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get through the day, but it felt wrong on so many levels.
    Sam led the way out to the front veranda and the four who were his real family followed silently. Kay reached out to hold his hand as she stood by his right side, Jarod at her side as always. Rachel stood before him, and Roy stood to his left. They were a shield around him. He felt it. He was comforted by it.
    “My father wants me to stay here to take over some of the business responsibilities,” he told them quietly, looking out toward the many expensive cars and limousines that lined the driveway.
    “Sam, don’t,” Roy told him, concerned. “What about school?”
    Kay squeezed his hand tightly, drawing his attention back to her. Sam looked down at the petite woman, smiling sadly into the gentle warmth of her brown eyes. The dark brown hair lightly streaked with gray framed her beautiful face, her gentle smile gifting him with the love and the peace that he always felt whenever he was around her.
    “You have to finish school,” Kay told him sternly. She let go of his hand reluctantly to search for the tissue she had tucked up her sleeve and angrily wiped at her eyes.
    “Sam,” Rachel said quietly, drawing his attention. “Your mother told me to tell you to never give up your dream. She knew that you wanted to finish medical school. She also knew your father would try to influence you to stay. She made me promise to tell you not to let him prevent you from doing what you were meant to do.”
    Sam looked directly at Rachel and smiled. He couldn’t help the tear that escaped his right eye and did nothing to hide it or brush it away. He reached out instead to gently wipe away the tears that soaked Rachel’s cheeks with his right hand, gently caressing the tiny crescent moon at the corner of her eye before straightening and closing his eyes briefly as he took a cleansing breath.
    “I’m leaving tomorrow,” Sam said finally so that only they heard him. His voice was void of emotion, but Rachel could feel the pain that engulfed him.
    “Where’re you going?” Kay asked the young man who was her second son. She reached out to hold his hand briefly.
    Sam squeezed it quickly then let go, unable to accept her gentle kindness and break his resolve to stay in control during the rest of this painful day. He was determined to remain strong.
    Kay understood and stepped back to stand beside Jarod. Instinct made her lean closer toward her lifelong friend, and she found herself taking the butler’s hand within her own. She couldn’t help but seek out the support he was always willing to give her. She felt as if they were the two who had raised this outstanding young man and were feeling his pain as any parent would.
    Jarod held her hand gently, standing closer to her so that their arms touched. Their gentle friendship over the past twenty years had helped Sam as he had grown up, and Jarod knew they would help him get through this difficult time, too.
    “I’m leaving in the morning to go back to medical school,” Sam told them finally. “I can’t be here with him.”
    No one questioned or commented. There was nothing to say. Rachel breathed a sigh of relief that Joanna McCoy’s last request was being honored. She had wanted her son to go for his dream. She had wanted Sam to be happy. Only being away from his father would allow either of those things to happen. Rachel was going to honor her promise to Joanna to help Sam with those dreams. She had no choice. It was what she had to do for the man that she loved.
    Joanna McCoy had said that Sam would someday realize Rachel’s worth. She had said that Rachel was a jewel that Sam would recognize and cherish. Rachel didn’t know if that would ever happen, but she was determined that Sam had every opportunity to find his own happiness.
    She looked at the man who was her friend and had to push back her tears. Her heart broke for him. Her heart ached for him. She knew she would never find a better person or a better