Page 105 of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook

“What do you mean?” Sage said.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

Nolan smiled. “Well, that’s perfect timing,” he said. “What I mean is, I found someone who said you could stay with him for as long as you need.” He went to the door and opened it.

Sage fixed her eyes on the doorway. Who in the world could he be talking about?

Then a dark-haired man in a wool coat and shiny shoes came into the room, awkwardly holding a plastic-wrapped bouquet of carnations in his hands. He was tall and broad shouldered, with a touch of stubble on his cheeks, fine wrinkles around his eyes, and streaks of gray peppering his temples. He looked older, but there was no mistaking who he was, even in the fancy clothes.

Sage’s mouth fell open.“Daddy?”

Looking nervous and worried, he stopped just inside the door and gazed at her with sad eyes. “Hello, my beautiful girl,” he said. “Someone told me you had nowhere to go. You can stay with me, but only if you want to.”

Sage put a hand over her mouth to stifle a sob. His presence, his words were so unreal she could hardly believe them. Her heart pounded wildly as her father edged closer, his smile uncertain, his blue eyes wet with tears. Heather and Dawn moved back to give him room, their eyes fixed on his face as if he were a mythical creature. Detective Nolan stood watching with a satisfied grin.

Sage wanted to jump off the bed and run into her father’s arms, but too many questions and doubts ran through her head to allow her to follow her heart. As happy as she was to see him, a ripple of anger stirred below the surface of her joy.

“What are you doing here?” she said, tears burning her eyes. “How did you find me?”

“Detective Nolan called me and told me what happened,” he said. “I’m so sorry about Rosemary. I promise I had no idea your mother had her put away. She always told me you girls were happy and doing well.”

“But why didn’t you check on us to make sure? Where have you been?”

“Oh, sweetheart.” He took a staggering step forward, then stopped, his face lined with pain. “I wanted to see you. I tried for years to get visitation rights, but your mother fought me every step of the way. I won’t get into the ugly details, but she lied to the judge about me. She said you were better off without me and it would be too disruptive for me to keep coming around. The judge said if I really cared about you, I’d stay away and let Alan be your father.”

She couldn’t hold back any longer. Tears spilled down her cheeks. “We didn’t love Alan. And he didn’t love us.”

The frown line deepened between his eyes. “I’m sorry. About everything. I didn’t know.”

“What about when Mom died? Why didn’t you come to the funeral? Why didn’t you try to see us after she was gone?”

“I was working overseas at the time, and by the time I came back I didn’t think you wanted anything to do with me. I sent letters for years but never got a reply.”

Sage pressed her trembling lips together. So that was why Alan had always prevented her from going through the mail. He said it was none of her business and if anything arrived with her name on it, he’d give it to her. She should have known he was lying. All that time he’d been getting rid of her father’s letters.

“So why are you here now?” she said.

“Because I love you. And Detective Nolan said you need a place to stay.”

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she regarded Detective Nolan. “When . . . how did you find him?”

“I didn’t make detective for nothing, kiddo,” Nolan said, winking at her. “Just doing my job.”

Sage looked at her father again, struggling to control her emotions. “But you have a whole new life,” she said in a quiet voice. “You don’t need me screwing it up.”

“Oh, my girl,” he said. “You wouldn’t be screwing it up. You’d be fixing it. I swear I thought about you and Rosemary every day.” He wiped his eyes. “I can’t begin to tell you how much I missed you. And I’m so sorry the world has been so unbelievably cruel to you both.”

She put her hands over her face and swallowed a sob. She felt like she was about to explode, the strength of her joy and sadness making her dizzy. She wept silently for a moment, then wiped her face and gazed at him, struggling to keep her voice steady. “What about your . . . your . . . you must have a new family now.”

He set the flowers on the bed and sat down on the edge of the mattress. “I have a wife,” he said. “Her name is Cathy and she’s beautiful and kind, but we never had children. We have two dogs and a nice house on Long Island with a great view of the ocean and an extra bedroom. And your friends can visit whenever they’d like.”

Sage glanced at Heather and Dawn and Detective Nolan, who were all staring at her with watery eyes. Dawn looked like she was about to weep uncontrollably. Sage looked at her father again. “Are . . . are you sure?”

He nodded. “Cathy wanted me to tell you just one thing.”

“What’s that?” Sage said.

He gently took her bandaged hands in his. “That kind hearts are strong hearts, and if you’d like to come, we’ll welcome you into our lives with open arms.”

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