When Wishes Collide Read Online Free

muttered. "I don't have anything pressing at the moment."
    Josh sent him a warning glance. "Don't let the captain hear you say that. You're already on his last nerve."
    He was well aware of that fact. In the beginning, the captain had been generous about giving him time off and looking the other way when he used department resources to look for Stephanie, but their caseload had increased in recent months, and the captain had warned him that if he continued to take time off, he might need to resign. It seemed unthinkable that he could lose his daughter and his job, but right now Stephanie was his main concern.
    "Fortunately, we just wrapped the Delgado case," he said. "And I have a lot of overtime on the books."
    "Are you going to Summer's engagement party tomorrow night?" Josh asked, leaning back in his chair. "I wish I could go, but I have to work."
    "We'll see," he said vaguely. "There's going to be a big crowd. My sister won't miss me."
    "She will definitely miss you, along with the rest of the family. Taking an hour out for yourself and your family doesn’t make you any less of a dedicated father," Josh said pointedly.
    He'd heard the same argument from his mother, his father, his brother and his sister. Two years was a long time to run head-down at a dead sprint toward a finish line that kept moving farther away. But he didn't know how else to live. Every time he found himself thinking about something else or he caught himself smiling or laughing, he felt guilty. He couldn't have a life without his child.
    "Just think about it," Josh said.  
    "I will. I want Summer to be happy, and Ron seems like a good guy, but who knows? I certainly never imagined Jennifer would turn into a monster."
    "Neither did I," Josh said, regret in his eyes. "She was so sweet at your wedding. She looked up at you with adoration, like you were the only man in the world. I wanted what you had."
    "Well, thank God you didn't get it," he replied. "Getting married was the biggest mistake of my life, and no doubt Jen feels the same way. Once the dream wedding was over, our lives turned into a nightmare."
    "Her expectations were too high," Josh said. "After a moonlit wedding with a horse and carriage and a thousand perfect roses, reality was bound to suck a little."
    "No kidding. That's why I told my sister when she announced her engagement that she should elope or go down to City Hall and skip the big wedding. It's not supposed to be about a day; it's supposed to be about a lifetime. But Summer wants the dream, too. You'd think she'd learn from my example." He paused. "I'll check in with you later – hopefully with some good news."

Chapter Two

 
 
    As Wyatt drove across town to the liquor store, his gaze automatically scanned the streets for Jennifer and Stephanie. It had become a habit, especially when he drove through the Tenderloin, a run-down area of the city. A magnet for addicts and drug dealers, the Tenderloin had drawn Jennifer like a moth to a flame.
    It had seemed unthinkable at first that his well-bred wife who had been raised in an expensive home, and educated in private school, would even consider venturing to such a bad neighborhood on her own. But maybe he should have seen it coming, because Jen had always needed to cling to someone, to be taken care of, to escape from any reality that wasn't quite to her liking, and she'd found the perfect way out with an array of painkillers that became her best friends in the world. It had become clear that every thing and every person in her life would take a back seat to her high, and that included Stephanie.
    His daughter was both the reason he'd tried to stay married and the reason why he'd finally filed for divorce. A bitter, angry battle filled with hateful lies had ensued, but by the end, he'd won sole custody of Stephanie. He'd wanted to keep Jennifer in Stephanie's life though. He'd thought it was important for his daughter to have her mother around, which was why he'd given Jennifer