Page 63 of Securing Samantha

“He’s working in London; he’ll pick me up the day after Christmas. We’ll travel home together. Are Lizzy and Michael coming tonight?” Samantha inquired.

“No. Lizzy’s tired. They moved into the house in town. We all pitched in, and I asked the construction crew who helped with the cabins to handle the remodeling. They’re local and at this time of year things slow down. They happily jumped at the opportunity.” Kassie checked her watch. “Catherine will join us in about ten minutes.”

“I’m looking forward to girl time,” Samantha smiled.

“Tomorrow, Maddie, Victoria, and Carol are taking the kids to watch a movie. We’ll wrap presents, then.”

“You’ve got it all planned out.”

“Catherine’s tired and I thought it’d be fun to have a wrapping party and handle all the presents at once. Lizzy might join us. Bryanna’s coming and I invited Claire.” Kassie gave her a rundown of the schedule.

“It’ll be nice to see everyone.” She missed everyone there. New York remained busy, exciting, and Bryan took her on amazing outings, but she preferred the serenity of small time living. When she returned to New York, she needed to find a suburb with a slower pace. Her pay tripled her income, but city living was expensive, and she wanted a nest egg saved for LJ’s college. Why didn’t she feel any excitement at searching for a new home?

Samantha watched the clock, telling herself she wanted LJ ready to go with his dad.

Kassie pulled out the baked spaghetti and homemade garlic bread from the oven. Samantha retrieved the salad and homemade dressing from the fridge. Catherine visited earlier and Leo brought Melody over to say hello. One glimpse of his wife, he retrieved her coat and made their goodbyes. Leo turned into Mr. Overprotective with his family. The once focused and goal orientated man dropped everything when it came to them. Watching him smile and laugh more than ever, everyone felt happy for the couple.

The doorbell rang as Kassie grabbed the plates from the dishwasher. “Samantha, could you get the door?” she called.

Samantha opened the door to find Whiskey with a beautiful poinsettia plant in one hand and a bottle of her favorite wine. He awkwardly handed it to her. “These are for you. Kassie mentioned making spaghetti and I remembered how much you enjoyed this wine. Welcome home, Samantha. After dinner, do you mind discussing LJ’s visitation arrangements? I’ve got a few meetings, and I don’t want him to come only to spend time with other people. I wanted to check with you to see if we can adjust the schedule?”

“We can work something out. Your mom called. She told me you and Leo stopped by and assured me they won’t say a word,” she told him. “How did they handle your visit?” she asked.

Whiskey smiled as he recalled the day. He spent the night before planning what to wear. He went to bed and Hope joined him, snuggling up and lying her head on his chest. Leo agreed to pick him up at oh eight hundred hours for the two-hour drive. At oh four hundred, he gave up on sleeping. Hope followed him into the kitchen while he took out his woodworking kit and carved the Celtic knots into the legs of the kitchen island he built by hand. Woodworking calmed him. Between his project and Hope, he became lost in the peace they brought him and barely heard Leo enter the house.

Leo walked into the kitchen and smiled. “I take it you didn’t get much sleep. I can’t believe I’ve known you all this time and only now discovered your hidden talent. This is gorgeous.” He ran his hand along the top of the island Whiskey propped up on sawhorses while he completed the legs.

“I lost track of time. I’ll go get dressed,” Whiskey grabbed his tools and placed them in the toolbox.

“I’ll get Hope situated, take your time.” Leo let Hope out for her potty break while Whiskey climbed the stairs to shower.

Hope jumped into the backseat and curled onto her designated spot. All the team members encouraged Whiskey to bring Hope in their trucks and placed pads on their seats for her to sit. He smiled at how his brothers supported him. He checked his phone to find various messages from them encouraging him on his visit to see his parents for the first time.

“Let’s do this,” Leo announced as he started the engine. “Why don’t you lie back and rest while I get us there?”

“I don’t know if I can. What if I give them a heart attack? They’re older,” he worried.

“We’ve gone over this. I’ll lead them into the living room and sit them down. I’ll break the ice while you sneak into the kitchen. When you hear me finish, don’t think about it, walk in.”

“Yeah, I know. Claire worked with me. Kassie and Catherine practiced with me yesterday. Your wife came in wearing a mustache and suspenders and Kassie dressed like the picture hanging in my hallway of my mom. They pretended to react like my parents. Those two are certifiably insane.”

Leo laughed, “Yeah but they love our ugly mugs and we gotta give them some credit.”

“Yeah,” Whiskey agreed. His phone dinged and he glanced down to find a text from Samantha.

Good luck today. Don’t worry, as soon as they see you, all the years will disappear, and they’ll want to wrap their arms around you and welcome you home. Your mom will want to keep touching you to make sure you’re real. If it starts to make you nervous, remember to communicate it. She’ll understand, I promise.

Whiskey smiled. He didn’t respond. His parents loved Samantha and she knew them as well as her own. He pictured his mom doing exactly as she advised. He vaguely wondered if Samantha wanted to do everything she described his mom doing. He cheated her out of it. He shook the idea from his mind. His focus remained on his future and he refused to waste time dwelling on the mistakes of his past. He spent his time finding himself and he hoped at the beginning of each day as he watched the sun rise, the day would come when his flame led Samantha back to him. For now, he worked on himself, his relationship with his son, and his parents.

He leaned his head back and his hand reached into the back to where Hope sat. She placed her head in his hand offering her support. Before he knew it, his eyes closed of their own accord.

Leo shook him awake. “We’re a mile down the road. I didn’t want to stop at a gas station in case someone recognized you. Do you want to comb your hair? You’ve been running your hand through it for the last forty miles. It’s sticking straight up.”

Whiskey inhaled a deep breath and exhaled through his nose. He reached into the back into his bag and pulled his comb out. He checked his image through the tiny mirror on the sun visor. Once he finished, he nodded to his friend, who put the truck into drive and pulled out onto the road. His heart sped up. The palms of his hands suddenly became sweaty, and he rubbed them against his jeans.

“Take deep breaths, they aren’t in the driveway. I’ll pull up to the garage on the side of the house and go to the front door. They won’t get a glimpse of you while you come in through the back,” Leo assured him.

Leo put the truck in park and cut the engine. He placed his hand on Whiskey’s shoulder. “You got this. I’ll stay right here until you give me the signal.”

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