Free Unchained Hearts (Baxter Family Saga) by Palessa Page A

Kent. Poor bastard, he thought. I wouldn’t want to be him for all the tea in China. 
    “Wait,” Michael spoke up. “What about my kids?”
    “According to Ms. Hall, the older one, Brandon, is from another father. Glynda was hired by Mrs. Baxter while she was just a couple of months pregnant. She was desperate for money and your mother thought it would help ‘sell the story’ to you. As far as the twins, they are yours, she claims. Either way, Newton Baxter’s name is on the marriage and birth certificates, so technically, they’re his as they were born during the marriage.”
    “Thanks, Mitch,” Kim said as the agent nodded, giving Michael Kent one last look before leaving.
    Kim looked at Michael, or rather Newton Baxter. Getting the facts was one thing, but putting the pieces of Michael’s life back together was something else. Newton Baxter needed answers. The first question was, how would Michael Kent become Newton Baxter again?

    ****
    Redemption
    ****

    Michael Kent officially resigned from the college staff. It was a tough decision to explain to his students, but he told them he would miss them and teaching so much.
    It took a couple of weeks, but the story was starting to make sense. It seemed Glynda Hall wasn’t her legal name after all. She had so many aliases, it was hard to find her real life and name in all the confusion. Because of that lie, the marriage wasn’t real and could easily be annulled. The kids, however, belonged to the father of record, which was Newton Baxter.
    Michael breathed a sigh of relief. He loved those children and wanted them more than anything. They were the only real people in this whole situation.
    At the station, the police brought in Glynda, Bonnie or whatever her name was, into the room. She looked down, never once meeting the gaze of the man she was paid to marry and lie to.
    Michael’s rage swelled, but he swallowed it and spoke in measured tones. “I’m going to make this quick,” he gritted the words out through clenched teeth. “You’re going to jail for a long time. You will never see these children again.”
    That got a reaction.
    “No, you can’t do that! I’m their mother.”
    “I can and I will. You may have given birth to them, but as far as they’re concerned, you’re dead.”
    “Michael, please—”
    “Don’t you ever call me that!” he yelled and saw her jump. Glynda looked at him with fear and shame.
    “Please, can I at least see them?”
    This woman conspired to rob him of his life, a life he might never fully remember. Michael got up and walked away from her pleas, never once looking back. Her tears and screams for mercy and forgiveness meant absolutely nothing to him. His mind was made up. She would never see their children again.
    The man formerly known as Michael Kent sat in the bureau offices, waiting for his children. Brandon saw him first and slowly ran to his daddy. The boy was so scared, but when he was in his father’s arms, he held on tightly. Jasmine and Cameron ran to them and he knelt in Agent Regan’s office, holding them all.
    “Where’s Mommy?” Brandon asked.
    Cass cleared his throat, not sure how he was going to answer. “Mommy had to go away and she may not be coming back.”
    “Did I do something wrong?” the little boy asked, close to tears. “I didn’t mean to be bad, Daddy.”
    Cass sniffed back tears. Brandon had always been so sensitive to what was happening between his parents. Cass didn’t know where the little boy got the idea he was to blame for everything.
    “No, baby, you had nothing to do with Mommy going away.” Brandon wasn’t convinced. “Mommy did something bad and when you do something bad like what Mommy did, you have to go away for a while.”
    Brandon still had that look of uncertainty in his eyes and Cass wondered how this little boy had gotten so scared. What did Glynda do to you, he thought. Whatever it was, he would find a way to fix it, he vowed silently. No one would ever