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friend. Maybe someday it would turn into something more. She could only hope.
     
    * * * *
     
    Rachel found herself heading toward the McCoy estate before the sun was even up the next morning. If Sam was going to leave, she was going to say good-bye and wish him well. She had promised Joanna McCoy that she would be there for her son, and she was determined that she would keep her promise.
    She wasn’t lying to herself. She knew she was there because she loved Sam. Joanna McCoy’s wish for their future together was her secret wish as well. But it would have to remain just that—a secret. Sam needed her as a friend, not a burden to have to figure out how to fit into his life. Besides, she was the younger cousin of his best friend. That’s as far as the relationship would ever go. She wasn’t kidding herself that it was any more than that despite her secret fantasies that it would be more.
    The light of an overhead chandelier in the alcove above the front door went on, flooding the darkness with light and drawing Rachel out of her thoughts. The door opened and she saw a tall figure standing before her. Her heart did a flip as she thought she saw Sam looking out at her, but her joy turned to coldness when she realized that it was Sam’s father. He was similar to Sam in stature but that’s where the similarity ended.
    “Come here, Ms. Williams,” he called out to her with his deep, commanding voice.
    She did as he demanded, as everyone did when they had any dealings with Edwin McCoy. He stepped back to allow her entrance into his house. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she maneuvered herself with effort until she was standing in the hallway.
    “Follow me,” he said gruffly, leading the way to his study.
    Rachel followed, glad that her crutches made the trip a slow one. The feeling in her gut worsened with each awkward step that she made, but she followed anyway. When they walked into the study, he stood aside until she entered then closed the door firmly behind them. He turned to face her, causing her to back up a step out of pure instinct for self-preservation.
    “Ms. Williams, I am only going to say this to you once,” he told her quietly, the tone of his voice deceptively calm. “You are to break off all future dealings with my son. If you try to influence my son in any way, it will be Sam who will suffer. I will cut him off without a penny. He will not work for me. He will not continue medical school on my dime. Even if he is able to secure financial loans and aid, I will see to it that no school in this country will take him in. He will not become a doctor.”
    “Why?” Rachel asked in horror. “How can you destroy your son’s future?” Her words were spoken in a voice that was barely a whisper. She was disgusted at his total lack of concern for his own child.
    “My son’s future is what I determine it will be,” Edwin McCoy told her evenly, his cold eyes leveling her with his stare. “He will work within my business for the year. At the end of that year I will decide if he will be allowed to continue with medical school. If I decide to allow him to do so, he will work at the hospital of my choosing upon completion of his schooling. He will marry a girl that I deem fit for his place in society. He will not end up a country doctor working for chickens, married to a girl like you who does not befit my son’s station in life.”
    Rachel stared up at him, her disgust making her unable to form any words. Edwin McCoy just looked at her silently. There was no emotion in him as he faced Rachel. Rachel felt all the anger rushing to her chest, nearly making her explode. She knew her face had to be mirroring her anger.
    “Mr. McCoy,” she finally said quietly, facing him squarely, “I have always tried to give you the benefit of the doubt, but I was wrong. I have to say, you’ve shocked me with how much you’re willing to hurt Sam.” She stood facing him with contempt and loathing