Safe With You (17 page)

It was a quick trip and I wished we could have stayed longer, but we had to get back for the next few stressful days.  Tomorrow was the fundraiser dinner where my dad would officially announce his intention to run for President, and the following day was the taping of my interview.  It would run on Sunday night, and Lindsay was already planning a viewing party.  I cringed at the thought of watching myself on TV, but I could always bury my face in Wyatt’s chest
and cover my ears if I just couldn’t stand it.

Announcements

It turns out I didn’t need to worry about Lindsay’s reaction to my engagement.  The second I stepped into the apartment her eagle eyes zeroed in on my ring.  “Oh my God!  You’re engaged!”  She screamed running over and grabbing my hand, nearly pulling my arm out of socket.  Her eyes bulged out of her head and she gave Wyatt the Lindsay stamp of approval, “Nice job, Wyatt.”  She screamed again and grabbed both my hands, making me jump up and down with her.

Dominic came to investigate the commotion, rubbing his eyes like he just woke up.  “What’s all the screaming about?”
He asked.  Lindsay shoved my hand under his nose.  He looked at it and shrugged like he didn’t get what all the fuss was about.  Lindsay rolled her eyes and said, “Taryn and Wyatt are engaged, dumb ass.”  Dominic scrunched his eyebrows together and took another look at my hand.

“Oh!  Congratulations!”  He gave me a big bear hug and slapped Wyatt on the back.  Rosa was excited for us, and I texted Selena a picture of my ring with the news.  She immediately texted back that she was choosing a different dress for me to wear to the fundraiser, because the green dress would clash with my ring.  I laughed and thought she would just have to get used to matching my outfits to my ring, because I was never taking it off.

Lindsay stayed home from the fundraiser, not wanting to deal with her parents. So, it was my parents and Wyatt and me in the limo on the way to the banquet hall.  Dominic rode in front with the driver and Ethan was meeting us there along with Roland and a couple of others from his security team.  My mom and dad would need full time security after tonight as well.

Wyatt was not working tonight
, but accompanying me as my fiancé.  I was thrilled to be on his arm instead of under his watch, and he looked awesome in a tux.  Selena had switched out the green dress for a champagne colored cocktail dress with small sequins across the one shoulder bodice and chiffon ruffles falling to mid thigh.  She said the neutral color of the dress along with my French manicure would let my ring shine, and she was right.

My mom was talking to Wyatt about setting up a time for his parents to visit so they could all meet, and my dad was watching me admire my ring with an amused smile.  “Are you happy,
Taryn?”  I looked over at Wyatt and then to my dad, with his black hair graying around the temples and dark blue eyes, “Yes, Dad.  I’ve never been happier.”  He nodded once, “Good.”

My parents exited the limo first and walked the red carpet stopping for photographers and shaking hands.  I assumed people would turn away after my parents were inside, but the second Wyatt helped me out of the limo, the photographers were shouting my name and people were holding out pictures for me to autograph, most of them being the steamy picture of Wyatt and me from the paper.  I looked to Wyatt for help understanding, and he whis
pered, “They love you, Taryn.”

It was a bit overwhelming at first, but I regained my composure and slipped my left hand through Wyatt’s arm
, and we posed for the photographers.  Soon everyone noticed the glittering ring on my finger and there were shouts of “Taryn!  Are you engaged?  Is this the mystery man from the paper?”

I stopped to sign a few autographs, and Wyatt even had a few requests as well when it became clear who he was.  We reached the doorway and someone shouted loudly, “Tell us!  Are you engaged?”  I turned back around and flashed my ring and smiled before pulling Wyatt in for
a long kiss.  Flashbulbs exploded around us, and I knew my life would never be the same after that.

My parents were waiting for us inside with Blake, who grinned at me and said to my dad, “She might just be your ticket to the Oval Office, James.”  He rubbed his hands together greedily and
ignored my dad glaring at him.

Wyatt didn’t leave my side the whole evening, through the cocktail party, dinner and dancing.  He was
a surprisingly good dancer and I had to remind myself that we were at a classy event and not press myself obscenely close to him.  I even suggested we visit the bathroom, but he quickly shot down that idea.

Even though he was enjoying himself as a guest, Wyatt’s eyes still scanned the room out of habit.  He snickered and motioned for me to look towards the bar where the Mayor’s wife had once again cornered Do
minic.  Now that I wasn’t being manhandled by Ryan, I could enjoy the show.  Dominic looked extremely uncomfortable and mouthed “Help me” but Wyatt just winked at him and waved.  I’m sure Dominic would get his revenge – those two were always trying to outdo each other with practical jokes.

Towards the end of the evening, the press was allowed in for my dad’s speech.  The room seemed to hang on his every word and then erupted in applause when he announced he would be running for President in 2012.  We stood up along with everyone else and clapped.  I was so proud of my dad and vowed to do whatever I could to help him win this.

The champagne from the fundraiser and Wyatt’s warm arms around me lulled me to sleep that night, but my stomach was full of butterflies the moment I woke up the next morning.  Selena would bring my dress over at 10:00 and I had to be at the studio for my interview by noon.  Wyatt was actually still asleep when I disentangled myself from his arms and jumped out of bed.  He rubbed his eyes and watched me run around the room like the Tasmanian devil.

“What are you doing up so early?”  I quickly glanced at the clock and saw it was not quite 8:00.  “Selena will be here in two hours and I have to take a shower
and eat breakfast.”  I pressed a hand to my nervous stomach and doubted I would actually be able to keep anything down.

Wyatt grabbed my hand as I rushed past and pulled me on top of him, holding me there wi
th both arms wrapped around my back.  “Taryn, look at me.”  I did, and I could feel the calmness I always found in his eyes seeping through me, settling my rattled nerves.  He continued to speak in a low calm voice, “You’re going to be fine.  This is not live, so if you mess up they will just do a retake.  And I’ll be with you the whole time.  Okay?”  I bit my lip and nodded, then dropped my head to his chest and let the steady rhythm of his heart soothe me back to normal.

Several hours later I was sitting in the green room with Wyatt, Lindsay, my parents and Blake.  I smoothed my hands over the navy blue sheath dress Selena had chosen and nervously tapped my beige high heeled shoe on the floor.  I alternated between twirling my ring around on my finger a
nd twisting a lock of my hair.

Lindsay batted my hand away, “Stop it,
Taryn.  I spent half an hour flat ironing your hair.”  She pulled my parents and Blake out of the room and pointed at Wyatt, “Calm her down.”  When the door closed behind them he pulled me over onto his lap and ran his hand over my leg.  He pulled me in to kiss me, and in no time I forgot what I was nervous about.  By the time Blake knocked on the door signaling it was time to start, I needed to reapply my lip gloss.  Lindsay patted Wyatt on the back, “Good job.”  I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath, following Blake out to the room where my interview would be filmed.

My parents were there to watch and for moral support, but they would not be part of the interview. 
The network had asked to talk to them as well, but Blake thought it would be more effective if it was just me.  A production assistant named Erin led me to a chair on set, and someone else came over to arrange my hair and powder my nose.  Erin fiddled with my microphone and had me try out crossing my ankles versus crossing my legs.  In the end she said I could do whatever was most comfortable to me, so I crossed my legs and placed my hands in my lap, willing them to be still.

A minute later
the anchor of the nightly news, Andrea Caldwell, came onto the set and greeted my parents before seating herself across from me.  She smiled warmly at me, “Taryn, dear, it’s so nice to finally meet you.  Don’t be nervous; we will run through all of my questions, which are mostly focused on your early childhood and your adoption, and then we can go back and reshoot anything we need to later.  Okay?”  I nodded, not trusting my voice to be steady enough to speak yet.

The cameras started rolling and
Andrea did her introduction of me and a quick overview of my story, then she turned to me and started the interview.  She was so friendly and warm that I soon forgot I was being filmed and relaxed into our conversation.

“
Taryn, tell me what you remember from your life before you were abandoned at the age of five.”  I clasped my hands together in my lap to keep them from fidgeting and took a deep breath.

“Honestly, I don’t remember much.  And what I do remember I’m not even sure if they are real memories or just dreams I’ve had over the years.  I don’t remember my mother or father at all.  But I think I might have had a brother.  He was older than me
; I’m not sure how much, but I vaguely remember him taking care of me.”  I shrugged my shoulders, “Sorry, that’s all I have from that time.”

Andrea
nodded understandingly, “That’s understandable, you were so young, and probably didn’t have the best home life.  Now tell me about the time between when you were found in a hospital in Brooklyn until you met your adoptive parents, Rebecca and James Ross.”

“I know that I told the nurse who found me that my mother had left me at the hospital, but I don’t actually remember how I got there.  The first couple of years until I was seven are a little fuzzy.  I know I spent time in five different foster homes during those two years, and nothing really stands out – good or bad.”
I paused and twisted my engagement ring, looking over to see Wyatt smiling encouragingly at me.

“When I was seven I was placed in a foster home with a single woman, and I stayed there for the next two years.”  I stopped
, unsure of how much detail I should reveal.

“What happened in that foster home,
Taryn?”  Andrea asked in a serious voice leaning forward slightly with her full attention on me.  “I was the only foster child in her care, and my foster mother wasn’t home very much.”

“Are you saying she left you home alone as a seven year old child?”  I nodded, “Yes, she worked nights, so she slept during the day while I was at school.  She would often leave when I got home from school and would come back sometime in the early morning hours.  I learned how to do my
own laundry and fix myself food.  She basically ignored me.”

“You mean she neglected you?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me about when she would leave for work at night.”  I took another deep breath and willed myself not to cry.  I was well past the trauma of this stage of my life, but I didn’t often talk about it, and it was bringing back
old feelings of loneliness and fear.  “She would lock me in my room when she left.  There wasn’t a light in my bedroom, so when the sun went down it was completely dark.”  I wiped away a stray tear.

Andrea
handed me a tissue and said, “You must have been terrified, Taryn.  I’m sorry you had to go through that.  Did you have any lingering effects from that time in your life?”  I laughed softly, “Yes.  I have been in therapy since my parents adopted me, but I am great now.  But I still have to have a nightlight in my room when I sleep.  I guess that’s not so bad…considering.  And I have had a hard time trusting people, but I’ve made a lot of progress with that recently.”  I looked over to Wyatt again, and he winked at me.

She leaned forw
ard to pat my knee.  “You are a very strong woman, Taryn.  Have you ever tried to find your biological parents or brother, if you have one?”  “No, I haven’t ever felt the need to do that.  My parents have given me so much love that I don’t feel like I’m missing anything.  If I did have a brother, I would like to know that, I guess.  But the memories are so hazy, I’m not sure he even exists.”

“
Let’s move on to how you came to be adopted by the Ross’.”  I glanced over and saw my mom dabbing her eyes with a tissue and holding my dad’s hand.  I smiled, “They were making a campaign visit to the children’s home where I went for appointments with my social worker.  It was pure luck that I was there that day.  They saw me and just knew I was their daughter.”  Andrea continued with questions about my parents and growing up, and we talked for a while about the opportunities and love they had given me.

We had covered every wonderful thing my parents had done for me as well as my career plans in psychology, and I assumed we would be wrapping up the interview soon.  But
Andrea had different ideas when she pulled out the newspaper from over a month ago with the picture of Wyatt and me on the front page.

“Now,
Taryn, I think everyone in New York and possibly the country saw this picture.  The tabloids have been full of speculation over the identity of this mystery man.”  She took a long look at the picture and raised her eyebrows before pulling out today’s paper which had a picture of Wyatt and me kissing outside of the fundraiser last night.  “Are you ready to put the rumors to rest?”  I looked nervously at Wyatt, who was standing with his arms crossed over his chest smirking at me.