again. “You’re not gonna do it, are you?”
“No. I mean, I’m not refusing to do it. I just… I have to talk to your father, Luke.”
“I already asked him to bring her back, and he wouldn’t.”
“He wouldn’t? Or he couldn’t? It’s not the same thing, Luke.”
The little boy was crying now. Samantha got down on her knees in front of him and pulled him into her arms. Skinny little arms crept around her neck, and his tears soaked into her collar as he hung on for dear life, much in the same way she’d hung on to Joe earlier.
She couldn’t help but think of Abbie then. Somewhere, nearly three thousand miles away, Abbie was crying, too, because she loved Samantha like a mother, and Samantha was gone. Samantha worried that there wasn’t anybody to hold Abbie when she cried, so she made her arms even tighter around Luke.
Two kids, she thought. Two mothers gone.
She wouldn’t judge Luke’s mother too harshly, not without hearing from the woman herself about what happened. Because Samantha knew what it was like to have a child wrenched away.
Surely there was nothing worse in the world.
She wondered what sort of explanation Richard had given his girls for her leaving, wondered if he’d made her out to be the bad guy in all of this. She had certainly tried not to make him the villain in front of the girls, because he and his new wife were all the girls had left.
And now Samantha wondered what had happened between Joe Morgan and his wife. She remembered when she and Joe had talked in her office yesterday.
“What does Luke want?” she’d asked him. “Something that’s not within your power to give?”
Still, he hadn’t said whether he couldn’t bring Luke’s mother back or whether he didn’t want to. There was a difference. Samantha wondered why Luke’s mother might refuse to come home; that was a possibility, too, that his mother simply wouldn’t come home. And she wondered why a kid as wonderful as Luke had to be standing here in Samantha’s arms sobbing his little heart out and plotting and scheming to get his hands on a hundred baby teeth to get his mother back.
Life was so strange, she thought. And so very sad.
But it shouldn’t be. Especially not for little children like Luke.
Chapter Four
J oe waited for five minutes while Dani danced around the waiting room. In the space of those five minutes, she’d already asked him ten times about the glow-in-the-dark toothbrush. She was the most impatient creature he’d ever encountered, even more impatient than his ex-wife. And that, Joe knew, was saying something.
He was impatient to know what was going on between Luke and Samantha, to know whether she was mad at Joe about that kiss, now that she’d had a chance to think about it.
He wondered exactly what had possessed him to do something so impulsive, some thing so dangerous, as kissing a woman the way he had.
He’d promised himself that he would keep his relationships with women simple and straightforward from now on. He had his kids to think about, after all. Nobody got to hurt his kids again.
But Samantha Carter wasn’t the kind of woman he could keep away from his kids, not if he was involved with her, which he couldn’t be.
Still, he hadn’t been able to resist trying to comfort her when she cried, hadn’t been able to keep his lips off hers when she’d been so sad and sweet, so tempting.
Joe dropped his head into his hands.
“What’s wrong, Daddy?”
Joe winced at the tone of his daughter’s words. “Nothing, sweetie. Let’s go find Luke,” he said.
“And my toof-bwush?”
“Of course. Your toothbrush.”
“She really has a pink one for me?”
“Yes, she does.”
“Wow!” Dani said, pulling open the door and taking off at a run before Joe could stop her.
“Dani? Wait for me. You don’t even know where you’re going.” He took off after her.
“I found the star room!” she exclaimed.
Sure enough, she had. The blue room with the glittering
“No. I mean, I’m not refusing to do it. I just… I have to talk to your father, Luke.”
“I already asked him to bring her back, and he wouldn’t.”
“He wouldn’t? Or he couldn’t? It’s not the same thing, Luke.”
The little boy was crying now. Samantha got down on her knees in front of him and pulled him into her arms. Skinny little arms crept around her neck, and his tears soaked into her collar as he hung on for dear life, much in the same way she’d hung on to Joe earlier.
She couldn’t help but think of Abbie then. Somewhere, nearly three thousand miles away, Abbie was crying, too, because she loved Samantha like a mother, and Samantha was gone. Samantha worried that there wasn’t anybody to hold Abbie when she cried, so she made her arms even tighter around Luke.
Two kids, she thought. Two mothers gone.
She wouldn’t judge Luke’s mother too harshly, not without hearing from the woman herself about what happened. Because Samantha knew what it was like to have a child wrenched away.
Surely there was nothing worse in the world.
She wondered what sort of explanation Richard had given his girls for her leaving, wondered if he’d made her out to be the bad guy in all of this. She had certainly tried not to make him the villain in front of the girls, because he and his new wife were all the girls had left.
And now Samantha wondered what had happened between Joe Morgan and his wife. She remembered when she and Joe had talked in her office yesterday.
“What does Luke want?” she’d asked him. “Something that’s not within your power to give?”
Still, he hadn’t said whether he couldn’t bring Luke’s mother back or whether he didn’t want to. There was a difference. Samantha wondered why Luke’s mother might refuse to come home; that was a possibility, too, that his mother simply wouldn’t come home. And she wondered why a kid as wonderful as Luke had to be standing here in Samantha’s arms sobbing his little heart out and plotting and scheming to get his hands on a hundred baby teeth to get his mother back.
Life was so strange, she thought. And so very sad.
But it shouldn’t be. Especially not for little children like Luke.
Chapter Four
J oe waited for five minutes while Dani danced around the waiting room. In the space of those five minutes, she’d already asked him ten times about the glow-in-the-dark toothbrush. She was the most impatient creature he’d ever encountered, even more impatient than his ex-wife. And that, Joe knew, was saying something.
He was impatient to know what was going on between Luke and Samantha, to know whether she was mad at Joe about that kiss, now that she’d had a chance to think about it.
He wondered exactly what had possessed him to do something so impulsive, some thing so dangerous, as kissing a woman the way he had.
He’d promised himself that he would keep his relationships with women simple and straightforward from now on. He had his kids to think about, after all. Nobody got to hurt his kids again.
But Samantha Carter wasn’t the kind of woman he could keep away from his kids, not if he was involved with her, which he couldn’t be.
Still, he hadn’t been able to resist trying to comfort her when she cried, hadn’t been able to keep his lips off hers when she’d been so sad and sweet, so tempting.
Joe dropped his head into his hands.
“What’s wrong, Daddy?”
Joe winced at the tone of his daughter’s words. “Nothing, sweetie. Let’s go find Luke,” he said.
“And my toof-bwush?”
“Of course. Your toothbrush.”
“She really has a pink one for me?”
“Yes, she does.”
“Wow!” Dani said, pulling open the door and taking off at a run before Joe could stop her.
“Dani? Wait for me. You don’t even know where you’re going.” He took off after her.
“I found the star room!” she exclaimed.
Sure enough, she had. The blue room with the glittering
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