Page 21 of Crying Shame
Her gasp made my pulse zip. She said, “That doesn’t sound like you.”
The faith she had in me was a shock. I swallowed. “She was a good doctor.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“What did you mean?”
She lowered her head. “That you didn't have any way of knowing the kind of person you were hiring.”
“She was very entrepreneurial, but I’d never thought I’d need to protect my brother from her.”
“He chose to sleep with her. You didn’t force them.”
“Absolutely not, and my nephew is adorable, and Cyrus's fiancée is great. You’ll like her as she’s very down to earth.”
“I’m happy for him. Cyrus was always so serious.”
I wasn’t sure I'd told her the story because of my conscience or for another reason. I rocked us on the swing. “The point is, I’m not perfect, but I’m hoping maybe we can learn to work together.”
She took my hand. My pulse quickened.
“Sam’s already starting to like you,” she said.
Good. And Clarissa and I needed to figure out how to work together. “We’ll really see how much he likes me when something happens, and he needs a parent. If you and I are on the same team, we’ll both be better at helping him.”
She narrowed her gaze. “What are you saying?”
Adrenaline rushed through me. “Last night, Sam told me to marry you.”
She jumped up. I should have kept that to myself. She rushed her words. “I heard, and let’s not encourage him. Sounds like he’s awake. We should get back inside and get him ready for school.”
Right. We needed to function, and that included doing normal things. She hurried inside the house and headed to the kitchen like she was on a mission. I followed her as she grabbed bread and headed to the toaster. I pressed my hand on her arm to stop her.
My staff had already set the table. A few workers came into the kitchen and bustled around her.
She gazed at them and then at me. Her shoulders slumped, but then Sam appeared at the door and together the three of us headed into the dining room where breakfast plates were already set. Sam slid into one seat. I took the head of the table, and she took the right side, like we were a normal family. I reached for the carafe of tea, but she got to it first and poured for me. I tensed as she wasn’t my maid.
Sam asked, “Where were you two?”
Hopefully, in time Sam and I would find common ground and start to build trust too. “On the porch. Your mom is big on getting you signed up for school.”
He picked up his silverware and looked at Clarissa. “Okay. I don’t want to get you in any more trouble.”
I narrowed my gaze. “Trouble?”
Clarissa’s face turned bright red, and her hands shook until she put them on her lap. “I kept him out of school when we were… gone. So we had truancy calls daily.”
Right. I nodded and then told Sam, “I’ll get you a tutor to catch you up.”
Sam smiled and met his mother’s gaze. “I’ll make you proud, Mom. I promise.”
She reached across the table and took his hand. “You already do because you’re the best son I could ever ask for.”
One day, I needed to be part of this family. I needed Clarissa and Sam to let me in, which meant going slow and steady to prove myself. No more mentioning marriage. Proving to her that I could be there for them both would hopefully be the right start.
7
Clarissa
