Twisted Paths Read Free Page B

he went to the light, right?”
    She nodded. “Yes, he did,” she answered, with a smile on her face. “But, he told me he got reassigned, he’s a guardian angel now.”
    Bradley leaned back against the wall and shook his head. “Well, what do you know,” he said, smiling back at her. “That’s great. That’s just great.”
    “Aye, and for his first assignment, he has quite a special charge,” Ian inserted.
    Bradley looked at Ian and then Mary. “Okay, who is Mike’s new friend?” he asked.
    “Clarissa,” Mary replied softly. “He found Clarissa and is bringing her back to Freeport.”
    “What?” Bradley’s eyes were wide with shock. “He has…she’s coming…where is she?”
    “She’s on the bus,” Mary said. “She’ll be here in about five minutes.”
    He ran his hand through his hair and started pacing. “What do I say to her? What should I do? I’m not ready,” he stopped and looked at Mary and Ian, a smile growing on his face. “I finally have my daughter back.”
    Another car pulled into the parking lot.
    “Who’s that?” Bradley asked.
    “That’s the Brennan’s car,” Mary said, moving up to Bradley. “I called them and asked them to be here when Clarissa arrived.”
    “Why?”
    “Bradley, we have information that leads us to believe that Becca, her mother, has died too,” Ian said. “This little girl has probably gone through more than we can even imagine. I suggested she might need a little time with people who are familiar to her before she finds out she has a father.”
    “It might be nice for her to get to know you,” Mary added. “Before she…”
    “Before she realizes that a perfect stranger is the person she has to live with,” he finished.
    “Aye,” Ian said, coming up and patting Bradley on the shoulder. “You want the information to be welcome, and you don’t want to overwhelm her just as she arrives.”
    He nodded and turned away from them, looking out the window.  Ian went outside and walked over to the Brennan’s car.  Mary came over to Bradley and slipped her hand inside of his. “Hey,” she said softly, “Are you okay?”
    His hand tightened on hers and he nodded. “Yeah, I’m just a little overwhelmed,” he said, and then he turned to Mary and pulled her into his arms.
    She nestled against his chest and enjoyed the warmth of his embrace. He lowered his head and kissed her next to her ear. “Thank you,” he whispered.
    She looked up at him. “For what?” she asked.
    He slowly lowered his head and tenderly kissed her forehead, “For helping bring my daughter home.”
    “Our daughter,” she corrected with a smile.
     “Our daughter,” he said softly, his face beaming with joy. “We are going out there to meet our daughter.”
    Taking a deep shuddering breath to keep the tears at bay, she nodded. “Yes. Yes we are.”
    The bus pulled in front of the hotel and the air brakes hissed to a stop.  The door opened and Bradley stepped forward, but paused long enough for Katie to enter the bus before him. “Bradley, I can’t imagine…” she began.
    He placed his hand on her shoulder and nodded. “It’s okay.”
    She moved down the narrow aisle with Bradley following directly behind her.  Towards the middle of the bus, next to a window seat, Clarissa lay curled up and sound asleep.  The elderly woman seated next to her looked up at Katie with suspicion.  “You know this little girl?” she asked.
    Katie nodded. “Yes, I was a friend of her mother,” she replied. “She just recently passed away.”
    The woman’s eyes softened. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that,” she said. “And who you got with you?”
    The woman peered over Katie’s shoulder to Bradley. “This is Police Chief Bradley Alden,” Katie answered. “I asked him to meet the bus too, to make sure there were no misunderstandings.”
    “Well, if you’ve got the Police Chief with you, I guess I’ll let you take her with you,” the woman replied, pulling herself