LITMIR.BIZ

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stepped out from behind the chair. “I am,” she said cheerfully, though there was no mistaking the nervousness behind her admission.

      Sam blinked hard, then sat down. “You...are you...who’s...?”

      Gabi did her best to hold his gaze. “I’m about five months along. I’m not married. I’m not getting married. The father’s no longer in the picture. In fact, I got the papers just yesterday legally relinquishing his parental rights.”

      “What the hell?” Sam blustered. “Is the man crazy? What kind of coward walks away from his child and the mother of his child?”

      “I sent him away, Dad,” Gabi said. “Anything else would have been a disaster. He didn’t want this baby. He didn’t want me.”

      Sam frowned at her announcement. “But, Gabriella, the man has responsibilities.”

      “I’ll manage on my own,” she assured him.

      “What about work? How are you going to manage that demanding job and being a single mother?”

      Gabi gave him a rueful look. “Not a problem. I no longer have a job.”

      He was starting to look a little pale, as if his head were reeling. “You quit your job, too! What were you thinking?”

      “She didn’t quit, Dad,” Emily said. “They made it impossible for her to stay.”

      “When did this happen?”

      “A couple of weeks ago,” Gabi admitted.

      At that, color returned to his face, though this time it was a worrisome shade of red. “Why didn’t you call me?” he demanded, his tone indignant. “I could have made some calls, straightened out this mess.”

      “It wouldn’t have helped,” she told him.

      “Are you looking for another job? Is that what this call of yours was really about? Did you want my help?” The questions poured out as he tried to make sense of what was going on.

      Gabi shook her head. “No, Dad. I really did call to ask you to help someone else.”

      Sam sat back in his chair, his expression stunned. “I honestly don’t know what to say. If your mother were here, she’d know.”

      Emily gave him a pitying look. “That’s always the way it was, right, Dad? We were Mom’s problem. You had better things to do.”

      “That’s not fair, Em,” Samantha said, quick to jump to his defense.

      Gabi could see the scene deteriorating. “Okay, this isn’t the time for that discussion.” She met her father’s gaze. “I’m sorry about this, Dad. I know it’s an embarrassment.”

      “Stop that!” Emily said indignantly. “Don’t you dare apologize to him. It’s not about Dad. This baby is nobody’s embarrassment. It’s a blessing.”

      “Amen to that,” Cora Jane said, letting the screen door slam shut behind her as she entered just in time to hear the exchange. “Sam Castle, this is your first grandchild we’re talking about. Now, I expect you to get on board and give your daughter the support she’s entitled to expect from her father.”

      Sam stared at Cora Jane with a shocked expression. “I’m not judging her, not for a single second. If I judge anyone, it’s the son of a gun who put her in this situation.” He drew in a deep breath, then turned to Gabi. “What can I do to help?”

      Gabi blinked back tears at the sincerity behind the question. “You really mean that? You’re not furious with me?”

      Though he looked visibly uncomfortable, he opened his arms to her. “Never, baby. Never,” he said as she launched herself into his embrace. “It must not have seemed that way all these years, but we are a family. I’ll do my best by you, whatever you need.”

      Gabi found herself weeping in her father’s arms as her sisters looked on with unmistakable shock.

      “Well, now, that’s much better,” Cora Jane said eventually. “Honey bun, why don’t you go and wash your face. I imagine Wade will be here shortly, along with that young man you wanted your father to meet.”

      Gabi felt her father tense.

      “Wade? He’s not...” Sam asked.

      “No, absolutely not,” she said hurriedly. “Wade’s a friend who’s been incredibly supportive since I got over here last week. He introduced me to the teenager I want you to think about helping, but Jimmy won’t be here right away. We wanted things to calm down before we dragged him in the door.”

      “Okay, then,” Sam said, visibly relaxing. He patted her damp cheek. “Why don’t you run along the way your grandmother suggested? I need to ask Emily what I can do to help with the wedding. I brought my checkbook.”

      Emily’s mouth gaped at that. She whirled on Samantha. “Did you warn him?”

      “Not me,” Samantha insisted.

      “Or me,” Gabi chimed in.

      Cora Jane shrugged, her expression sheepish. “I might have reminded him that parents usually paid for their daughter’s wedding.”

      “And thank goodness she did,” Sam said. “Otherwise, I imagine it would have been one more thing to add to the list of mistakes I’ve made with you girls. I know there’s a ledger somewhere with all your grievances listed in it. I also know it’s likely I earned every one of them. Maybe I can finally start getting a few things right.”

      Emily came over to poke him in the arm, her expression filled with suspicion. “Who are you, and what have you done with our father?”

      For the first time since he’d arrived, the tension in the room seemed to ease. The laughter that erupted wasn’t forced. In fact, for that one shining moment, Gabi looked around and thought maybe, just maybe, they were going to pull off being a real family, complete with the involved, caring dad they’d always dreamed of having.

      * * *

      Cora Jane looked around her living room with satisfaction. Today had gone more smoothly than she’d first imagined possible when she’d realized Gabi had pressured her father into coming over for the day. Of course, she’d taken it upon herself to call Sam herself and warn him it was time to step up and do the right thing. She hadn’t mentioned Gabi’s pregnancy, just the little tidbit about wedding expenses, then advised him to arrive with an open mind and heart.

      “You need to hear what they’re saying for once and not start making judgments the instant you walk in the door,” she’d said.

      Naturally he’d reacted with his usual impatience. “Mother, what the devil are you trying so hard not to say?” he’d blustered. “I don’t have time for word games and innuendo.”

      Cora Jane hadn’t issued a lot of ultimatums with Sam, especially as an adult, but she issued one now. “You listen to me, son, you will make the time for your daughters. These young women lost their mother. I’ve stepped up and done the best I can by them, but that doesn’t make up for you. They need their father in their lives, and you’re going to be there. Understood?”

      “I am in their lives,” he’d protested.

      “Oh, really? When was the last time you saw them? Christmas day, unless I’m mistaken. When was the last time you called? Never, I imagine.”

      Somehow she’d managed to get her point across, or at least that was how it seemed at the moment, with her son sitting in her living room, actually listening to Emily’s excited talk about her wedding plans as they awaited Wade’s return with Jimmy.

      Cora Jane almost hated to interrupt her, but she thought Sam needed to hear a little about Jimmy before he arrived. “Gabi, why don’t you explain to your father about Jimmy?”

      Gabi jumped in eagerly and summarized her meeting with him, what

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