Read A Mother's Heart for Free Online

hair was in the doorway. The look on her face was somewhere between disbelief and shock.
    “Kate, this here fellow is Sam Holt,” Chief Fite said. “Claims he’s Sammy’s daddy. We’ve done some preliminary checking and he seems to be on the up and up.”
    “Where the hell have you been for the past eight years?” Kate asked.
    Sam flinched. “Lost.”
    “Well…I’d say so,” she muttered. “Libby showed up here about six months before Sammy was born, as alone in the world as a woman could be. She’s never talked about her past and we didn’t ask, but it seems to be a body would have checked up on her once in a while, especially since there was a baby involved.”
    Sam lifted his chin. His face was expressionless. “Libby and I had a fight. People have fights. All the time. Ours was a bad one, I’ll grant. But most people don’t disappear off the face of the earth. She left. No forwarding address. Nothing. I looked for her for a year, then left the country. I guess in my way, I ran away, too. I had no idea she was pregnant when she left, and I was in Amman, Jordan, when my mother called to tell me about the video. Now that’s the last time I’m going to explain myself until I meet my son.” At this point, his voice cracked. “I’ve lost eight years of his life I can’t get back.”
    Kate exhaled on a sigh. “Well, he’s in the kitchen with the boys. We were just about to sit down to supper. I suppose you could join us.”
    “He’s okay, Kate,” Chief Fite said. “He’s clean. Not even a speeding ticket on his record, and like he said, he’s spent most of the last six years out of the country. Now,if you’re okay, I’ll just get on back to the station. If you need anything, you can always call.”
    Then he gave Sam a quick look. “You’re not planning on leaving town with Sammy or anything like that, are you?”
    “Hell no,” Sam said shortly. “I’m not going anywhere.”
    “Well, come on in, then. Supper is getting cold. And don’t go and scare Sammy any, you hear? He’s been through the wringer these past three weeks,” Kate said.
    “Thank you, ma’am. I’d be grateful,” Sam said. “As for Sammy, the last thing I want to do is scare him. But he sent out his own brand of SOS and I want him to know that the minute I heard it, I came. That’ll be the first step we both take to building some trust between us.”
    “Yes, of course,” Kate said. “It’s this way,” she said.
    Sam closed the front door and followed her through the house and into the kitchen. The table was set. The food had already been dished up. Three boys were already at their places, waiting for her return. Sam saw the tallest boy eye him curiously. Then he saw a little redheaded boy sneaking a chicken leg off the platter onto his plate. But it was the dark-haired boy with the big brown eyes staring back at him that nearly stopped his heart.
    He walked past Kate without waiting for an invitation, circled the table and then stopped at Sammy’s chair.
    “You’re Sammy Farraday, aren’t you?” Sam asked.
    “Who are you?” he asked.
    “I saw your video, Sammy. It was a really smart thing to do because I’ve been looking for your mother for a long, long time. My name is Sam Holt. I’m your father, and I’m really happy to meet you.”
    Sam held out his hand, hoping the boy would at least shake it, but was unprepared for Sammy’s reaction.
    “Daddy? You’re my daddy?”
    Sam’s vision blurred. He didn’t know whether Sammy was just upset or uncertain. Then he remembered the photo his mom had sent and quickly pulled it out of his pocket.
    “Look,” Sam said. “This is a picture of me when I was seven. Almost the same age as you are now.”
    Sammy stared at the photo for what seemed like an eternity. Then he looked up at Sam.
    “I’m eight,” he muttered, then added, “That looks like me.”
    Sam nodded. “Fathers and sons are supposed to look like each other,” Sam said softly.
    “My mama