Page 30 of Sweet Poison

“Can I say goodbye to Melanie?”

I shook my head.

She nodded, and I took her hand and walked her to the waiting car. As I leaned down to buckle her in, she asked, “Will I ever see Mom again?”

“Yes,” I said simply. “Just not right now.”

“But what if she forgets all about me?”

“She won’t ever do that, honey. Moms don’t ever forget their children. She told me she misses you.”

“She did?”

“Hmmm…”

Her eyes were enormous. “When did she tell you that?”

“This morning.”

Her mouth opened with shock. “Oh.”

I shut the door and went around to the driver's seat, and soon we were on the road.

“So … if she misses me, why didn’t she come to see me?’ she asked.

I debated whether to tell her, then decided the fewer lies I told the stronger we would be as a team.

“Because your mother fell in love with a new man, but he’s not very nice. He doesn’t really like children and he could try to hurt you.”

“So she chose him instead of me?” she asked sadly.

“No. It’s not as simple as that. When she chose him, she didn’t know he was one of the bad guys and now it’s too late. So really, she’s protecting you by not contacting you. Do you understand how much your mother must love you to do that for you?”

She nodded, her pigtails bouncing against her serious face.

“Hey,” I called, taking my eyes off the road.

"Yes, Daddy?"

“I know that you miss her a lot, but staying away from her is the best thing for both of us. I say this to you because I found some letters you wrote to her earlier this morning."

"I wasn’t going to send them. And anyway, I wouldn’t know where to send them," she muttered rebelliously.

I gave her a look. "You weren’t going to send them, but by just writing them you already planted the possibility. Someday when you really miss her you might decide to send them and that will give a clue to the bad guys about where we are living. You understand that, right?"

She was silent for a while, and I gave her the time to process. Eventually, she nodded. "I'm sorry, Daddy."

"Don't be. Ultimately it's my responsibility, and I am working to make everything better. Today we’re going to our new home, far away from anyone who knows us."

Her eyes widened as she turned to me. "We’re going today?"

"Yes, we are. There you’ll be able to ride horses, plant vegetables, and paint."

"Plant vegetables?" She made a face, and I had to laugh out loud. She was so unbearably cute.

"You never know. You might love it," I said.

She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think so.”