Shattered & Mended by Julie Bailes, Becky Hot Tree Editing Page A

ever let me forget it.” I walk over and help her off the floor. Once she’s standing , I wrap my arms around her neck and use caution when pulling her head into my chest. I kiss the top of her head softly. “With all that’s within me, I truly am sorry. Sorry for the way I left you and for the decisions you had to make on your own. No one should ever have to go through that,” I sympathize. As I hold her , I begin to think that she’s forgiven me, until I feel her wipe her snotty-ass nose down the middle of my shirt and push me away.
    “You shouldn’t be in here. I still haven’t forgotten what you’ve done,” she sniffles.
    “Can you at least give me a chance to explain?”
    “Explain what? Excuse me if I don’t want to go through the details of what happened between you and Sophie. That’s something I wish I had never seen.”
    “That’s just it. I need to know exactly what you saw. I don’t remember anything after our argument. Not a damn thing.” I say, hoping to convince her to give me a chance to explain what Dr. Ruben told me.
    She walks to her door and opens it, silently telling me to leave.
    “Allie, please. Just hear me out,” I beg.
    “I will, I promise. Just not now. It’s still too fresh, and I need a few more days. If you can leave me alone for a few more days, I’ll hear what you have to say.” She nods her head in the direction of the hall, and I obey her request. I kiss her head once more before walking out of her room.
    Before she shuts the door, I blurt out the last and most important question I have for her. “You never really answered my question. Did you know the family who adopted her? Can you at least tell me where to begin my search for our daughter?” I ask.
    She huffs and rolls her eyes. “No, I didn’t know much about the family beside the fact they had been married for over twenty years and were unable to have kids of their own. All I know is that Mom said they were godly people, and she trusted they would take great care of her. If you want to know anything else, ask Mom.” She lowers her head as she closes the door.
    I go back into Kyle’s room and fire up my laptop. In the search engine, I search for adoption agencies in and around the Jacksonville area, but only two results display. I take down their numbers and call them both. I tell them my situation, but they refuse to dish out any information. I have to have some rights, don’t I? I wasn’t even aware of Lacy’s existence, and I sure as hell didn’t sign over my rights. I was overseas serving our country, for Christ’s sake; surely that has to count for something.
    I call Lucille and convince her to break her dinner date with Jack and meet me instead. I don’t tell her what it’s regarding, I just tell her it’s important, and I need her help. I know she said I needed to get all the information about Lacy’s adoption from Al, but Allie directed me back to Lucille. Someone’s going to give me the answers I deserve. If they’ll do it willingly or not depends on them, and I’m not against summoning either one of them to court. It’s my last resort, and I don’t want to do it, but I will.
    As I enter the restaurant , Lucille greets me in the entryway. The hostess takes us to our seats and the waitress—a woman I’m familiar with—steps up to the booth with her pen and pad in hand, ready to take our orders. I duck my head behind the menu in an attempt to avoid this bat-shit crazy lady who stalked me during the short time I spent at NCSU.
    “Oh, my gawd! Wyatt Cooper, is that you?” she asks, pulling the menu away from my face.
    Fuuuuucck. I flash her a polite smile, nod, and snatch the menu back. “Wow. Where’ve you been? One day you were here and the next day you weren’t,” she giggles.
    Fucking blondes. “Yup, something like that,” I sigh, fully annoyed by her presence.
    “Well, come on, spill it. Where did you run off to?” Can’t she take the orders and bounce off on her merry