Page 105 of Then Came You

Then an older woman stood up and made her way over to Gillian. “You must be Gillian. Welcome. I’m Sam’s mom, Ellen.”

Gillian tried to pull her hand out from Sam’s clutch so she could shake Ellen’s hand, but he had her in a vise grip, obviously still angry about Kristina’s date.

“It’s very nice to meet you,” Gillian said, smiling at Ellen and hoping it would be enough.

“You too. I’ve heard a lot of great things about you from my daughter.” She looked pointedly at Sam and scowled. Only a mother can get away with poking the beast, Gillian thought.

Then they were joined by a man who looked like an older version of Sam. “Hi there. I’m John, Sam’s father.”

“Happy Thanksgiving,” she said, trying to sound cheery.

“Are those the pies? I’ll take them into the kitchen,” Ellen said. Gillian gladly handed them over. She would have liked to follow Ellen to the kitchen, but Sam hadn’t let go of her hand. He was still engaged in an angry stare-down with Dave, who’d sat back down with Kristina.

The rest of Sam’s family members came forward in small groups, and Gillian exchanged pleasantries with each of them as they introduced themselves. She was especially enamored by the children, Mia and Lucas, who openly stared at her as only kids can get away with.

If Sam would relax, things would be perfect. When he finally loosened his grip on her hand, she slipped it out and rubbed the feeling back into it. Everybody had gone back to their conversations, and his Aunt Nancy and cousin Katelyn had gone into the kitchen to help Ellen.

Turning to face Sam, Gillian gave him a look that implored him to stand down.

“I’m going over to say hello to Kristina,” she said pointedly. She turned and walked away without waiting for his response.

Kristina greeted her with a grateful smile and a big hug. While they were embracing, Kristina whispered, “Sorry about this.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Gillian whispered back.

Once they let go, Dave stood up and introduced himself. “Hello, Gillian. You probably don’t remember me, but I met you at—”

“Owen’s funeral.” She was proud of herself for being able to say it without choking up. Not to mention that she didn’t feel guilty for being with Sam in front of one of his and Owen’s fellow officers. If only Sam would step up and be the man she knew him to be instead of Kristina’s overprotective big brother.

No sooner had she thought that than Sam came up and joined them. Gillian held her breath and waited for him to speak, but Dave beat him to it.

“Happy Thanksgiving.” He held out his hand, and Sam hesitated for just a second before shaking it.

“What’s this about?” Sam growled, lowering his voice.

“Your sister and I are dating,” Dave said evenly.

“Since when?”

Kristina shot out her hand and punched Sam in the arm. “Stop being a bully.”

“I’m serious. When did this happen?”

“Just recently. The weekend of the fall festival,” Dave clarified.

“That was weeks ago!” Sam argued.

“We were keeping it to ourselves.”

“And this is why,” Kristina added with a scowl.

“Out of all the women in Holly, you had to pick my sister?”

“Ahem,” Gillian said. Dax had tried to make Sam feel bad about dating her, and now he was doing the same to Dave and Kristina.

She could tell he got the point when he looked at each of their faces and sighed.

“Fine. But I don’t have to like it.”