“No.” He shook his head. “Moretti said he was going to try to do everything he could with the connections he has, but he has to fight the bureaucracy.”
Sighing, Olivia returned her eyes to the tree in front of her. She still found herself thinking of all the women she saved. She knew they would be okay, especially considering the Secretary of Homeland Security had taken an interest in their well-being. In the hours following the FBI’s rescue, the story of why Melanie had been abducted hit the news. Despite the rhetoric of politicians wanting to ban Muslims from this country, there was much public outrage at the thought of these women going through removal proceedings and being sent back to Afghanistan, where they faced almost certain death. This pushed the Secretary of Homeland Security to grant them all asylum status just a few hours ago, even though they didn’t exactly meet the standard.
Still, Olivia couldn’t help but worry about Landon. He was so little and had no one left. The Department of Children and Families had to get involved, taking him into their custody, frantically trying to find a foster home to place him in right before Christmas. According to Moretti, it wasn’t going well and he’d yet to leave the children’s hospital. Olivia hated the thought of that poor baby being all alone. Landon needed to be surrounded by people who would love him every second of every day, not just a nurse or foster care worker who had too many other kids to tend to.
“It’ll be okay,” Alexander assured her. “I promised you I would never stop fighting for him, and I won’t, Olivia. I failed his mother—”
“Alex, you—”
“I did, Olivia,” he said sternly, then softened his voice. “All of this has made me reevaluate my priorities. It’s no longer about following the rules or protocol. It takes a strong person to never deviate from the rules. But it takes an even stronger person to know when to bend them.” He squeezed her hand, placing a soft kiss on her head as they settled in to watch Bing Crosby sing “White Christmas” against the backdrop of World War II.
“This movie again?” Melanie groaned. She stretched, then snuggled back between Alexander and Olivia.
A small smile crept across Olivia’s lips, thankful for this moment. For a time, she wasn’t sure whether they would be able to celebrate Christmas together. She would never take anyone for granted again.
“Yes. This movie. Again.” Alexander nudged her. “Don’t even try to pretend you don’t like it. I see you moving your lips along to all the songs.”
“Whatever, Dad.” She rolled her eyes, then closed them.
Alexander caught Olivia’s gaze and she stifled a laugh, grateful to see snippets of the Melanie they knew before all of this happened. She would never be the same again. No one would be after seeing and enduring what she had. As time went on, Olivia knew they would see more and more pieces of the girl she used to be.
“Did she become a teenager overnight?” he joked.
Olivia shrugged. “She is your daughter, and that includes her snarky behavior.”
He reached toward the coffee table, then handed Olivia her glass of champagne. “I’d argue she got that from her mother.”
Olivia rolled her eyes.
Smirking, Alexander said, “I rest my case.”
The sound of a dog barking rang through the house, followed by Runner bolting from his bed in front of the fireplace, barking at the window, then at Olivia and Alexander, then the window again.
“Runner,” Melanie scolded. “Where were you the night that crazy woman broke into this house? You couldn’t be bothered then, could you, boy? Some guard dog you are.”
He stopped his barking and came up to Melanie, placing his paw on her leg and nuzzling against her. When headlights from a car shined into the window, he raced toward the foyer.
“Did your mother change her mind?” Olivia glanced at Alexander.
“I don’t think so. I told her she was more than welcome to come over, but she said the last thing any of us probably wanted to do tonight was pretend we were happy.”
“Then who do you suppose is here at six o’clock on Christmas Eve?”
“There’s lights on one of the cars,” Melanie observed.
Olivia shot her head toward the window, able to make out a familiar silhouette trekking up the stone walkway. Seconds later, the doorbell rang, setting Runner off once more.
“I’ll go see what he wants.” Alexander pushed himself off the oversized couch, heading down the hallway.
“Is that the FBI agent who helped find me?” Melanie asked as she and Olivia continued to watch White Christmas.
“It is, sweet pea.”
“What’s he doing here?”
“I’m not sure.” She glanced toward the foyer, then returned her attention to her daughter.
“Doesn’t he have a family? Shouldn’t he be with them on Christmas Eve?”
Olivia shrugged. “Some people make work their family.”
“Like Daddy used to?”
“Yes.” She met her daughter’s eyes. “But not anymore.”
Melanie snuggled against her. “Does this mean we can have pancakes every morning from now on?”
She laughed at her, always the opportunist. “You’ll have to take that up with your father.”
Olivia sensed rather than heard Alexander enter the room and looked toward him, seeing Agent Moretti at his side. Extracting herself from Melanie, she stood up.
“Mrs. Burnham.” He nodded a greeting at her. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to you, as well. Is everything okay?” She walked toward them, stopping in her tracks when her eyes fell on a woman accompanying him. But it wasn’t the woman who surprised her. It was what the woman held in her arms. “What’s going on?” she asked, swallowing hard.
“Mrs. Burnham, my name is Jacqueline Pierce. I’m a social worker at the Department of Children and Family Services.”
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Pierce,” she said, her eyes glued to the baby she held, trying not to get her hopes up. “What can I do for you?”
“You must have friends in very high places. The director got a call from the governor himself, telling us this child wasn’t to spend another minute out of your care.”
Olivia exhaled a short breath, relief washing over her. Tears welled in her eyes as she caught Alexander’s gaze, a content smile on his face.
“This is certainly a huge breach of protocol, but like I said, this came all the way from the governor. It’s my understanding you have everything you need? Formula, clothes, diapers, a crib?”
“Yes. Yes, of course. One of my friends seems to pop out a kid every other month. All her husband has to do is look at her and she’s pregnant,” she joked. “We have plenty of baby stuff here for when they stop by.”