“Yeah, of course. She used to help Nana, my mother, at her bakery on the weekends. I don’t know if your grandparents told you, but she started going to college when you turned two. She wanted to make a better life for you.”
“Where was my dad?” I asked, though I wasn’t sure if I really wanted the answer. Sam had mentioned the two of us coming over a lot, but the man whom I didn’t even have a photo of had not been brought up at all.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but he took off before you even introduced yourself to the world.”
The news hit me hard.Why hadn’t my grandparents told me? My grandfather was the only father I’d ever had, and this added information made me miss him even more. “Okay. Did bio-dad come back for her funeral?”
Sam clenched his jaw and released it, as if unsure how to reply. “No, babygirl, he didn’t.”
“I can’t believe he abandoned us!”
Babygirl. The sweet endearment made the blow a little softer. He had said it earlier but I thought my ears were playing tricks on me. I loved the way he said it like I was his. After all this time, could that become real? Leaning my head against his chest, I kept my face buried not wanting him to see my tears.
“You had a whole town watching out for you. Besides, someone like that doesn’t deserve to be in your life.”
I wiped the tears off my cheeks and looked up. “I’ve loved you for a really long time.”
He smiled sadly and cupped my chin. Sam laid us back on the couch, mindful of my injured arm, and draped his arms over me. “I love you too, sweetheart. Let’s get some rest now.”
I nodded into his chest, satisfied with his answers but upset over the revelation of the way my father had acted before I’d even been born. Maybe just maybe after all this time, I might change my original plan and move back home. Because now it seemed like I had someone worth moving to. Someone who had loved me as long as I’d loved him. Even if he hadn’t acknowledged my feelings all those years ago, we could talk about everything. Deepen our connection. Dare I hope that we could get into a relationship? If only I could get my brain onboard we might have a shot at it.
Chapter Two
Mikayla
I don’t know what time it was, but Sam was shaking my shoulder and I didn’t want to get up yet. I swatted at his hand until he stopped. “Not yet.”
“Sit up a second, then you can go back to sleep,” he urged.
“Sleep,” I mumbled, snuggling back down to return to dreamland.
“Do you know which thermometer I use on unconscious patients?”
I nearly flew into a seated position. Had he threatened to use a rectal thermometer on me again? Why did that thought have my tummy fluttering? No one had touched me there other than him and the memory brought heat to my face. “What the hell?”
“Whatever it took to get you to sit up.”
Sam shined his penlight into my sleepy eyes again, checked my pulse, blood pressure, and my temperature orally, then set each instrument back on the coffee table. He smirked, which only added to my agitation, though I wasn’t sure why.
“Did you really… before… I mean…?”
“I didn’t use a thermometer on you while you were sleeping, but if you think I care about the location and the route, I don’t.” He shrugged.
The thought of him taking my temperature in that very intimate way made me feel a rush of something I wasn’t ready to acknowledge. Blinking a few times, I let my heartbeat calm. Everything this man did turned me on. “What time is it?”
“It’s a quarter after five. Why? Do you have someplace to be?”
His attitude grated on my nerves, so I situated myself back on the cushions. “No. I’m fucking tired.”
Sam shot me a look that felt like a reprimand. As he walked into the kitchen he called over his shoulder, “Be thankful you wound up here.”
Sam threatened more than once that I wouldn’t sit down comfortably if I continued to push him. His threat only furthered the niggling thoughts.
Did I want him to punish me?
If I gave into that need, I wouldn’t want to go back to my life in the city. No. I’d stay here forever. Guilt at the way I’d acted panged through me. I went to the bathroom and then padded out to the kitchen.
“I had no right to speak to you the way I did, and I’m sorry,” I said.
