Lover of My Dreams Read Online Free PDF Page B

wrist to force him to face her. “This is important. I need you to do this. Frank and Jarod will help you. Roy and Rachel and Kay will be there for you, too. Never forget that. They’re good friends, Sam. Don’t ever lose any of them.”
    “I won’t, Mom,” Sam promised her quietly, covering her hand with his own.
    “I gave Rachel my pendant,” she told him after a moment, searching his face to see if he really realized the importance of that gift.
    “I’m glad,” Sam told his mom sincerely. “I would have given it to her, too.”
    “Don’t let Edwin take it from her. It was mine to give, and I want her to keep it.”
    Sam nodded, realizing with a sick feeling that his mother was passing on one of her most precious possessions. There was a deep sadness in the way she was looking up at him. He didn’t want to think about why.
    “I’ll make sure that it stays with her,” Sam promised.
    “Sam, go to your room and put those documents in your wall safe. Then come back here and we’ll talk some more,” she told him quietly.
    “I’ll put them away later,” Sam said, putting the envelope beside him on the bed.
    “No, Sam,” she insisted. “Do it now. It’s important that they’re in your safe.” Her voice was urgent, almost pleading as the panic rose within her.
    Sam reached forward to touch her hand gently, concerned that their conversation was too much for her. “Okay, Mom,” he agreed calmly. “I’ll put them away right now. Rest while I’m gone, and we’ll talk when I get back.”
    He leaned forward and kissed his mother’s cheek. She reached up to hug him to her.
    “I love you, baby boy,” she told him quietly.
    “I love you, Mom,” he told her, smiling down at her. “I’ll be right back.”
    She let go of him and he stood, leaning forward to pick up the present and envelope that Rachel had given him then turned to leave his mother’s room. He carried them and the large manila envelope that his mother had given him to his room. He didn’t know why his mother was so concerned that he have it and insisted that he tuck it safely away in his safe, but he would do as she asked. He left the door to his mother’s suite open and walked down the hallway toward his bedroom.
    He opened the door to his room and saw that Jarod had already turned down the covers of his bed. He walked to the far left wall and swung back the painting of the lavender and pink sunset that his mother had painted as a child to reveal the wall safe behind it. He spun the dial quickly to the combination that only he possessed and turned the handle to open it smoothly. He placed the manila envelope inside of it and, for some reason, placed Rachel’s gift and note in it as well. He closed the heavy safe door, spun the combination, and swung the painting back in place. He felt better somehow now that both the envelope and the present were protected.
    Turning, he walked out of his room and headed back to his mother’s room. When he entered, her face was once again turned toward her windows. As he stepped closer he could see that the sky had morphed into a beautiful pink and blue swirl.
    “Nice night isn’t it, Mom?” he asked, smiling as he stepped closer to his mother and sat down on her bed. “I bet you could paint that sky. You’d do a good job, too.”
    He froze in his spot as he saw that her eyes were closed and she wasn’t moving.
    “Mom?” he whispered, the breath catching in his throat as he looked down at her still form.
    He reached up to feel for the pulse in her neck. There was none. She was gone. He remained still for the briefest of moments as the realization of her passing settled deep within his heart. As he looked down at her delicate beauty, he sadly realized that she finally looked at peace. He was glad her life had slipped away as she had been looking at the beautiful Colorado sky. He couldn’t ask for a better way for her to pass.
    Everything in him broke at that moment. He leaned forward,