerable, and that pierced his armor. “We’ll figure this out.”

      Her phone buzzed and her ringtone sounded, same ones as before. He should know. He’d been the one to program the song into her new phone when she couldn’t figure out how to change the basic sound.

      A look of sheer relief flooded her tense expression as she checked the screen. “It’s Stephanie.”

      Wyatt needed to clear his head so he could face the Butler family this afternoon. To say this day was throwing curveball after curveball was a lot like saying Texas highways were crowded. At least Meg had received the call she’d been waiting for and that was a relief.

      His respite was short-lived as Meg dropped to her knees.

      “Tell me where you are and I’ll be there in two seconds.” Her voice shook and panic radiated from her.

      He offered a hand up, which she took. The color had drained from her face as she glanced around. “The Butler Fountain?” She paused. “I know exactly where that is.”

      Whatever her friend was saying wasn’t good, and he figured this day was about to get even longer.

      “Did you give the sheriff your statement?” She paused again. “Do it right now. Tell them everything you just told me. I’m almost there.”

      Now his curiosity was getting the best of him as Meg broke into a run.

      He followed, easily keeping pace even though Meg was still obviously in shape. She gripped her cell as she raced toward the planned site of the Mike Butler Memorial Fountain.

      A small crowd had gathered, facing away from the tree. There was a woman on the ground, her legs curled up and her face scrunched in pain and panic.

      “What’s going on?” he asked Meg as they neared the woman.

      “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened,” the woman he presumed to be Stephanie said through sobs. “I was walking along fine and then I blacked out.” Her hand came up to the back of her head to rub. “Ouch...” She blinked in panic, tears welling. “I came to and she was gone. Someone took her. Someone kidnapped Aubrey. They must’ve taken everything, the stroller and the diaper bag. All I remember is blacking out.”

      The most heartbreaking sound tore from Meg’s throat.

      Wyatt’s head nearly exploded and an ache ripped through his chest. He couldn’t figure out why he’d have such a strong reaction to a child’s kidnapping when, first, he’d never even met the little tyke and, second, he still wasn’t convinced she belonged to him.

      His heart didn’t seem to need confirmation one way or the other.

       Chapter Three

      “Did you call the sheriff?” Meg asked, looking like her world had just tipped on its axis in the same way Wyatt’s just had. But there was no way he could care this much about a child he’d never met. He chalked his feelings up to sympathy for the mother and the heartbreaking situation.

      “I did.” A woman stepped forward. She was young, mid-twenties, and clutching a small child’s hand. The little boy couldn’t be more than three or four years old. “I wish I’d seen more. I heard someone scream and ran over to see what happened. I was too late.”

      Meg thanked her.

      “He’s on his way.” Stephanie glanced around at the gathering crowd, looking bewildered. “There was a guy—he was wearing one of those forest green park-maintenance uniforms—and he said he saw everything before taking off in that direction.” She pointed east. “Said he’d be right back.”

      Meg looked on the verge of crumpling. The more people who gathered around the less likely it would be for him or Meg to see someone escaping with the stroller. Wyatt glanced at Meg.

      “What color stroller am I looking for?” he asked.

      “Red with big wheels to take it jogging.” She glanced from him to Stephanie with the most sorrowful look on her face.

      Wyatt glanced around at the small crowd. “Did any of you see anything unusual or anyone hurrying out of this area with a red stroller?” The odds were slim anyone would notice details like that, but it was worth asking.

      Heads shook.

      “There was a lot going on and the music was too loud. I was afraid to wake her, so I stayed back here by the benches. I was worried that Meg would text and I would miss it.” Stephanie sobbed.

      “You did the right thing.” Wyatt had no idea what to say, but he wished he could make the situation okay for both of them. Stephanie seemed like a nice person and he already knew Meg was. At least she hadn’t been lying about there being a child. Obviously, there was. No one would go through this much trouble to set up a lie.

      “Go. Look for her. I’m fine,” Stephanie said, trying to push to her feet. She wobbled and a Good Samaritan steadied her by grabbing her arm in time before she landed on her bottom. She thanked him.

      “We’ll stay with her,” the woman with the child said.

      “Did you see anything?” Wyatt asked Stephanie.

      “No. I was walking with the stroller before I felt something hard hit the back of my head and then I blacked out. Next thing I knew the park worker was beside me asking if I was okay and I had a blinding headache.” She touched a spot behind her left ear.

      Meg hopped onto a nearby bench and scanned the area.

      “See anything up there?” Wyatt asked. He tried to convince himself that he’d feel this panicked whether the child might be his or not. An infant had been kidnapped, and he could admit that he still had residual feelings for the baby’s mother. The little girl didn’t have to belong to him for his heart to go out to Meg. If he could help her find her baby he would. And if she kept on insisting the baby was his, he’d ask for a DNA test before he got too worked up. Keeping a level head in challenging times had earned Wyatt his solid reputation in the business world and helped him expand to twenty-five locations. This was no different.

      He joined Meg on the park bench. There were too many people spreading in all different directions. The ceremony had ended, which was the perfect time to execute this kind of crime because there was chaos while families exited the park area and spilled into the parking lot.

      There was no way he was going to find the person responsible at this rate. He couldn’t justify standing around and watching all this heartbreak, either.

      “Text me and let me know what the sheriff says. I have to do something,” Meg shouted to her friend, and he completely understood the sentiment. He was having the same conversation in his head.

      Meg was on the verge of tears as she turned to look at him. “I don’t see any sign of her.”

      “If I was going to commit the crime, I’d park in the closest spot.” He pointed to the nearest parking lot, which was slowly emptying. There was a line to exit, and the park’s location in the center of town off the main square caused traffic to move slowly. “Maybe we can spot