That would be doing a grave disservice to Maila. She was a good woman who deserved a man who could give more of himself. An educated woman who, like him, agreed to the union out of a sense of obligation to their families. Yet if Sam ended the arrangement, in doing so he would encounter his father’s scorn.
He would have to decide what would be best for everyone involved, a decision that would not come easily. And in a scarce few days, he would be leaving his son, and Andrea.
After his shower, he walked downstairs to find Andrea on the phone. She worried her bottom lip as she spoke quietly. “Okay, sweetie. You sleep tight now, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Sam seated himself on the sofa and gestured for Andrea to join him after she replaced the phone in its cradle. The concern in her expression could not be denied, even when she smiled at him.
“That was Chance,” she said. “He wanted to make sure we’re going to pick him up in the limo.”
Sam returned her smile to mask his own worry. “And you assured him that we would?”
“Yes.”
Sam patted the seat beside him. “Come tell me what is troubling you.”
Instead of taking her place next to him, she curled into his lap. He held her tightly, savoring the scent of her shower-damp hair and the softness of her fragile body encased in satin.
“I’m worried about Chance,” she said.
“Is he not well?”
She glanced up at him, then tucked her head beneath his chin. “He says he’s fine, but he sounds tired.”
“I would assume he is tired.”
“I hope that’s all it is.”
He brushed a kiss over her forehead and stroked her hair. “What would lead you to believe otherwise?”
“Mother’s intuition. Or maybe I’m just being paranoid like always.”
“You are only concerned for his well-being, Andrea.”
She sighed. “I know. But when he was almost three, he climbed up on a fence rung and fell backward. He seemed to be okay, but then the next morning he complained about his shoulder. I took him to the doctor and found out he’d broken his collarbone. I should’ve taken him that night.”
Sam tipped her chin up, forcing her to look at him. “It was a simple mistake, Andrea. It does not mean that you don’t care for him.”
“I realize that, but I felt horrible, like a bad mother.”
“You are a wonderful mother,” Sam said adamantly. “I could not have picked a better mother for my child.”
She touched her lips to his cheek, stirring his body and his soul. “Thanks.” After studying him a long moment, she said, “Now tell me what’s bugging you.”
Sam should be surprised that she so easily saw through him, but he wasn’t. It seemed that over the past week they had become totally tuned in to each other’s moods, each other’s needs. Perhaps it had always been that way. Perhaps it always would.
“I’m afraid I have some less-than-satisfactory news.”
Andrea’s frame stiffened in his arms. “What is it?”
“I spoke with my father earlier today. I must return to Barak on Thursday.”
“You weren’t supposed to leave until Sunday.” She stared at him with fire and frustration in her eyes. “So he snaps his fingers and you come running. Wish I knew his secret.”
“It is complicated, Andrea. I do not have the luxury of coming and going as I please.”
She slid off his lap and claimed the place at the end of the sofa. “I’m sorry for you, Sam. It must be awful to have that kind of burden, to not have free will.”
Anger gripped Sam and he struggled to temper his fury. “I have free will. I also have responsibilities.”
She rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “I know, I know. But what about your responsibility to your child? You’ve barely spent any time with him. Is this what he’ll have to count on in the future, a father who may or may not come to see him?”
Sam sat forward and lowered his head. “I have been considering that. I can only promise that I will try to be here as much as possible.”
Andrea sighed. “We don’t have much time to decide when to tell him, do we?”
They had little time to be together, as well. “No, we do not.”
Andrea rose from the sofa. “Guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Sam stood. “What time will we leave tomorrow morning to pick up Chance?”
She folded her arms across her breasts and faced him. “Not we, Sam. You.”
He frowned. “I do not understand.”
“I’ve decided you should pick him up by yourself. That way you can have time alone with him to get to know him.”
“But you—”
“I’ll see him when you get back. Besides, I’ll have him with me for the rest of my life. You, on the other hand, have very little time.”
Sam realized the difficulty of her decision and the heartache he was causing her. “Are you certain this is what you want?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Do you wish me to tell him—”
“No, I don’t want you to say anything about you being his father. I think I should be there.”
“I will honor your request.”
She started toward the stairs. “Good night, Sam.”
“I will join you in a few moments.”
She turned to him once again. “I’d like to sleep alone tonight. I’m exhausted.”
In her own way she was already preparing to let him go, that much Sam knew. “I will do what you ask, Andrea, but I would like to spend this last night with you, before Chance returns.”
“It’s okay, Sam,” she said in a weary tone. “We’ve both known all along this wasn’t forever. Might as well end it now.”
He wanted to shout that he wanted no part of this ending, that he wanted to forever be by her side, in her bed, in her life. Instead he turned his back and said, “I wish you pleasant dreams, Andrea.”
Her sharp, mirthless laugh stopped him cold. “I don’t believe in dreams, Sam. Not anymore.”
Chapter Eight
“Where
