It's almost 1 am Patrick should be here with the boys soon enough. I know Craig set up the boys' rooms but I can't help but make sure they'll have everything they need. I feel Jack's arms on my shoulders halting me.
"You trying to distract yourself, Lise, because you and I both know Craig hasn't forgotten anything. And you've ordered everything from clothes, and footwear to toothbrushes that Craig has diligently set out where necessary."
I turn to look at Jack and wonder if his as nervous as I am.
"Fine, you're right. I'm just nervous Jack. What if they don't like me, they don't know me at all."
Jack enfolds me into his arms letting his chin rest on my head trying to calm my mind and heart which are filled with both excitement and trepidation.
"Lisa I'm nervous too but all we can do is make them feel welcomed and wanted. They will definitely love you how could they not."
"You don't have to be nervous Jack children love you and you love them. How you are with children is a heartwarming experience to witness. If there was ever a man made to be a father it would be you."
"Lisa I'm just as scared I'm sixty-eight years old what if they think I'm too old to be their dad."
"It doesn't matter how old you are because you have more energy than most people I know. Like you said all they want is for someone to love them and care for them and that is something you excel at."
I take Jack's face in my hands and look into his eyes making sure his focused on what I'm about to reveal.
"Having kids never interested me until I met you, cowboy. I would catch myself lost in thought about what it would be like to have your children. I always thought before I met you that kids weren't for me I just didn't have any inclination to be a mother but watching this strapping cowboy interacting with his grandchildren flickered something inside of me because I could see you had these innate nurturing skills that weren't inherent in me and maybe I could do it with someone like you."
"You never ever told me that."
"It was a fanciful notion."
"Why would you think that?"
"I'm not the type of woman a man has children with."
"Where did you get that stupid idea from?"
"It isn't stupid because I haven't a domestic bone in my body and with a breed stock business that requires me to travel it isn't viable and also I have no reference of what a mum should be like."
"You do perfectly fine with all the girls. Yes, maybe the domestic label doesn't fit you but you give them what they need the way you know how and to me that is what being a parent is all about."
"Well I hope you're right otherwise our boys will suffer more than they already have."
Jack takes a hold of my hands and places them around his waist to hold me giving me the strength I need.
"I am Lise and we will do right by our boys in our own way."
Today I notice the beautiful stars as we glide through the night sky. Finally getting these boys on the plane to their parents. It isn't every day you get to reunite a family and the great feeling that comes with knowing you've changed people's lives forever.
I can see the blonde boy talking to Keller in hushed tones. But it seems Keller can't give him what he wants because he points to me and I see the boy make his way over followed by his siblings.
Lincoln the blonde-haired boy that resembles is the one that asks if he could ask me some questions.
But before I can answer the boy, the plane intercom filters through with the pilot informing us we're twenty minutes out from landing.
"Why don't you boys take a seat and I'll see if I can answer your questions," I tell the boys trying to get them to relax as they've been on edge since they got on the plane.
All of them eagerly get into the seats across me and I can see their burning curiosity barely restrained now.
"Mr. Harris do you know what our real mum Lisa is like?" Lincoln asks.
"I only know a little bit about your mum, to be honest."
"You're her private investigator Constable Keller told us." Zachery the one that most resembles his father cautiously remarks.
"Sort off, it's a little more complicated than that."
Grayson whispers something to Lincoln it is too low for me to hear anything.
Zachery almost hurriedly blurts out, "adults always say that when they lie to you."
Zachery gives me the same weary gaze I saw Mr. Bartlett give Keller during questioning. "Are you really taking us to our mom or are you taking us somewhere else? Do you even know our mom?"
The distrust they have for people is very apparent. I think Keller may be the only one they might actually trust since he has been their point of contact since they were six years old and likely the only permanent fixture in their lives.
"I do know your mum?"
Grayson once again whispers something to Lincoln who then I assume relays his question to me. I haven't seen Grayson talk since we've been with them. The boy whispers to his siblings but doesn't talk to anyone else. Keller said nobody has ever heard Grayson's voice he chooses to whisper to his siblings as a way of communication or will stay silent.
"Does our mum still want us after we were taken maybe she has more children and doesn't need us?"
"Believe me both your parents want you kids."
"Our mum Lisa Stillman is a horse breeder her horse won the triple crown we saw her picture in the news. But we can't find our dad, ,in the picture. Only the one picture of our mum is online because of the triple crown win but we can't find any others of her and none of our dad."
"Your dad is Jack Bartlett."
Lincoln and Zachery talk over each other in confusion over their father's surname.
"Bartlett."
"Our parents are divorced are they going to split us up?"
"No, they are married. Your mum kept the surname she was born with."
"Do you have a picture of our dad," Lincoln asks.
"No, I'm sorry guys. But it won't be too long before you see him in person."
I can see the dejection in their body language.
"Maybe I can rustle something up. Just give me a minute."
I call Gwen and Lee the other members of my team to where we're seated to see if they can help me out.
"Guys do we have any pictures of Mr. Bartlett."
Gwen is not optimistic. "I can't see how we'd have any pictures of either or Mr. Bartlett."
Lee on the other hand might have a solution. "The boss's daughter's wedding in Ontario this spring both Ms. Stillman and were there. They took pictures with the boss and his daughter at the reception."
Gwen is already on her phone clicking away. "I'm on it we had the pictures on the server when we were screening them if they're still there we're in luck."
I can see the boys don't expect anything to come to fruition with the picture search. Eventually, I see Lee place his phone in front of me with a picture of Ms. Stillman and Mr. Bartlett at the wedding with the boss and his daughter. I crop the picture with just the boys' parents in it before sliding the phone across the table for them to view.
A smile tugs across both Gwen and Lee's faces at the boys' obvious glee at seeing their parents especially their father for the first time. All of their heads squished together taking in the small screen with the picture in front of them.
Grayson's first words out of his mouth are "Père est un cowboy!". The french accent and the french I didn't expect.
Zachery was charmed by his mother's stunning beauty. "Mum is really pretty."
Lincoln is mesmerized. "They have our eyes."
The plane speakers come alive with the pilot's announcement that we are landing in five minutes and that we are now required to buckle up. The boys are still hypnotized by the picture of their parents.
"Listen to me you don't need the picture because you will be with your parents in twenty minutes."
They reluctantly hand over the phone before heading to the seating near Keller. The cabin attendant makes sure we're all buckled up and everything is locked down before leaving to secure themself before we descend onto the tarmac.
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