“I don’t like that he still has a claim on Luca. Evan’s a wild card. It makes me nervous,” he shared. “I feel . . . helpless.”
“Welcome to my world,” she said. “Who wants ice cream?”
“Me!” Luca said with big eyes.
They went for ice cream like any other family. Then they went home and got Luca ready for bed before they climbed in bed together and relieved the stress that had been bottling up since making the appointment.
Riley had a strength about her that made her seem invincible. But when she softened in his arms and cried out his name in passion, he could see the soft sweet parts that made her everything he would ever want.
* * *
The next night after work, Sam stopped by to pick up Luca at Grammy Fisher’s house.
Riley was working a later shift at the jewelry store. She’d agreed to cut back her shifts at the hotel. Sam was ready to broach the topic of moving in again, but thought he’d give it a couple more days.
“Hello, Mrs. Fisher. How’s our boy today?” Sam asked as he stepped into the woman’s living room.
She gave him a smile as Luca came running, arms up.
“Oh, my goodness. You’ve gotten heavier since I held you this morning. Did you eat Hops or something?” Sam joked.
Luca giggled and shook his head.
“Luca, why don’t you show him the picture you drew today,” Anita—he’d asked her first name—suggested.
“Oh, no,” Sam said as he let Luca slide down to his feet. “How bad is it?” He winced remembering the drawing of them in bed together.
“I don’t think it’s bad at all, really. We’ll see what you think.”
Luca shoved a paper at him. It was a mess of colors and scribbles.
“What is this?” Sam asked.
“My mommy and daddy and me,” he said, pointing at what was most likely the body of his daddy.
“Oh. It’s very good.” Sam nodded.
“And what is this?” Mrs. Fisher prompted her grandson while pointing to the mass of color in the middle of the blob.
“Tattoo,” Luca explained.
“What is the tattoo of, Luca?” she continued. Sam got the impression she was going somewhere with this, but Sam didn’t know what tattoos Evan had.
Luca didn’t answer, instead he pointed at Sam’s chest where his tattoo was.
“Dis,” he said.
“Does Evan have a tattoo like mine?” Evan wasn’t in the marines so Sam doubted it would be the eagle, globe, and anchor he had on his chest.
“Evan doesn’t have any tattoos.”
Sam looked at the drawing again in confusion.
“Who is this?” he asked the little boy as he pointed to the blob he’d just said was his daddy.
“You,” Luca said.
“And who am I?”
“Daddy.” Oh. Shit.
He looked up at Mrs. Fisher who was smiling down at him. Why was she smiling?
“I didn’t tell him to call me that,” Sam told her.
“I know. Christian was over this afternoon. He drew a picture of his mom and dad, and Luca drew you and Riley. Apparently he thinks of you in that way.”
“Oh jeez.”
“You act more like his father than my son ever has,” she said as she patted Sam’s shoulder.
“Still, don’t you think it’s disrespectful?” Not that he felt Evan deserved any respect. After all, what kind of respectable man leaves his family and won’t help provide for them? But still this was Anita’s son. He didn’t want her to be upset.
“More disrespectful than a man cheating on his wife and then moving away so he doesn’t have to support his child?” So she did get it. “No. My son should just waive his rights if this is how he’s going to act. That way Riley wouldn’t need to worry so much.”
“Riley has been saying she wants him to sign off. Do you think she really means it or is she just angry?”
“She definitely means it.”
“Is there any chance you might be able to—?”
“I’ve already tried and he refused. I don’t know where I went wrong with Evan. If his father were here . . .” She made that look like it would have been a horror. “Honestly, I’m embarrassed to call him my son. I’d rather adopt you the same way Luca has.”
Sam swallowed, understanding the honor this was. He’d never considered himself good enough to be anyone’s father. While he wasn’t going to correct Luca on calling him Daddy, he wasn’t going to encourage it either.
He didn’t know what Riley would think about this. If she got spooked and worried Luca was getting too close to him, she might try to run Sam off again.
“Let’s not mention this to Riley, okay?” he suggested. Mrs. Fisher nodded with a grin.
He loaded Luca in his truck and got in the driver’s seat. It took him a few minutes to start the truck and leave. He was having trouble breathing.
Luca had called him his daddy. This was a very big deal. He was both thrilled and scared to death. He was tired of being in between. He needed to commit or bail, and he needed to decide before it was too late for all of them.
* * *
Sam was acting weird. She wasn’t sure what was going on. She only knew that every time she asked him if he was okay, his lips said yes, while his eyes said no.
“I have a meeting tonight, so I need to get going,” he explained after dinner.
“Okay. Will you be coming back?” she asked.
“I don’t think so. I need to stop by my place and I’ll be heading out the next morning.”
“I thought you didn’t need to go away anymore.” He had told her he was taking over for a local builder so he could be home more.
“I have something I need to take care of first.”
“Oh. All right. Well, have a nice trip,” she said. She was sure he hadn’t mentioned having a trip scheduled. She kept track of his schedule on the calendar so she could show Luca when he asked. She even showed him what state Sam was in on his map puzzle when Luca wanted to know where Sam was.
Something twisted in her stomach.
Had Luca called Sam Daddy to his face? She knew he had been referring to Sam as Daddy lately and she’d tried her best to explain that Sam wasn’t his father, and that his daddy had moved away. But Luca was three. Explaining biology and geography to a three-year-old was like herding cats.
“I’ll check in with you later, okay?” Sam gave her a kiss, and then gave Luca a hug and a high five before he left. There was something about his kiss that made her nervous. Mostly it was because he was nervous. She could feel the tension in his lips when they touched.
“Sure.” She knew what this was. The beginning of the end. He was running.
She fought the urge to cry as she watched his truck pull away. She knew this could happen. She had tried her best to keep her heart protected so it wouldn’t hurt so much, but damn if he hadn’t found a way in anyway.
It wasn’t a surprise when Sam didn’t call her the next day, or the next. She helped a couple pick out wedding bands and bit her lip to keep from breaking down. This was not the Riley she knew herself to be. She was stronger than this.
The last time she had been left alone with a baby. She took care of herself then, she could take care of herself now. She didn’t need Sam.
If only that were true.
* * *
Sam was way out of his element. After speaking with Cooper and getting the proper paperwork, he now found himself standing at Evan’s door hoping to God he was doing the right thing. Riley had said many times how she wished she could be free of Evan. He was taking her at her word.
Arizona was fucking hot. People always said it was a dry heat, but heat is heat.
It was worse because Sam was nervous. He needed to make sure he applied the appropriate amount of pressure without losing his cool. Losing his cool seemed inevitable when it was a hundred and two degrees in the shade.
Malcolm had warned him about keeping his temper in c
heck before he left. And if he failed, Mal said to have the Arizona police call him.
“Hello?” a woman who could only be described as Riley’s exact opposite greeted him as she opened the door. She was tall and large boned with black hair.
“Um, yes. I would like to speak to Evan if he’s available.” Sam was surprised by how pleasant his voice sounded.
“Of course he’s available. Where would he be? Work?” She snorted at this and backed up to let Sam inside. “Someone’s here to see you.”
Evan was sitting on the sofa playing a video game and wearing a headset. He paused the game, but left the headset on. As if Sam needed another thing to push him over the edge, the guy was the poster-child for losers. The only thing that would make it official was if he lived in his mother’s basement.
Sam smiled at the thought. No way would Anita Fisher allow her son to live in her basement. But Sam might have a shot.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Evan asked, standing up and moving toward the door. As if Sam had flown the whole way to Arizona to beat him up. “Is this about the support?” Evan asked as his glance flickered toward Celia. “I’m doing the best I can. I can’t pay any more than I am.”
Sam gave him a doubtful look and also glanced at Celia who had her arms crossed impassively.
“You can’t pay more than you are?” he repeated in disbelief. “You haven’t paid anything in months.”
Evan immediately got defensive. “That’s not true. I just sent her money last week.” Again he glanced toward Celia and Sam was starting to put it together.
“How did you send this money last week? A check, money order?”
“Cash.”
“You sent three hundred dollars in the mail?” Celia stepped in. “Are you crazy?”
Sam didn’t think Evan was crazy as much as lying, but he bided his time.
“Is she saying she didn’t get it?” Sam had to hand it to him, Evan was a pretty good actor. The guy was doing a fair impression of concern.
“What about the other payments?” Celia asked.
“Others?” Sam said, raising his brows.
“Yes. Evan sends her a hundred dollars a week. Except he missed the last three weeks so he paid them all at one time.”
Sam swallowed and looked at Evan, giving him the opportunity to fix this on his own. He wasn’t surprised when Evan sat there staring at his feet waiting for the final blow.
Sam shrugged and turned to Celia. “Riley hasn’t received a payment since before you left Roanoke. He came to her home telling her she was going to have to be patient because he wasn’t going to be able to pay anything for a few months.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense. He’s sent—” She seemed to hear what she was saying and stopped talking. “What have you been doing with the money, Evan?” She came to stand in front of him, and she looked more than impassive. She looked downright hostile.
“I’ll figure out what happened and take care of it. This is between me and my ex,” Evan tried, but Celia wasn’t having it.
“Except it was my money.”
“We’re married, Celia. Your money is my money.”
“We’ll see about—”
“Excuse me,” Sam interrupted. He had a return flight to catch. “I’m not here about the money.”
“You just came here to stir up trouble,” Evan assumed.
“I came to talk to you about signing over your rights.”
At this announcement, Celia sat down looking confused. Evan said nothing, so Sam took a deep breath and went on. “You have a nice home here, and a great family.” Sam glanced around at the neat house. Celia relaxed at the compliment. “But you left people back in Roanoke that were your family too.”
Evan had the decency to look away in shame.
“All I want is to pick up the pieces of that family so Riley and Luca and I can move on and make our own. But that’s difficult if you still have this hold over them. Especially when you’re still threatening to take custody.”
He saw Celia’s back stiffen. She was a mother. Despite how she might feel about Riley, she could put herself in her position. She glared at Evan and he cringed.
“It’s not true. I never threatened to take custody.”
“Why would this guy fly all the way out here to make this up? Why?” Celia’s voice raised a full register.
Sam pulled out the forms Cooper had given him. “I have the papers right here. All we need to do is go to a notary and you can sign them and I’ll go. You won’t have to worry about child support again. Evan, it’s time to do the right thing by your son. You need to be a man.”
Chapter 16
When Riley went to Anita’s house to pick up Luca on Friday, she was surprised to learn he’d already been picked up.
“Sam came by around one. Is there a problem?” Anita asked.
“No. I must have forgotten he was picking him up. It’s fine. Thanks.”
She hadn’t forgotten anything. Sam hadn’t called or so much as sent a text in days. She had this weekend off, and they were going to make plans, but that was before he’d vanished.
“You’re off this weekend, right?” Anita asked as she picked up an envelope. Then Riley noticed a familiar duffel bag sitting on the floor. It was hers.
“Sam asked me to give you this when you got here.” Anita held out the envelope and then bent to pick up the bag.
“What’s going on?” Riley wasn’t big on surprises. Especially not when she wasn’t sure if they were good or bad.
“I can’t say,” her mother-in-law answered in a way that made her think she could say but she just chose not to.
Riley opened the note and stared down at Sam’s writing.
Come up to the cabin. We’ll see you soon. Be careful.
The cabin?
She did have the entire weekend off. She hadn’t thought to ask Lexi to borrow the cabin, but now she was excited about the idea—despite Sam’s disappearing act for the last few days.
An hour later, she pulled in next to Sam’s truck in front of the Montgomery cabin. She was excited to see Sam, but nervous too. Why would he bring her the whole way up to the cabin if he was just going to break things off? Giving up on figuring it out, she grabbed the duffel bag that contained her clothes and toiletries, and went inside.
Riley walked in the door to the smell of flowers and wood. There was a bouquet of roses on the table next to the sofa. So Sam was going for romantic. She could hear Luca laughing from the kitchen. She wasn’t sure how they were going to have a romantic night with a toddler, but they’d figure it out.
Just then, said toddler came running out of the kitchen toward her.
“Momma!” he said. She picked him up with a shock, especially when Sam stepped into the living room too.
“What’s going on?” she said. “Why are you dressed up? Is he wearing a tie?” She looked down at her son. Sure enough it was a tie. A clip-on, but a tie. He also had a little suit that almost matched the one Sam was wearing.
She looked down at her button down shirt and khakis.
“Yeah. We have a little something planned out, and then we thought we’d go out for dinner.”
“But I look like this,” she pointed out.
“You look beautiful. You always do.” Sam winked at her. “Give us a second.” He motioned to Luca who wiggled down from her arms and went to Sam. “Go ahead.” He handed Luca a business-size envelope and turned him toward her.
Luca brought it over and handed it to her.
“Here, Momma. From Daddy.” He pointed at Sam and she worried for a second that Sam might run out of the room hearing the mistake. She’d tried to explain to Luca that Sam wasn’t his daddy. Obviously he hadn’t listened.
With shaky hands she opened the envelope and pulled out the thick sheaf of tri-folded paper. The crest at the top indicated it was a court document of some sort. Seeing that made her nerves kick up a notch as she scanned the pages. She paused when she noticed Evan’s signat
ure at the bottom and then backtracked.
“He’s signed away complete custody?” Riley wanted to hope. She wasn’t a lawyer, and this form was riddled with lawyeresque words. But it appeared Evan was signing over his rights.
“Yes. I had Cooper draw them up. Anita gave me his address and I went out to meet with him. After we discussed things we went to a notary office. He’s no longer Luca’s father as far as the court is concerned. You don’t have to worry about him ever showing up and taking him anywhere. I knew you were concerned about that, and it wasn’t like he was paying support anyway.”
“Oh, my God, Sam! Thank you so much!” Happy tears came to her eyes as she read over the document more closely. Part of her wondered what Sam had said or done to get Evan to sign these papers, God knew she’d tried and so had Anita. But she decided she didn’t care. The important thing was Evan had signed them. He couldn’t take Luca. Not for a day or a week or a month. Never.
She was so busy dealing with her wet eyes, she hardly noticed Sam prompting Luca with another envelope until he placed it on her knee and said, “Daddy” again. Like the first time he pointed at Sam, and Sam just smiled nervously.
“What’s this?” she asked as she opened the flap on the second envelope. She didn’t know how things could get better. She was already thinking about the celebration dinner.
This document was also from the courthouse, though it didn’t have any seals or signatures other than one. Samuel Alvarez Brooks. Like the first time, she backed up when she saw Luca’s name.
It was a petition for adoption.
“You want to adopt Luca?” she said, her words barely made a sound.
“I do.” He stepped closer and sat next to her. His eyes serious. “I know there’s no guarantee with my PTSD, but I’m still seeing my therapist, and I’m working out my issues. I’m trying. The meds are helping with the nightmares. I promise to take care of him and provide for him and love him, Ri. Just as if he was mine, because in my heart, he is.”
More tears filled her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She glanced at Luca who was standing by Sam’s knee fiddling with his tie.
“If you don’t think I’m good enough, I would understand. I know I have a problem with my vocabulary, but I’m working on that too. If you don’t want to do it officially, I’ll still make sure he has everything he needs.”
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