"Yeah, she was." He looked thoughtful. "I don't really remember her, though."
"Where is she?" I wondered if she had abandoned them the way Liz had me.
"When I was two and Brenna was six months old . . . ." He hesitated, and he looked pained, so I took his hand. "She was killed in a car accident."
"Oh, Alex." I gasped. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. Like I said, I don't remember her. Sarah has always been my mother.
Actually, you're the first person I've ever told about this. Zack knows because his parents are really good friends of the family, but most don't know that Sarah isn't my biological mother, and I'd like to keep it that way."
"Of course." I agreed.
"She is my mother, and I would never want her to feel any different."
"I never would have guessed she wasn't your biological mother," I said. "She loves you all so much."
He smiled.
"Is Sarah Evan's biological mother?" I asked.
He nodded. "When she was killed"—he looked at the photograph—"my dad hired Sarah as our nanny. She came to us at a very crucial time. Brenna and I were babies, and he had just been promoted to head surgeon, one of the youngest in the hospital's history, so there he was, left with two babies and a very demanding job. My mother's family was from Texas, and she was an only child, and her parents couldn't come here and help. Sarah was a godsend, for all of us."
"Jack fell in love with her," I said.
He smiled, and I could tell how much he loved her. "Sarah was just out of college, had relocated here from California, and didn't know anyone. She had been staying with another doctor and his family, and they thought she'd be perfect for us. My dad had to get back to work, but he didn't know what to do about me and Brenna. He didn't want to leave us."
"It must have been so difficult for him."
"He loved my mother," he said. "They met when he was in medical school and she was studying to be a nurse."
My heart broke for Jack and his two young babies, but I found comfort in the fact that it all worked out for them.
"Anyway, Sarah stepped in and cared for all of us; she was the best thing to happen to my father," he said. "She moved in because my father kept late hours at the hospital, and she did all the things a mom would do. She took us shopping, registered me for pre-school, took us to the pediatrician, and she was always here for us.
Apparently, I had a hard time sleeping after my mother's death, and I remember Sarah coming into my room and rocking me back to sleep."
I thought Alex was lucky; I had no memories like that of Liz.
"Because she had no family here, my father insisted that she spend holidays with us, and when we went on vacation, she came with us. Eventually, they fell in love, married, and had Evan."
"You didn't have to share all of that with me," I said. "But, I'm glad you did."
"I wanted you to know." He took the picture from me and placed it on the nightstand. He pushed the hair from my eyes and placed a soft kiss on my lips. "I told you that you were different, but the truth is, you make me different. I want things with you I've never thought about before."
"Alex," I said. "I'm still having a hard time believing you would want to be with me."
"I'm doing everything I can to show you," he said. "This is all very new for me, too."
"I know, Evan told me." I smiled.
"Normally, I'd say he has a big mouth, but in this case, I'm glad he told you about my past," he said. "I was a handful for my parents, and I wasn't always the gentleman you think I am. I had some pretty raging hormones, and I took advantage of a lot of girls."
"From what I've seen when we're in public, most of those girls were happy to let you take advantage of them."
"True." He sighed. "I never took what wasn't offered, and most of the time, I let them know that it would never go further than one or two nights, but still, I hurt a lot of girls, Julia being one of them."
"It's no excuse for the way she throws herself at you," I said. "She should have some self-respect."
