“No. Thank you.” Sam pulled Samantha closer. She was conscious, but her breathing was labored.
The employee squeezed his arm. “Your daughter will be fine.”
Sam could only nod his gratitude. How quickly he adapted to that term.
“So sorry, sir. But we didn’t know she had an allergy. She didn’t mention it.”
Sam nodded his acknowledgment. He hadn’t known, either. How could he? Even in his fear for Samantha’s life, his anger toward Maya built. If he’d had the chance to raise his daughter, he’d have known about her allergy, and about so much more. He grabbed his phone to call her. She did not pick up. He used Samantha’s phone. Maya picked up on the first ring.
“Samantha, where are you?”
“Maya, it’s Sam.”
“Sam? Why do you have Samantha’s phone?”
“She’s here with me. We met for lunch.”
“You what? Behind my back?”
He ignored that. “Maya, she had an allergic reaction.”
“Oh, God! Is she all right? Were you with her?”
“Yes, I’m here. I used the EpiPen. Listen, the paramedics just got here. Meet us at the hospital.” Sam paused in a valiant attempt to steady his voice. “Maya,” his voice cracked, “she’s breathing, but I don’t know...” He’d only just found his daughter. Losing her was not an option.
“Yeah, okay. I’m coming.”
As he climbed into the back of the ambulance, his phone buzzed. A text from Maya.How does she look?
He looked over at Samantha and smiled. A feeble attempt at hiding the new and terrible fear that found a home in the pit of his stomach. Samantha’s skin was pale—no sign of that creamy hue right now—but she was breathing, albeit with an oxygen mask on. She smiled back at him. He turned to the EMT. “How is she?”
The EMT raised his eyebrows. “She’ll be fine. We’ll be at the hospital in five minutes. Try to relax, Dad.” The EMT turned back to his patient to check her vitals. “Every girl deserves a superhero dad.”
Samantha nodded her head in agreement. Sam couldn’t have felt less like a superhero if he’d tried.
Sam’s phone buzzed again. Maya.Sam???
He responded right away.They say she’ll be fine. Be at the hospital in five.
K. See u there.
He found a place to sit where he could hold Samantha’s hand. It was as much for him as it was for her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
MAYA
New York, 2012
MAYAOPTEDTOtake the subway to the hospital, since Raju-kaka was with a fare. This way, she could also keep her mother at the coffee shop and not have to deal with Sunita’s distaste for Sam. But the train seemed to be moving slower than usual, so Maya paced. She was getting some stares, but she barely noticed, and out of the many things that occurred on New York City subways, nervous pacing was pretty benign.
This had happened once before when Samantha was about six. There had been cashews in something she’d eaten at a birthday party, and her tongue had begun to swell within a minute. There had been no time for panic. At that time, Maya had been there, and had that EpiPen out and had injected her daughter within seconds. Panic hadn’t set in until later, when she’d had Samantha at the hospital and out of danger. Sam might be in that spot right now.
But, seriously, what was he doing with her, anyway? Maya had tried to make it abundantly clear that Sam was to forget about them and return to his life. She didn’t want or need anything from him more than the phone calls he had already made. He didn’t seem to like taking no for an answer any more than Samantha did.
Maya rushed into the emergency room, bringing the cold air with her. She sent Sam a text while she impatiently waited her turn at the intake desk and was finally directed to Samantha’s room. The door was open, but the curtain was closed, and she was about to walk in when she caught snippets of their conversation.
Sam’s low rumble sent a jolt though her body. “You play soccer?”
