This picks up five years after "The Heart of the Matter".

Kenny – Paroled in Chicago

Five years, he thought, sitting in his parents living room. Five years in prison. Five years of my freedom taken away by my whore wife. Who refused to testify at parole hearings or change her statement. She walked away, never showed back up, had her attorney handle the divorce when I refused to sign it. Now he won't tell me where she is. Off raising her bastard and ruining more lives. Max…she ruined my life…and she's out there.

"You need to let her go."

Kenny looked up at his father. "The woman who sent me to jail?"

"I'm very sorry Max did what she did. I know how much you loved her."

"Not anymore. She needs to…she needs to see what she did."

"What will that solve?"

She's out there, Kenny thought, with her daughter. Raising her to be…she has millions in that trust fund. She left me a small fortune with our house sale, checking and savings and a letter with the divorce saying to just leave her alone. That she wanted to start over. She doesn't deserve it. "She could have stopped this with one word. Instead she ran off, protected him…that bastard who…this is on Max."

"And her daughter?"

Lucas Cooper's daughter, he thought, who she… "What is she raising that kid to be? A cheating whore who ruins lives like her? She can't hide."

Max –

She is pretty great, Max thought, looking at five-year-old Taylor snuggled up next to her. Sounding out words of her book, fiercely independent about it when I try to help her, not that she needs much help. "Sounds good, Tay."

"Mommy?"

She pressed her lips to the top of her head. "What's up, Kiddo?"

"Can you get me a daddy?"

She felt her heart stop at that. How do I… "Um, maybe some time."

"All my friends have them. Where is my daddy?"

In prison, she thought, for killing Luc. Who I thought was your dad, but…you are so Kenny's. No one knows, we fell of the planet together. This isn't fair to her. I was outed as the whore of Rome, my family, the Lacos' and Coopers hate me. They didn't even like Lucas, even after he sacrificed his own happiness and education to support them…but the Lacos' should have known Taylor. I was too scared and bolted. I suck. "Well, your daddy, remember what we talked about?"

"That he was a hero."

Max nodded. "Yeah."

"That he went away when I was in your tummy. But a new daddy. You can get married in a pretty dress."

Prison, she thought, and she'll never now. Not this sweet girl who deserves all the world has to offer. I don't think I want to get married ever again. "A pretty dress?"

"After you have my little brother," Taylor said, rubbing her seven-month-pregnant stomach. "We can be a real family, Mommy."

I am good at getting pregnant, Max thought, a one-night stand, with a 22-year-old tourist, and boom. A baby in my belly. Nah, I like being a mom. Tay is going to be a great big sister. "Hey, you and your little brother and me, we are a real family. I'd love to give you a daddy, Kiddo."

"Can we find one?"

Oh, my five-year-old matchmaker. I'd love my kids to have a dad, Lucas would have been amazing…Kenny too if I didn't do what I did…single mom. Two kids, two dads, using my middle name now. Hannah. No one is looking for a blonde Hannah Stewart. It could have been so different…why did I cheat? I always hopped into bed with Luc, and I was so in love with Kenny. I could have said what he wanted and…technically I wasn't sober. It could have been enough…he killed Lucas. He beat him and…that's not who I want to be married too. That's not who I want raising Taylor. "You want to find me a date?"

"Mommy," she sighed. "You're sad sometimes. My brother won't have a daddy either."

"How can I be sad when I have you and your little brother in here? I would love to give you guys a daddy, I would love to have a husband but…we're good Tay. I'm not sad. I have a great daughter, friends, we have fun and…we are a family. We can both wear pretty dresses anytime."

Taylor giggled, handing her the book. "Will you read the rest?"

She smiled as Taylor rubbed her belly. She's going to be a great big sister. "Yeah. Pass it over."

Kenny –

"Your ex-wife left a very faint trail," Phillip Morris said. "She never closed on her house, but we found a birth record for a Taylor Emma Stewart, birthed to a Maxine Stewart."

"Taylor," Kenny repeated. "That's what she named her."

He nodded. "No father listed, but a perfectly healthy baby girl. She transferred her trust fund after that, and she and Taylor left Oregon. She applied for a passport for Taylor and renewed hers. She pinged two years ago, when she bought a home."

"Where?"

"She spent ample time traveling with Taylor. They finally settled down in Vancouver."

"She's in Canada?"

"She's living off her trust fund."

I can't leave the state, he thought, and she left the country. "I need you to go there."

"I've been," he said, sliding the pictures across the table. "Is this her?"

Max, he thought, touching the picture. What the hell, Max? Blonde, obviously far along in her pregnancy and holding a little girl's hand. "When were these taken?"

"Two days ago."

"She's pregnant?"

He nodded. "The father doesn't seem to be in the picture."

He looked back at the little girl. "That kid isn't black. That's Taylor?"

"There was no father listed on her birth certificate."

She would have put Lucas on it. She would have given Taylor his name. No, Max, no… "Are there more of her?"

He nodded, as Kenny shuffled through the pictures. "Here."

Damn you, he thought, staring at what he knew was his daughter at that moment. What did you do, Max? That's my kid. You may not have known when you were knocked up, but you knew when you had her. You stupid bitch, that's my kid. You sent me to prison and stole my daughter. "I need to talk to her."

"She still has restraining orders."

"She stole my daughter. Who the hell knocked her up again?"

"She's single. There is no man in the picture."

"So, she just bed hopped and got knocked up. Typical. I need to file a custody suit."

"We're going to need a paternity test. You're fresh out of prison. For all intents and purposes, Taylor is a happy and well-adjusted kid. She is a wonderful mother."

"She took my kid out of the country."

"You're not named as the father. You were convicted of manslaughter. Maxine has documented bruising. You keep calling her a whore. We can contact her through her lawyers."

My kid, Kenny thought, all this time…she must have hated that. I'm coming home to you, Max.

Max –

Son of a bitch, Max thought, sitting down on her bed. Resting her hand on her 15-pound midsection, she swallowed back her tears and anger. No, I can do this. I need to do this for Taylor. Kenny…out on parole. I knew it was coming, I thought I'd have more time. I knew he would look for me…I wasn't planning on being seven-months-pregnant. I should have changed my name, moved to Australia…Taylor. She is what matters. Kenny. Private investigator and paternity testing. He knows…his family must know. Everyone hates me.

"Mommy?"

She looked up and smiled despite herself. "What's up, Kiddo?"

"I had a bad dream."

"Ah, come here," she sighed. I could. I could get some fake id's, god knows I have the money, flee from this and…no. I'm not the criminal here. Taylor deserves more. Go on the offensive, Max, Kenny doesn't matter anymore. I have kids to think about. He killed someone. He isn't the man I married, any more than I'm who he loved. I don't think he ever…he loved the ideal vision he had of me. I fell off the pedestal. He'd hate this blonde hair. The fact my kids are going to have different dads. Probably call me a whore again. I wanted a family, to be married and…I screwed up. Not again.

Kenny –

"You didn't know."

Jimmy looked at his former deputy. We owed a visit, he thought, I did arrest him. Persuaded him to take the manslaughter charge…he would have been convicted and sentenced to life. "The pictures make it look that way. Max never said anything. We haven't heard from her since she left."

"You said I was sterile."

"You are," Jill said. "These things happen."

"Unless she was with someone else beside him."

Max who looked elated around Lucas, Jill thought, he was very gentle and caring with her. Concerned about her, even when he was injured. Excited about her being pregnant, and she…I think she was going to leave Kenny for him. She had those bruises…I think she loved Lucas Cooper. "It's possible. I think that is a question for Max."

"Her lawyers put up more restraining orders, injunctions…she has so much money. She's going to make this…she's keeping my kid away from me."

Max who fled, she was eight-months pregnant, Jill thought, and dropped out of sight. Kenny's baby…Oh, Max. Lucas died…she must be…Max. Look at her with her daughter, they do look happy together…and pregnant. "She had bruises, Kenny."

"All Cooper."

Jill looked back at the photos, very pregnant and a five-year-old. Happy, she does look happy, I think he hurt her. Got rough with her and she felt so guilty she let him. Then got close with Lucas, who was so good to her, she seemed to really like him touching her, holding his hand, there was something there. "She seemed very close with him."

"He forced her. She wouldn't have given him the time of day if he didn't rape her and make her think it was his. She didn't know what she was doing."

I think Lucas would have loved any baby she had, even when it turned out not to be his. "She said they dated."

"She was a child."

"That they went through a lot. They had to decide some adult things. She wanted to marry him, he convinced her to go away to school, she stood by him when his mom had cancer and they decided on her having an abortion."

"Max had a what?"

"She never told you."

"When? She just killed a baby."

Like you killed Lucas, Jill thought, devastated her. Then she had your baby and not his…she is smiling at her daughter in every picture…she loves her…and is very blonde. "She was 16, Lucas was with her, Kenny, she cared about him. She's going to fight you on this, even if you're the father, because of that. Why do you think she didn't tell you? She watched Lucas die and you killed him."

"He raped her."

"He didn't," Jill said quietly. "And deep down you know that."

Max –

My lawyers are right, she thought, we can tie up the courts for months and…what if he comes here? Or has someone else since he can't leave the state…he wouldn't be that dumb. He wouldn't try to take Taylor. Would he? He hates me. No paternity testing. Pictures of my bruising. The video of him beating Luc…his record of fighting in prison. He won't touch her. Jumping as he phone rang, she froze at the familiar number. No…I can't. I like my new life, and…no. Screw it. "Hello?"

"Max?"

She sunk down on her porch chair and closed her eyes briefly. Calm. I've had five years to get myself together. "How did you get my number?"

Oh, she sounds wary, Jill thought. "I heard you were pregnant."

"How do you know all this?"

"Max, we're friends."

She bit her lip, rubbing her stomach for a long moment. "I don't have time for friends right now."

"We saw the pictures."

Of course, she thought, she told me Kenny was sterile and…I blew apart my marriage. Is she fishing for Kenny? "And?"

"Taylor, she's…she's white, Max."

"Who knows how many people I was fooling around with. Is there anything else? I have to pick Taylor up from school."

"I'm going to be in Vancouver. I would love to catch up."

She felt her heart stop. "I'm busy."

"I haven't even told you when."

"My attorney is handling all of this. I have to do what is best for my daughter. Just stay away from me."

Oh, Max, she thought, she sounds so cold. Not how she looked in those pictures, her pregnancy glow, laughing and smiling with Taylor. "Who is the father?"

"Not your concern."

"Max."

"I mean it. I started over. I put the past behind me. I don't need you calling me or showing up here. Taylor and this baby are my priorities. Good-bye, Jill."

Kenny –

Stupid whore, he thought, what does she think she's doing? "She can't do this."

"She can and did. She didn't list you as the father. She can tie this up in courts for years."

"That's my daughter. I'm not letting her just…She knew it was my kid this whole time. She left me because she thought it was his and…she left the country with her. I'm going to her."

"It's a violation of your parole to leave the state, much less the country."

"That's my wife and kid. They're coming home."

Max –

I hate my life, she thought, staring at the person on her porch a week later. I should have fled. Moved with Taylor across the world…really changed our names and identities. She's not going to know her father is a murderer. "I told you not to come here."

Look at her, Jill thought, she does glow when she's pregnant. And very blonde. "You're all belly again…I love your hair."

She rested her hand on her rapidly growing midsection. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you could use a friend."

She shook her head. "I don't."

"You know Kenny isn't going to stop. He wants to meet his daughter. He wants to be part of her life."

"Kenny beat a man to death because I slept with him. I'm not letting him near my daughter."

"He's her father."

"That hasn't been proven. I'm a god damn whore. I could have been sleeping with the entire town. Who knows who her dad is. Good-bye."

"Max, wait."

"Nope. Get off my property and away from my family."

"Max!"

She pushed her blonde hair back and glared at her. "What do you want from me? I'm really trying here, I want to raise Taylor and this one I'm growing. I have a good life here and I'm not…. I'm not doing this."

"Mommy?"

"Hey, Kiddo" she said, her tone charging completely, as she wrapped her arm around her shoulders. "What's up?"

"Who are you? Mommy, you sound mad," Taylor said, looking at Jill. "Mommy you never get mad."

"Ah, everything is fine, Kiddo. I thought you were doing homework."

"I need you."

Oh, Max, Jill thought, looking at them together. She's…oh, she is Kenny's. There is no denying it. The shock of that…oh, Taylor loves her so much. Max can't wipe that smile off her face when she looks at her daughter.

"You have me," Max said, keeping her close and looking at Jill. "I have to go. Just leave us alone."

"Max."

She looked up. "Good-bye, Jill."

Kenny

"I don't care about parole," Kenny said. "I need to see my daughter."

"If you violate your parole, you're going back to prison," his dad said. "She's putting you through hoops with the paternity but there is no denying you're the father by looking at Taylor. She took away our granddaughter, Kenny. She called a few times…I think it was to tell us, but we never took her calls."

"You can go. Bring her home."

"We are not kidnapping that girl."

"Max is not getting away with this. We need to do something before she vanishes completely with Taylor."

"She's seven-months-pregnant. She isn't going anywhere. She has an injunction from us, if she vanishes with Taylor she'll be caught."

Kenny shook his head, his anger knowing no bounds. "She's fucking rich. She can vanish."

Max

She took another turn, watching the car four back from her. Hmm. It's been there the whole time. Kenny's detective? Jill? His lawyer? Keeping tabs on us…Damn it. Keep calm. Don't let them see you sweat. No where to hide, Max, Kenny won't let it go. Why did I think he would let me go? I should talk to him. Go to Chicago? No…Talk to Lauren, get her advice on it. Work out…don't admit Taylor is his. It's so obvious…that's why Jill flew to Vancouver. Medical conference, my ass. Taking anther right, she saw the car still following her. Damn it…Pulling into the school parking lot, she shifted into park, as the red car pulled in across the lot. Helpless, she thought, I hate feeling helpless. I hate that my mistakes ruined lives.

"Max."

She whirled on her heel, staring at him in shock. No, no, no…

"You really didn't think I'd come?"

She pulled out her phone. "You're violating your parole."

"You going to send me back to prison…Darlin?" he spat.

She felt her temper flare at him using Lucas' term for her. How him calling me that made me all warm and soft. How I always felt safe and loved with Lucas…not terrified in a parking lot. "Stay away from me, Kenny, or I will."

"Look at you…you do that to your hair to spite me again?"

"It's hair. My hair…and I like being blond. I wanted a fresh start."

"And you're whoring it up by being pregnant."

Taylor, she thought, I can't. Hitting 9-1 and looking back at him. "I'm hitting the second one in 10 seconds. Your call, Kenny."

"You won't."

"You want to go back to prison for parole and restraining order violations? Try me, Kenny."

"Mommy!" Taylor screamed. "Mommy!"

She watched in horror as the man scooped Taylor up and ran. "Help! He's kidnapping my daughter!"

Tay, her mind screamed as she hit the second one on her phone and ran the best she could in her state. Bursting into tears as one of the other men tackled him to ground and Taylor ran into her arms. "Oh, Baby, it's okay. I'm here."

"Mommy!" she sobbed, clinging to her. "Mommy, he tried to hurt me."

"You're safe, Kiddo," she said, fighting to keep her voice even. "You're safe with me."

"Hannah?"

She looked up, not letting go of Taylor. "Peter, thank you…I just…Oh, God."

"Security has him. The police are coming."

She nodded, feeling her world crumble. Kenny gone, he's not going to let us go. Not ever. "Good."

TBC