“In the dining hall finishing up breakfast. He’ll be right out.” Trish turned her smile on Sam. “And you must be Mr. Hamilton.”
“His name is Mr. Yaman,” Andrea added quickly. “A family friend.”
The woman looked flustered. “Well, I’m sorry. It’s just that Chance looks so much like you.”
Andrea produced a nervous smile. “I know. Isn’t that weird?”
Sam hated the denial, hated that Andrea didn’t see a need for the truth. “Chance’s father and I are from the same country,” Sam offered along with his hand.
“Cool,” Trish said after a brief handshake.
A spattering of laughter and shouts broke the awkward moment as myriad children came rushing out the doors of the largest cabin to the left.
“Mama! You came!”
Chance rushed Andrea and engaged her in a voracious hug. She picked him up and held him tightly against her breasts. “I’ve missed you, sweetie. Are you having fun?”
He squirmed in her grasp. “Yeah. Lots of fun. Put me down, Mom, before the other guys see.”
Looking heartsick, Andrea complied but kept her hand on his shoulder. “Guess that wouldn’t be cool,” she said in a voice that sounded much like the camp counselor.
Chance stared up at Sam with surprise as if he’d only now realized his presence. “How come you didn’t tell me you were bringing the prince?”
Andrea sent a quick glance at Sam, then said, “We only decided a few days ago.”
Sam held out his hand. “I hope that is all right with you, Chance.”
Chance displayed his approval with a jerk of his head and a hearty handshake. “Sure. Did you bring the car?”
Sam hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “In the parking lot.”
His son’s eyes grew large with wonder, reminding Sam of Andrea. “Can I take the guys for a ride?”
“Not now, sweetie,” Andrea said. “Maybe before we head back. Right now we have to play some games.”
Andrea took Chance by the hand and headed off toward the group of parents gathered at the flagpole. Sam stood in place watching mother and child walk away, hand in hand, without concern that they had left him behind. He despised feeling the outsider, welcome only because of his car—a symbol of his wealth—not as a part of this family.
Perhaps it would be best if Chance never knew the truth. Perhaps he should walk away and never look back, knowing it would be favorable for everyone concerned, especially his son. Yet it would prove to be a most difficult choice.
Then suddenly Chance tugged his hand from Andrea’s grasp and came running back to Sam. He toed the dirt beneath his feet then stared at Sam with eyes much like his own. “Can I ask you somethin’?”
Sam ruffled the boy’s dark head. “Certainly.”
“It’s kind of a favor.”
Kneeling on Chance’s level, Sam’s expression softened as did something deep inside him. “Do not be afraid to ask anything of me.”
“Can you pretend to be my dad today?”
Andi hadn’t minded that Chance requested Sam be his “pretend” father, even though it wasn’t at all pretend. She hadn’t minded that Sam seemed to garner all the attention during the day-long activities. After all, he was a prince. She hadn’t minded that he had been chosen to anchor the tug-of-war rope for Chance’s team since he was well built for the challenge. Nor had she really cared that Chance took great pains in introducing Sam to everyone while she seemed almost inconsequential. Besides, when Chance scraped his knee during the softball game, he had sought out his mother to kiss away the hurt.
Yet she couldn’t help but feel a little jealous when Chance told Sam that he’d had the best time ever, even more fun than when Andi had entered him and his pony in the local Fourth of July parade. How could she compete with that?
She couldn’t, and she shouldn’t want to. In fact, she should be thrilled that father and son had hit it off. But she couldn’t be totally happy, knowing that in a matter of days Sam would be gone from their lives, maybe even for good, before Chance really got to know him as his father.
While Rashid took one last circle around the parking lot in the limo accompanied by Sam, Chance and a half dozen other boys, Andi stood alone and waited patiently. She would give them these special moments together without complaint, knowing they might be some of the last.
The car came to a stop nearby and a group of chatty boys piled out, then headed off at a run toward the dining hall for the evening meal. Chance hung back to talk with Sam while Andi leaned into the limo to load her bag and blanket into the car. After she was done, she found Sam crouched on Chance’s level near the trunk, explaining the finer points of Thoroughbred racing. Funny, Chance had never seemed to care all that much about Andi’s explanations of the sport.
She approached quietly and rested her hand on Chance’s hair still damp from their afternoon swim. “It’s time for you to go on back, honey. Dinner’s ready and we need to get home to check on the horses.”
Chance looked up, disappointment in his eyes. “Okay. But can Sam pick me up in the limo next weekend?”
“I don’t know, sweetie. You’ll have to ask—”
“I will make it a point to be here,” Sam interjected.
Andi pulled Chance into an embrace, thankful that he allowed it. “You be good.”
“I will, Mom.”
“Eat right and check your levels.”
“Yeah, Mom.”
“Be sure to get plenty of rest and—”
“Can I go now, Mother? I’m hungry.”
Mother? Since when had she stopped being Mama?
After popping a kiss on his cheek, Andi released Chance knowing that she would eventually have to learn to let him go, something that was all too familiar where the men in her life were concerned.
Chance turned to Sam and gave him a high-five. “Later, Mr. Sheikh.”
Sam grinned. “Later.”
With a last wave, Chance set off toward the cabin, taking a tiny piece of Andi’s heart with him.
Sam gestured toward the open door. “Shall we?”
Andi took another glance toward the cabin only to discover that her son had disappeared. “I guess so,” she said, then slid inside the limo.
For the first few minutes they rode in silence, yet Sam couldn’t seem to stop smiling. Andi reluctantly admitted she appreciated his joy and understood it. Spending time with your child was the greatest
