by Destiny, Sam
She brushed her fingertips across the scruff on my cheeks, and I caught her hand, kissing her palm.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
She smiled. “I want that steak with you, Knox. One, then another one, maybe one more after that,” she stated, then her face fell. “I mean, unless you’re here because you feel guilty I got stabbed, then I’d be… You know, I’m a police officer, so it’s my job to save people and—”
I placed my index finger on her lips, stopping her tirade. “I’ve been here ever since you were brought in. I came every day. There was never a doubt in my mind that I belonged here because I needed to be close to you. I’d hoped you’d realize I was here and would understand how much I regret having been an ass. Also…” I cleared my throat. “Maybe a doctor should tell you this, but…” I sighed. “Sarah, you won’t be able to have children.”
The doctor had explained that the internal injuries had been severe. We all knew what that meant, even without him saying the words.
To my surprise, Sarah’s lips pulled into a small smile. “During Penny’s birth, they discovered I had cysts in my ovaries. Two cysts burst, so they removed my ovaries completely. I nearly died that day. If that stab wound caused damage to my uterus, well… I don’t really need it anymore anyway.”
She was playing it cool, but hearing that, it made sense that she’d help other women out with their infants. Still, I hurt for her so much, I wanted to cry.
Penny’s death became more tragic now. No wonder she’d stayed away from people and happiness for a while. I was glad I had been an exception.
“I’m okay, Knox. I made my peace with it,” she assured me, framing my face with her hands.
“Can’t I still hurt for you?” I asked, almost pouting. She chuckled, wincing.
“So, about those steaks…”
“I love you, Sarah. I knew that before you were even hurt, but sitting in that waiting room every day, hoping they’d tell me you were finally awake, I realized I needed you. The few days you’ve been in my life, even when we were just talking on the phone, I realized I felt exactly the way I’d thought I would when moving to Eden. I felt like I was home. You make that possible.”
I pressed my lips to hers briefly, knowing her family would be returning soon, and also that her doctors would come in to check her over. Pulling back, I saw the spot she had ripped out her IV was bleeding, and I knew she had lost enough blood to last a lifetime.
“I love you, too, Knox. Tell Lanky I’m glad he’s okay.”
I sobered. “He was terrified, Sarah. He thought he’d practically killed you. I’ll bring him over tomorrow after school, okay? He’ll be glad to see you.”
She shifted, confusion on her face. “Can’t he just come over now? There’s a bus going right to the hospital from—”
I interrupted her. “You’re in Ashton, Sar,” I whispered, and her jaw dropped.
“How serious was I? How long was I out?”
Hadn’t I mentioned that earlier? I wasn’t sure anymore. “Ten days, sweetheart. You were in a coma.”
What little color she had gotten back vanished again as she stared at me.
“What? It wasn’t that bad. I feel okay. Tired, but okay. It was just a knife wound. I—”
“Shh,” I whispered, grabbing her hands and kissing her fingertips. “You’re okay now. Are you in pain?”
“She’s heavily medicated, Mr. Dyer, so she probably isn’t. Officer Burke, we’re glad to see you awake.”
When I saw a doctor walk through the door, I stood from the bed, even though Sarah kept holding onto me.
“Stay,” she begged, but I shook my head.
“I’ll be around the corner. I need to check in with Cal and tell him the good news.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead, then left the room, seeing her family standing in front of the door.
Tanya knew about me because she and Sarah had spoken on the phone quite a lot, but her parents had been caught off-guard with the news of their daughter having found someone. I wasn’t sure they trusted me, but even their dark looks hadn’t been able to keep me from Sarah.
It hadn’t helped that they’d found out their daughter had stepped in to save my son.
“The first clear thoughts she had were for you and your son,” Mr. Burke stated. I nodded.
“I told you Sarah loves him, Dad. Yes, I know he’s not good enough for your little girl, but no one will be. Ever. I agree. However, he’s decent enough when he’s not being an ass.”
“Tanya,” Mrs. Burke scolded, and Tanya winked at me.
“It’s true. Sarah is unlike any woman I’ve ever met, yet I’m clearly lucky enough to have her like me. I promise, I’ll make her happy. Listen, I think you should go back in. I’ll be in the waiting area. I need to call my son.”
They all watched me for a long moment, then her dad clasped my shoulder. “We’ll be here. Take care of your family.”
I intended to do just that, and Sarah would be part of that one day soon, too.
KNOX – TWO YEARS LATER
“Mom!”
Sarah rolled her eyes, then grinned as tears welled up. “What’s up, Lanky?” She tried to hide the pain in her voice, but I knew Callum would’ve heard it. He came in a second later.
“Why are you crying, Mom?”
I watched tears stream down her cheeks as she tried to keep them at bay. Two years had changed a lot, including Sarah’s last name. She was now a Dyer, and I couldn’t express how happy that made me.
She had grown into a true mom for Callum, helping me raise him pretty much from the moment she’d gotten out of the hospital.
As horrible as the day had been when she’d been stabbed, it had cleared away Callum’s teenage anger and replaced it with determination.
Daily, he tried to prove to us that he’d learned from that situation, even finishing high school with exceptional grades.
“You’re leaving again, and I cannot stand the thought. I just want you here,” Sarah sobbed, hugging our son while he grinned at me over her head. He’d grown to be taller than me and definitely wasn’t lanky anymore, but the nickname had stuck. I was pretty sure he wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.
“I’ll be back next month, Mom. After all, someone has to wash my clothes,” he teased. She laughed, trying to playfully slap him, but he evaded her.
God, he’d changed so much.
“You’d better find a laundromat, boy. I’m not your maid,” Sarah fussed.
He walked over and kissed the side of her head. “No, but you’re my mom, and moms clean for their sons.” Before she could react, he ran up the stairs. After several minutes, he called, “Mom, have you seen my Eden Police hoodie?”
She shook her head, turning to me. I opened my arms, enjoying the way she fit into them.
“It’s probably where you dropped it in the bathroom before showering,” she yelled, then sighed. “Your son is horrible.”
I chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “He’s not, and he’s our son. Not on paper, not by blood, but in our hearts, and that’s all that matters.”
“After one year, I still cannot get used to him calling me mom,” she whispered, wonder in her voice. I knew that wasn’t true because she’d reacted to it from the very first moment and there’d been no awkwardness.
“I don’t think either one of us realized how much he’d longed for a mom until that word accidentally slipped out. You handled it like a pro. And you have been handling him and me like that since that very first pizza. Do you regret it?”
She pulled back. “Why would I?”
I touched the tip of her nose with my index finger. “Because, for a week now, you’ve been crying your eyes out when you think no one notices.”
She huffed. “He’s lived with us, we saw him every day, we hung out, and now he’s just not here anymore most of the time. What can I say? I miss him around. This house is too quiet.”
I grabbed her by her hips, feigning hurt. “Are you saying
I’m boring?”
She giggled while trying to escape, twisting in my arms. “I’m saying you don’t slam the doors loud enough or complain about the shitty food before eating it all anyway.”
I kissed her neck. “I can totally slam other things, though,” I whispered against her skin, moving my hips against her backside.
“Knox,” she replied in a hushed tone, but her voice had gone deeper.
“Yes, Sar?” I nibbled on her earlobe as she reached for the counter.
“You—”
“Ew! Can’t you guys get a room?”
Seeing Callum standing at the bottom of the stairs, hoodie in hand, we laughed.
“See?” I said to Sarah. “That’s why it’s good that he’s leaving again. No one interrupts us then.” As I finished, a hoodie suddenly hit me in the head.
“Gross. You two are old. You shouldn’t be shagging that weird lady anymore, Dad. You might crack a hip.”
“Hey,” I protested as Sarah laughed, walking over to Callum, who clearly seemed ready to get back to Michigan State.
We walked out and hugged him goodbye, watching as he drove off. Before Sarah could break out into tears again, I swept her up into my arms and kissed her until she remembered what Callum had interrupted. I walked through the front door and kicked it closed, then carried her to our bedroom, placing her on the bed.
“Maybe freedom isn’t that bad,” she decided. I chuckled, then kissed my wife, glad that after everything, we had worked out.
Sarah was my life, and if I knew one thing, it was that she had changed Callum’s and my world for the better, and continued to do so every day.
The End
Book two of the Finding Single Dads Series. Crazy! Already… Jesus, feels like book one just released yesterday. ;) I’m going to skip another big announcement about how epic and fast everyone worked. You know I love you guys.
Aimie, you suffered through this probably as much as Knox did, and I’m glad you were there to make sure I’d follow through when I wanted to drop off.
Thank you, Jamie Summer, for being an impatient Beta, waiting like crazy for this book, asking for it and reminding me that people out there want to read my words.
Jo Raven… You make me feel better on a daily basis. I don’t know what I did to deserve you.
Tammy Clarke, holy shit, woman, you outdid yourself with this cover. I love them all. So much!
Ewelina, I miss you when you’re busy, seriously, and yet you’re with me every day because I hear your voice inside my head, telling me to get shit done. :-P
Kim… you cutter of words. Thank you. You make me better. So much better. I love working with you and appreciate you more than you can imagine.
Ari… Come and hug me soon, okay?
Everyone who shared, read, raved about book one, THANK YOU, everyone who downloaded it, THANK YOU! I hope you’re ready for Knox. He might be my personal favorite Single Dad. ;)
On to the next one.
xoxo,
Sam
Single Dad’s Loss
By Sam Destiny
Copyright © 2018 Sam Destiny
Cover Copyright © JC Clarke of The Graphic Shed
Edited by Kim Young of Kim’s Fiction Editing Services
Formatting by Aimie Jennison
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be copied or reproduced without written consent of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events, places or people, living or dead, is coincidental.
Embrace whatever life throws at you. Grieve. Love. Live.
Just don’t give up. You’re not alone.
HAYDEN
After working for a moving company for two years, I would think I’d be less exhausted, but no such luck. I stood under the shower spray, the water hot, yet not doing anything to ease the tension in my shoulders. For some reason, I’d been thinking about Katie, the hot nurse from Eden Community Hospital, all day, and it had me hard in an instant.
We’d hung out a couple times when her friends and mine happened to be at the same bar, but she was so out of my league, I never dared ask her out.
Not to mention her work schedule was crazy. She worked the maternity ward, and although our town didn’t have birth rates the likes of Ashton Community, I knew she was busy, and even in a small town, things could go wrong during childbirth.
I shook my head, then scrubbed soap over my arms, feeling as if dust and sweat had given me a new layer of skin. I shouldn’t be thinking of complications when my best friend, Leah, was so close to delivery. She had another nine days to go, and since the guy who’d gotten her pregnant had run, I was something like a stand-in boyfriend—minus all the kissing and cuddling.
She’d been my best friend since I could remember, but never once had I been attracted to her in that way. She was cute, with her red hair and freckles, but I felt like she was my little sister.
Granted, we’d been each other’s firsts in a lot of ways, but that had been convenience, nothing more.
People didn’t believe me when I said we were just friends, but I didn’t care.
Turning off the water, I wished I had plans for this nice Saturday night, but I didn’t. I considered turning on the computer and playing some video games, but I felt restless.
Leah was out with her mom. I’d promised I wouldn’t text because each and every time I did, her mother asked her why she and I couldn’t get married, couldn’t be together. Well, we both knew it just wouldn’t work out.
Okay, it would, but that didn’t mean we would be happy.
Not that my last relationship had done that, either. Or the one before. I wasn’t very lucky in picking them, which was another reason I didn’t ask Katie out.
After drying myself, I walked out of the bathroom, padded into my bedroom and over the dark floor to the wardrobe, grabbing some sweatpants before searching for my phone. I had Katie’s number and was tempted to call her. I had no idea where the urge came from, but she’d been on my mind today more than any other day.
Her chestnut hair, hazel eyes… I knew how she looked in scrubs, how she could rock the little black dress. Besides that, I didn’t know much about her. I wanted to, but… Yeah, I wasn’t very good at bar talk…or talk, in general.
Thunder made me look up from my phone. I walked over to the window, seeing the sky covered in heavy clouds, lighting zapping across it as if Zeus had something to prove.
Jesus, I hadn’t even known there was a storm rolling in. It made me worry about my neighbor’s balcony. Her flower pots usually didn’t fare well during heavy wind, and she was too old and fragile to bring them inside. I grabbed a shirt, picking a black one so it wouldn’t get see-through if it started raining, then made my way downstairs.
My house was small with a tiny kitchen, small living room, and only my bedroom and bathroom upstairs, but I’d wanted it from the moment I’d walked in. I assumed it used to be a garden house that had been remodeled when my neighbor’s husband died, but I didn’t care. I rented it for cheap, and she knew she had someone nearby to help her.
Her son dropped by regularly to give me money because he knew I shopped for her more often than not.
Right after I made sure all my windows were closed, rain started coming down…hard. It pelted against the windows and the tin roof, making me wish summer wasn’t almost over. It was going to be cold in the mornings, and I wasn’t eager to turn on the heat just yet.
Over the rumbling thunder, I almost missed the sound of the doorbell.
“I’m coming!” I called over the loud rumble, thinking it had to be Mrs. Eason from next door. When I opened the door, I found Katie standing there, absolutely drenched. I saw her holding something, but urged her inside before trying to analyze it.
She stood in my entryway, dripping onto my tile, rivers of water running from her jacket.
Holy shit. Katie Pearson was in my house
and I had no idea why.
* * *
KATIE
I pressed Cory’s body closer to mine, hoping the little boy wasn’t soaked, as I turned back to Hayden Park. I had a crush on him since I’d first seen him at the bar, talking to Leah, but since my life consisted of nothing but work, I didn’t make a move.
Tonight, though, I had to be here. God, I didn’t know how I was going to say any of what I needed to.
He was handsome, his dark hair, dark eyes, those dimples, the constant scruff, but it was nothing compared to the tattoos peeking from the sleeves of his shirt, teasing me, tempting me—distracting me.
“I—” he started, interrupted by the doorbell.
Damn, I missed my opportunity.
“Before you open it, Hayden, there’s something you need to know,” I said, wondering if he’d hesitate to let the person in, but I should’ve known better.
He wasn’t that impolite, especially during a storm. I couldn’t help but think he’d soon wish he hadn’t opened the door, both to the woman standing there now and me.
“Mr. Park?” the social worker asked. He nodded and stepped aside, letting her in. We’d only gone from her car—she still needed to gather papers, so I walked up to the door first—up the drive, yet we were both soaked.
“Please, let me tell him,” I begged, wondering if maybe we should move from the hallway, but Hayden just shook his head.
“Let me get you both towels and at least a dry hoodie so you won’t catch a cold. I’ll be right back. Take off as much of the wet clothing as you can. After we get you dry, we’ll talk.”
I couldn’t believe he was so calm with two women he basically didn’t know standing in his house on a stormy Saturday night, but it made me admire the man he clearly was.