Page 100 of Hush (Fighting Fate)

“Well,” Mom said, twisting her hair around her finger. “We should probably sit.”

I frowned, but slipped dutifully into a chair.

Mom cleared her throat. “Uh…well, with everything that’s happened lately, and with Ken…being Ken, I didn’t really get to tell you, but Sam and I have known each other for a while now.”

I glanced quickly at Sam then back to Mom, waiting for her to elaborate. It wasn’t that I cared that she and Sam had known each other for a while, I just didn’t see how that was possible.

I watched her take a deep breath. “Sam was actually a friend of your Dad’s.”

Time stopped. I swear it. Besides telling me he would’ve been proud of me, it’d been forever since she’d even spoken his name out loud. I stared at Sam with genuine interest. “You were?”

He smiled and nodded. “Yep. We went to high school together. Were still friends right up until he passed away.”

My blood pumped with excitement. I didn’t know why it excited me, but it did. We barely owned a thing that carried Dad’s memory anymore. Ken had made sure of that. Knowing I had a link to his life right here was incredible.

“I’m…I don’t know what I am. Happy, I think…”

He chuckled. “Good. I…uh…have a bunch of photos and stuff of your dad from when we were about your age at home. I think there are even some videos in there as well. I even have some of you and him together when you were a baby.”

My heart tripped. “With me?”

“I think so. I can bring them around home if you’d like.”

My eyes stung with tears but I didn’t care. I hadn’t set eyes on a picture of my dad in over a decade. I glanced over at Mom. She was smiling, but she had tears in her eyes too.

“Yes, please,” I said, my voice breaking on the end.

Sam nodded and grinned again. “Good. That’s settled then. I’ll bring them over in the next couple of days so you can look through them whenever you get a chance.”

That sounded so perfect, I thought I might’ve been dreaming. Praying I wasn’t, I swallowed and shook my head. “I don’t know what to say. You’ve shocked the hell out of

me. Thank you?”

Sam laughed. “You don’t need to say anything. It’s completely my pleasure.”

My heart suddenly felt a hundred times lighter. I couldn’t believe the doctor actually knew my dad. No wonder he’d been so worried about Mom.

“So, if you knew him right up until he died, then you must’ve known Mom too then, right?”

He smiled and nodded. “I sure did.” I didn’t miss the look he gave Mom either. I was sure there was a tiny bit of attraction mixed in there. Interesting.

“How come I haven’t seen you around since the-” I frowned, then scowled. “Oh, wait. Don’t tell me. Ken.”

Sam’s jaw clenched and his hands tightened.

“Okay then,” Mom said with fake cheer. “Let’s get the topic away from that one before it sours your day.”

I sighed and tried for a smile. Mom was right. I’d waited too long for us to be free of Ken. I wasn’t going to let him continue to hurt us from the grave.

“So, you two’ve caught up since everything happened?” I said, delving. It was hard to keep the smile off my face. I liked Dr. Miller. He’d be good for her. She deserved good.

A slight shutter went down in her eyes. She didn’t want me reading too much into it. I almost smiled. Too late. It was clear they were attracted to each other. I just hoped she wasn’t past the point of being open to something new after Ken. If he’d ruined her for anyone else, I’d bring him back from the dead just to kill him again.

“So, your mother tells me you’re thinking about going into nursing?” he said, making Mom relax again.

I smiled, and not for the reason he was thinking. “Yes, I am. I’m going for my BSN.”

“Thanks great,” he beamed. “I’ll definitely help you get your foot in the door when you’re ready.”

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