Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

D uring the long and tense family meeting at breakfast, Mia's mind kept wandering back to being in bed with Kyle just a short time before. She would have given anything to have the chance to rewind the clock and replace this pressure-cooker of a meal with the pleasure she shared with him earlier this morning. She was unable to eat the toast he'd put in front of her and the small sip of coffee she had swallowed burned as it traveled down her throat.

They'd started the conversation by telling everyone that the child they all knew as Sarah was actually named Daisy. That caused quite a discussion, and everyone had an opinion about that piece of information. She wished they didn't need to tell the family all the rest of the details, but Kyle felt that it was important to keep everyone up to date with what she remembered. The unspoken and underlying message was clear; she'd put them all in danger just by her presence in their home and now they each had a right to speak their mind.

"Let me understand this," Sibby said turning to Mia as she brought yet another full pot of coffee to the table. "You had a nightmare, or you remembered what happened right before your accident. Which is it?"

"Both," Mia said meekly. "I did have a nightmare, but it was my mind's way of bringing back the events of what happened that night. I remember it clearly now. Those two men were there for Daisy. I'm sure of it."

"We think that the baby's father might be someone with money, or maybe someone with influence," Kyle interjected. "Why else would that alert have been sent by Interpol?"

"Don't jump the gun, brother," Conor said. "Maybe Mia's involved in some sort of human trafficking ring. Maybe she's just a courier."

"I'm not," Mia said sitting up straight in her chair. "That's my daughter you're talking about, not a stolen child. I'm her mother."

"Mia, I don't want to upset you further," Tim began, "but we don't know that for sure. Plus, Daisy has a father with paternal rights, and those rights have been violated. Without consent, you've kidnapped her from another country and entered the US with forged documents. That's a whole lot of trouble right there."

Tears sprang to her eyes. "What about me, my rights? I'm not a criminal and I would have never taken Daisy away if I didn't feel that we were both being threatened. I might not remember much, but something deep down tells me that I'm a rule follower, not a rule breaker.

"There's a first time for everything," Conor said under his breath.

"That's enough!" Kyle said as he pounded a fist against the table almost upending his coffee mug. "If Mia says she was in danger, I believe her. I don't want to hear another word from any of you that doesn't include a solution to the problem we find ourselves in right now."

"Oh, a solution where we're not all accessories to this international crime?" Conor asked. Despite the kidding tone to his voice, his words chilled her to the bone.

Mia tried to ignore the rapid beating of her heart and said, "Excuse me. I have one solution." All eyes turned her way. "I told Kyle that I want to take a DNA test. I know that I can get a mail away kit at the Walgreens in Orleans and that once the lab receives it, they email the results within two days. I can overnight it from the post office there. I can at least prove undeniably that Daisy is my daughter, and we can know the truth by Saturday."

"Don't be so sure. Thanksgiving is a holiday. We might not get that email until later next week," Sibby said.

"It's the best I can offer. Otherwise, I can pack up Daisy and my bags and go. I would understand if that's what you all want me to do."

"Absolutely not," Kyle said as he stood up. He rested his hands on the worn surface of the wooden table, the one that had been carved by his grandfather for family meals such as this one. "You're not going anywhere until we figure this all out, Mia. I mean it." Then he turned his attention to his family. "Since when have we worried more about ourselves than those we've sworn to protect and serve, huh? This might be a strange circumstance, but Mia and Daisy are here, under our roof. We're going to see this thing out and look after them both. Do I make myself clear?"

"Of course, brother," Sibby said, reaching out to grab one of Mia's hands. "We would never let you leave, Mia. There are men with bad motives out there somewhere looking for you. We're not going to let them find you." She looked at her two younger brothers and said, "I won't hear another word about international laws being broken. Mia is a woman alone, and she felt threatened, end of story. I believe her." Then she turned to Mia and added, "And for what it's worth, I believe that Daisy is your flesh and blood." Her tone left no misunderstanding or confusion. Sibby had ended the discussion and Mia could feel her body begin to relax.

"As soon as Daisy wakes up from her nap, I'll go to Walgreens and get the test. Sibby, I can pick up anything you need from the Stop and Shop at the same time."

"I'm going with you," Kyle said.

"Me too," said Conor.

"Me as well," said Tim.

She tried to clear the tears from her eyes. She had expected this news about Daisy to cause a commotion. The last thing she wanted was to put Kyle at odds with his family, but now it seemed that they were all rallying behind her once more.

"Thank you. For everything," she said. The next thing she knew, Kyle reached over and helped her out of her seat and pulled her into his arms.

"We're here for you…I'm here for you," he whispered in her ear. "Everything will work out, you'll see."

For as much as she wanted to believe him and never leave the warm circle of his home, his family, or his strong, reassuring arms, she feared that if the results of the test proved otherwise, that if she wasn't Daisy's mother, she'd lose this man forever. That was the kind of heartache that she could not imagine.

An hour later they'd made it to Orleans and Kyle pulled the car into the pharmacy parking lot. He'd convinced his brothers to stay at home, not wanting to make this any more difficult for Mia. As he shut the engine, he turned to her and said, "Whatever happens, I'm here to help you, Mia."

"What if it turns out that I did do something terrible, Kyle. What then?"

"I can't imagine that's true. I have a good sense of people, and you don't strike me as a hardened criminal," he said with a smile.

"I know that you're trying to make me feel better, and I do appreciate that, but I'm questioning everything."

"There's a simple solution. I'll go get that test, you'll do the swab, and we'll expedite it. We'll know soon enough. Wait here."

He got out of the car and hurried into the pharmacy. Mia sat back in her seat and closed her eyes, willing herself to remember the truth. My name is Maeve. My name is Maeve. Think!" But nothing came to her. She drew in a deep breath, took off her seat belt, opened her car door and stepped into the cold air so that she could check on the baby. At least her little girl didn't seem bothered by the chaos of their lives; she was sound asleep. The grey, overcast sky mirrored her mood; it looked like a storm was brewing. Too nervous to sit, she waited, leaning against Kyle's truck until she saw him return, holding a small brown paper bag.

"Mission accomplished," he said, handing his purchase over to her.

She reached into the bag and pulled out the blue box, turning it over in one gloved hand. "Let's hope this works," she said.

"Let's do it in the car. It's freezing out here," he offered.

They both climbed into their seats, and she removed her gloves and ripped open the cardboard flap, the instructions, swabs and vials inside spilling out onto her lap. She read over what she was supposed to do. It was simple enough. She dipped a tester into her mouth and rubbed it against her cheek. Then she placed it in the container provided for that purpose.

"I hate to wake the baby, but I don't see as I have a choice if we're going to mail this off now."

"Maybe she'll sleep through it. You don't have to get it much past her lips to swab her cheek."

"Right," Mia replied, hopping out of the car one more time and opening the rear passenger door. She took the swab meant for Daisy and slowly replaced the baby's pacifier with it, rubbing it as best as she could to obtain the sample cells. Then she put the pacifier back in place, happy to see that while the little girl stirred, she didn't wake up crying. She quickly put the swab in the appropriate container and got back into the front seat where she filled out the provided form that was to go with the test.

"Okay. Let's go to the post office," she said. "I'm going to expedite this somehow."

"I'm sure that won't be a problem," Kyle responded.

He drove to the post office and Mia could feel the adrenaline running through her veins. This was it. She would get the answer to at least one of her issues by the beginning of next week. If she had concrete proof that Daisy was her daughter, that would be one big battle less for her to fight. Once he pulled up in front, she said, "This won't be long. Then we can go to Stop and Shop and get whatever is on Sibby's list."

"Right," was all he said.

She quickly made her way into the small building and was immediately struck by the quaint charm of the interior. It almost looked like she'd stepped back in time; the wooden counter was worn down with wear and there were colorful Thanksgiving decorations hanging over the service area. There was no one else inside except for her and a lone employee who gave her a huge smile when he realized he had a customer.

"What can I do you for, young lady?" the uniformed worker asked. He had grey hair and a bushy mustache.

"I need to mail this, and it needs to be dispatched overnight," she stammered.

"Well, I can certainly help you with that," he said, pulling out a blank label and both a large and a small envelope with red trim. He held both up. "What's your pleasure?"

"The smaller one will do," she said, suddenly realizing that this man would now be in on her secret. He would see the contents of her package and the name of the company where it was to be mailed. She reached for the pen that was attached to a string at the side of the window where she stood and began to fill out the label. She finished copying the address from the test instruction insert she'd brought with her, stuffed the vials inside the envelope with the completed form and sealed the envelope. Then she handed it all back to the postal worker, who immediately put it on the scale.

"That will be $10.80," he said.

Grateful that he didn't make a comment about the package itself, Mia pulled out a ten and a one-dollar bill. She slid it across the counter and asked, "And it will arrive tomorrow, even though it's a holiday?"

"Yes, ma'am. Express mail is delivered every day of the year. Guaranteed or your money back."

"Thanks."

She waited as he filled out his part of the label and passed her back one copy.

"Have a nice holiday," she said, turning to leave.

"Don't worry about a thing. The United States Postal Service will take good care of your package. Have a lovely afternoon," he replied.

She nodded and went back outside. Don't worry, she thought to herself. Impossible!