Chapter 37

"I'll be home tomorrow. My flight gets in around 2." Adam's voice was tired and low after recounting the details of the modest funeral. "MacLeod is going to stay here and help Sam close up Joe's affairs, and Richie flew out almost an hour ago."

"I wish he could have come back with you." Beth knew that wasn't possible, but missed her friend.

"We'll catch up with him in Europe I'm sure. If you still want to take that trip to see Ellen, maybe we could let your Father watch the children for a while. I think we could both use a little escape." He offered.

She knew he was trying to think of her, but she was more concerned with his state of mind. "Why don't we wait until you get home to think about that?"

Adam rubbed his eyes and murmured how tired he was.

"Go get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow. Oh and Adam … I love you."

"I love you too." He answered before the line went dead.

Later that night Adam and Duncan sat in the main room of the house in front of the fireplace, looking into the flames.

The bottle of Glenmorangie sat empty on the table between them.

"I'm thinking about letting someone else run the gallery for me." Duncan said finally. "It makes good money, but … there's nothing left for me here anymore."

Adam understood, and even if there were … he knew MacLeod wouldn't feel the same about any of it without Joe around.

"So it's off to Europe then?" He asked.

"Yesterday I thought so … today … I'm not so sure. I need to finish things up for Joe here and then I'll know what I want to do." Duncan admitted. "I need a little time alone I think."

Neither of them slept that night. The sun found both of them still sitting in front of the fireplace long after the embers died down. Knowing Adam would be leaving in a few hours, they took a long run through the streets of Seacouver, pushing themselves in the cold, January air.

It felt good to fill their lungs and to work off some of the tension. When they were done, there was barely time to grab a quick shower before Duncan took Adam to the airport.

"I'll be in touch. Give Beth and the kids my love."

"Let me know how it goes in Europe." Adam was pretty certain the Highlander would go there once he'd had a chance to mourn Joe's death on his own terms.

With one brief nod and clasp of the hand, Duncan pulled the car away from the curb and Adam carried his boarding pass and his suitcase to the gate. It was hard closing this chapter in their lives, but talking about it wouldn't make it any easier. They knew to survive they had to look ahead.

When Beth's car pulled up outside the baggage claim area, Adam was standing just inside the door waiting. His plane arrived fifteen minutes early. She met him at the back of the car and held him for a long moment before he put his bag in the trunk. The pain in his eyes evident, she knew there was nothing she could say. She could only let him know she was there.

"I made your favorites for dinner. You must be starved after that trip." she told him on the drive home.

"I appreciate it, but all I'm really interested in now would be my pillow. I'm too tired to think."

The kids were upstairs with friends when they got home, and as much as he missed them, Adam was relieved he could quietly go into their room. He fell asleep almost the instant his head hit the pillow, and when he woke up, Beth was sleeping soundly beside him.

He started to pull her against him, but realized he was starving. He hadn't eaten on the plane and the only thing greater than his hunger, was his thirst.

His eyes were half shut when he shrugged on sweatpants and made his way through the dark family room into the kitchen. It wasn't until he shut the refrigerator door with a beer in one hand and the plate Beth had left for him ready to microwave in the other, that he realized he wasn't alone.

Setting everything on the counter, he stepped back into the family room, his eyes searching the darkness for the source of the slight sniffling he'd heard.

"Meghan? Is that you?" He turned on the small lamp to see for himself that it indeed his daughter's friend. The weekend was here so he wasn't surprised to find her sleeping over. "What are you doing out of bed at this hour?"

"I'm sorry … I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to wake up Ryan." She wiped her eyes and pulled her knees tighter against her chest. She'd been curled up in the oversized chair near the window and it was obvious she'd been crying.

"Want to tell me what has you so upset you can't sleep?" He stayed across the room, giving her hopefully the space she needed to tell him.

"I'm sorry … I didn't mean to bother anybody. I'll just … go back upstairs."

"Meghan please wait." He walked toward the chair she was trying to move out of and pulled the ottoman across the floor with him to sit on. "You aren't bothering me, but I am concerned you would be so unhappy."

He'd gotten to know the girl over the past weeks and actually thought she was beginning to come out of her shell before they left for Seacouver. It probably would be better if Beth were the one who'd discovered her, but she wasn't … He would have to do.

"I'm not unhappy. I just couldn't sleep." Meghan tried to deny what was so evident from her reddened eyes.

"Meghan you know how fond we all are of you don't you?" He asked, trying to boost her confidence. "And how much we enjoy having you around? I'm very glad Ryan has a friend like you."

Adam had no idea his words were going to send fresh tears streaming down her face. Meghan began to sob, her tiny body shaking from deep within. He had no way of knowing that the past few weeks she'd been all alone in a dark, cold house. No way of knowing the sleep she managed to find, was fitful and began and ended the same … alone and afraid.

"Meghan, what is the matter?" He stroked her hair when she buried her head against her knees. "Is it your Mother? Are you having problems at home?" Of course he knew her home life was terrible, but when her pitifully contorted face looked up at him after a long while, he was not expecting what he heard.

"She's g – g- gone." The young girl could not keep the secret any longer. Adam's show of sympathy had broken her resolve to try and keep this a secret as long as she could.

"She's gone? You mean she is out of town?" Adam didn't understand.

Meghan began to nod her head vigorously. "She left and she's not coming back."

He couldn't believe the woman would go on holiday without her daughter, but still didn't grasp what Meghan was trying to say. "Of course she will be back sweetheart. She probably knew you were a big girl and could take care of yourself for a few days while she took a break."

"No … you don't … you don't understand." Meghan insisted, her voice becoming stronger. "She left. She said … I was on my own. She said … I'd have a foster family."

"Meghan when did she say this?"

"In the note … I – I found it when … you took me home because you had to go out of town." Her words were choppy and unevenly spaced because she was still crying.

Adam closed his eyes briefly, anger at the woman welling up inside. How could she do this? "Are you saying you've been staying alone since before we left for Christmas?"

Meghan nodded. "Are you going to call the foster family?" She had no idea how this worked, but was sure that was where she would be going.

"Do you have the note with you?" Adam didn't answer her question. Truth be told, he didn't know the answer at that moment.

Meghan shook her head. "It's at home."

Adam heard a noise on the stair and realized Ryan had missed her friend. Looking to his sleepy daughter, he asked her to go wake her mother. "Meghan and I need to talk to her."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Ryan please … go get your Mother and then you can come sit with Meghan while we talk." There was no use hiding the facts from his daughter. She would learn them soon enough and it might reassure Meghan to have her in the room.

The four of them talked for almost an hour. Meghan told them what the note said and how she had been careful not to let anyone know her Mother was gone. They reassured her it was not her fault her Mother left, and that she didn't have to worry a foster family would be coming to take her away the next morning.

"I don't see the rush to alert anyone." Adam assured her and Beth agreed. "I want to see the note in the morning and try to get in touch with your Mother before we do anything."

Meghan was sure he wouldn't be able to find her, but wasn't going to say that. The longer he looked, the longer she could stay with Ryan.

"You girls go back to bed. We won't go riding in the morning, I think we all will need some rest." Beth gave them both a hug as she walked them to the stairs.

Adam had long since lost his appetite, and placed his plate and drink back in the refrigerator. "How could anyone do something so horrid?" He heard Beth ask from the doorway.

"You don't want to know the answer." He assured her, slipping his arm around her shoulders and walking to their room.

"What are we going to do?" She asked.

"We're going to try to go back to sleep and worry about that tomorrow." He pulled her head onto his shoulder. "Maybe her Mother will have a change of heart."

They both knew that was not likely, and sleep did not come quickly.