Bound to You by Vanessa Holland Page B

very large, frightening can of worms? Probably not.
    Nothing made sense anymore. Sam had acted like he wanted to be Ethan’s father.
    He should have been running for the border, not kissing Ethan’s fingers and declaring him his son.
    But being a sperm donor and being a father were two different things entirely. Did he understand that?
    She’d completely forgotten that she really didn’t know him. She hadn’t been thinking clearly since the moment she saw him standing in the park looking so magnificent, storming her mind with memories, and breaking her heart all over again.
    She’d let her emotions make decisions for her. This was not how she usually handled a situation. She prided herself in being sensible. Yet, in her own defense, she hadn’t expected Sam to latch on to Ethan the way he had.
    She didn’t know him at all. Not anymore.
    Overwhelmed and confused, she walked across the hall to her bedroom and sat down on the bed, jumping when she noticed a small box resting on her pillow.
    It was a gift from Brianna, no doubt. Her little sister had always done that, left gifts whenever they’d had an argument. She left small gifts instead of facing up to an apology. Not that she’d been wrong this time. She’d been absolutely right. No matter what they had to do to survive, no matter what they had to suffer, she couldn’t marry a man she detested for money. Especially now that she’d let Sam become involved in Ethan’s life.
    The small box was rectangular and white, and a red bow had been artfully tied at the top - typical Brianna. Jenna sat down, pulled the ribbon free, and opened the lid. After pushing through red tissue paper, she lifted an owl carved of wood, which bore a clock in its chest.
    With a pounding heart she realized this wasn’t from Brianna, this was from Sam. He’d talked about learning to make clocks. His granddad had taught him. It was some kind of longstanding family trade. Sam had made this clock.
    She stared at the little creature for a minute or two before she could truly force herself to believe it. The gift was from Sam. Which meant he’d come upstairs at some point and placed the box on her bed. He’d been in her room.
    She stood and turned around, almost expecting to see him hiding somewhere, almost able to feel his energy lingering between the walls. How had he known which room was hers? Because of Ethan’s toys piled on the chair in the corner, of course. Because Bri always kept her door closed and had a colorful hand-painted sign that read Brianna’s Room . Private Property!
    There was no card, just the symbol of the gift itself. He must have left it while she’d put Ethan back to bed, before they’d met on the front porch to exchange phone numbers and awkwardly say goodnight.
    It was even set to the right time. With the aid of folded tail feathers, the owl could perch itself on a table. She sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the little owl clock on her nightstand.
    Then she picked it up again and examined it. The work was amazing, with its perfect little carved ears, a shiny cherry coat, and feathers that were smooth to the touch.
    It was just about the cutest thing she’d ever seen.
    A present for Ethan, she realized. A wonderful, thoughtful, impressive gift for her son, from his father.
    There was no card because he hadn’t known his own son’s name when he’d carefully packaged the gift. Still, even then he must have known he couldn’t walk away from his own flesh and blood.
    Sam had carved the delicate, intricate details with his own hands, out of an ordinary hunk of wood. He had the talent to create something both whimsical and beautiful. He was a true artist.
    Her heart swelled and all bad thoughts of Sam were replaced by the pleasant memories she had of him from three years ago. All the times he’d made her laugh, the incredible heat of his affectionate hugs, and the sense of romance she had experienced for the first time in her life looking out at the