Constance found that she felt comfortable with the woman. She felt like she was in good hands. The main thing she had noticed about Kate, was that there was a pain behind her eyes that was all too familiar to Constance. She didn’t have to know Kate’s story to know that her work was important to her in a very personal way. She was a survivor and you wanted others to survive too. It was a labor of love for her here, not one for gain.CHAPTER FIVEKate returned a few moments later with a man who was not exactly someone Constance would have taken a second look at on the street. He was much older, at least in his mid-forties and a bit rough around the edges. His leather jacket and boots topped a pair of faded denim jeans. Though he wasn’t necessarily unattractive; he had a rugged face, tanned by the sun and several scars that crossed one cheek. They were old, faded into thin lines, but still visible.
“I’m not going to introduce you until after you’ve determined you want to finalize this, so I ask that you do not exchange names or provide any identifying specifics until disclosure forms are complete and the contract accepted. Otherwise, feel free to discuss any specifics of the requirements either of you have to make this work and ask any questions that you may have.”
“All right,” he said, his voice low and husky.
“We good?” Kate asked Constance before leaving.
“Yes. We’re good,” Constance said with a faint smile.
Her discussion didn’t reveal much more than Kate had told her, but she at least felt more comfortable listening to him explain it in his own words. He was afraid for his pack if his brother was in charge of it and felt compelled to do what his father would have wanted. There seemed to be no other designs lurking below the surface for either her or her children.
By the time Kate returned, they agreed and she introduced him as Tucker Rollins and, after a brief glimpse down at the paper in her hand, she introduced Constance as Leslie Carter Rollins. It sounded strange to answer to a completely different name for the rest of the meeting, but she supposed she would have to get used to it. They signed all the paperwork and she was given the initial payment, in cash, which she found a bit unnerving.
“We can hold it here for you while you retrieve the children if you like, Leslie. When you return, we’ll have it waiting, along with all of the documents you need to start your new life.”
“What about my car?”
“Just leave us the keys and we’ll take care of that. Anything else you need?”
“No. I think that’s it,” she replied, not asking what they intended to do with it. It was probably better that she didn’t know.
“Okay. Well, we’ll be expecting you back here in three hours. Pack whatever you need as far as personal items for yourself and the twins. Mr. Rollins will take care of cribs and such once you arrive at his house. It’s a long way to his place, so we’ve arranged for a private plane to take you there. It’ll avoid anyone looking for three babies on commercial flights.”
“You seem to think of everything.”
“We’ve been doing this for a long time now. We know how important it is to make sure you aren’t followed.”
“I appreciate that.”
“All right, well get going. Time is of the essence.”
Constance nodded and thanked her, saying a final goodbye to Tucker and hurrying out to the minivan with its row of baby seats in the back. She felt jittery as she drove home, a mixture of anxiety and anticipation. Pulling into the driveway, she hurried inside to find the Taylor girls piled up in the den on their phones and the triplets sleeping, which she was incredibly grateful for. It would make getting out of here so much easier.
“Thanks girls. I appreciate it,” she told them, rushing them out the door so she could get packed. She had done some of it over the past three days already, tucking things she didn’t have to have out into boxes and slipping them in the babies’ closet in their nursery.
She hurriedly packed diapers, clothes and bottles, everything she could think of that she’d need for a cross country trip into a large diaper bag to carry with her in the cabin of the plane. Everything else would go in the hold. One by one, she carried the boxes out to the van. Once she had everything inside, she took one last look around the house for anything she missed. Finally, she retrieved the girls, one by one, and strapped them into their car seats.
“Okay, ladies. We’re off to parts unknown,” she told them, starting the van and pulling out of the driveway. As she turned to look at the house one last time, she discovered she had left the front door wide open. She paused for a moment, thinking she should go back and close it, but then decided against it.