A Mother's Heart Read Online Free PDF Page B

kissed the side of Libby’s cheek. Time had not dimmed the memory of how soft her skin was, or how she tasted.
    “Libby…sweetheart…it’s me, Sam. I’ve been looking for you forever. I just want you to know that I’m here, and that I’ll take care of Sammy until you can get well. And Libby…God, Libby…I didn’t know about Sammy. I looked and looked for you afterward but you were gone.It was almost as if you’d never existed, except for the big hole in my heart. I wouldn’t have abandoned you. Somewhere down deep in your heart, you have to know that. Libby, please get well. I don’t ever want to lose you again.” Then he kissed her again, this time on the lips. The kiss was fleeting, but it was enough to begin Sam’s healing.
    All too soon, the doctor was back. “I’m sorry, but you need to leave now.”
    Sam gave Libby one last look, as if imprinting her face in his memory until he could see her again, then followed the doctor back out into the hall. The police chief was still there. Sam went straight for him.
    “I want to see my son.”
    Chief Fite nodded. “I figured that would be your next request. I’ve already called Kate Wyatt.”
    “Who’s she?” Sam asked.
    “She’s the grandmother of Sammy Farraday’s best friend, Pete. She’s been raising her own grandsons for six years now. Their father was Kate’s only son. He died in a truck accident a few years back and their mother abandoned them years ago.”
    Sam nodded. “When can we go?”
    The police chief glanced at his watch. “I suppose now is as good a time as any. Kate already picked the boys up from school, so they’re at the house with her right now. You can follow me in your car.”
    “I’ll be right behind you,” Sam said, then turned to the doctor. “I’ll be back at regular visiting hours.”
    The doctor nodded, then watched the men walk away. He had to admit he’d never thought this day would happen, but hoped it worked out for all concerned.
     
    L IBBY CAME OUT of a darkness, unaware of where she was, of what had happened. All she knew was that somethingwas wrong. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t hear Sammy’s voice. And she couldn’t find the strength to open her eyes. Slowly she began to realize something was beeping nearby. She inhaled slowly and smelled antiseptic. Then a voice came over an intercom, paging a doctor to the E.R. and she thought, I’m in a hospital? But how? Why?
    In the back of her mind, she thought she’d been dreaming about Sam Holt, although when he invaded her sleep, she usually referred to them as nightmares. Reliving the joy of loving him and then the pain of losing him was just too much. If it hadn’t been for Sammy, she often thought she would have gone mad. Before she could get any answers, she began to fade, falling under the curtain that seemed to hang between her and the rest of the world.
     
    S AM PULLED UP behind the police cruiser and parked. They’d stopped at a small, white frame house with a wraparound porch and yellow trim—obviously the residence of Kate Wyatt. There was a porch swing on one end of the porch and a set of white wicker furniture on the other. Two big wing chairs, a small circular table with a giant fern spilling over the lips of a red-glazed pot and what amounted to a small wicker love seat completed the ensemble. He could see three bicycles parked under a shade tree in the back. One large. Two small. Sam sighed. Talk about small town perfection. Places like this didn’t exist anywhere else. As he got out of the car and followed the police chief to the front door, he realized that the next five minutes were going to be the most important minutes of his life.
    Most men meet their children for the first time in a hospital nursery. They have time to get to know each other the old-fashioned way. Sam sighed. He’d neverdone anything the easy way. It figured he would have screwed this up, too.
    Then the door opened inward and a short woman with reddish gray