Page 32 of A Constant Reminder

Chapter 20 – Sam

“Dad, what are you doing here?!” I exclaimed.

“Well Sammie, Tyler flew us in to see you for Christmas since the doc doesn’t want you traveling,” he replied.

I’d missed the gruff sound of his voice. Quickly, I set Mason down and gave him and my two brothers big hugs. I was so petite compared to all of them that their hugs completely enveloped me.

Their eyes still held all the questions they were too afraid to ask.

Are you okay? How are you feeling? How can I help? Do you have the nightmares again? Are you as much of a mess as you were the first time?

I loved my brothers, but I didn’t need the pity. “Guys really, I’m okay. None of the sad eyes while you’re here.”

They both agreed, but I knew it probably wouldn’t stop them from being overly nice to me.

My anger toward Tyler softened a bit at seeing my family. He made sure to do something he knew I’d love, but I still seethed at the fact he did something he knew I would hate.

Walking into that office right then and there would have just led to a big fight, and I didn’t want to spend this time arguing. So, I decided to just enjoy the time with my family until we both cooled down a bit.

A few hours later, my dad, brothers, and I were all stuffed on Chinese food sitting at the kitchen table.

I’d texted Tyler telling him I’d ordered him his favorite, but he hadn’t come out of his office yet to eat. In fact, I hadn’t seen him all day since my blow up.

Luke and Jessie were as obsessed with Mason as I was and asked if they could take him out back to play for a while.

While they were outside, my father and I sat at the kitchen table, and he laid his hand on top of mine. “You want to tell me why that man of yours is in his office hiding?”

My shoulders shrugged. “I’m yelled at him.”

“Well, I heard that part. You want to tell me why?”

I started rambling. “Because he hired me a bodyguard. A fucking bodyguard! Can you believe that? Like I’m some little girl who needs protecting! And he didn’t even tell me about it! I had no idea until we went for a walk today and there was a beefcake of a man following us like a goon.”

When I came up for air, my dad sighed. “Sammie, the boy’s worried about you. We all are. Hell, if I had his money, I’d have done the same thing.”

I scoffed. “And I would have gotten just as mad at you.”

“No, you wouldn’t have. You would have understood that I felt the need to protect my baby girl. You might have liked it, but you would have understood.”

Quietly, I responded, “Yeah, I guess.”

“So, why don’t you understand it with him? A few weeks ago, that man sat in a hospital room not knowing if you were going to be okay or not. I’ve never seen a man look so scared. He doesn’t want to have to go through that again.”

I knew he was right, and yes, maybe I did overreact a little. Deep down, I knew he wouldn’t do anything to intentionally hurt me, but I didn’t need him to overreact and treat me like a child either.

“Now Sammie, I’m going to ask you something, and I need you to be honest.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Do you think James is going to come after you again.”

I yearned to tell him no, but I didn’t want to lie. “Yeah, I think he’ll try again, but something’s off this time, Dad. The cops said he’s been off the grid for a year and half now. That was long before he knew where I was. And I mean I figured he’d have everyone in town giving him an alibi, but instead they swear they haven’t seen him at all.

“None of it makes any sense. He’s got something up his sleeve. I just don’t know what it is yet.”

We both sat quietly for a moment before it was my turn to ask him something. “Dad, why didn’t you tell me about James leaving town?”

My dad pondered his thoughts for a moment, and I took the time to really look at the lines of worry etched into this face. The man looked worn to the bone.

---