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“Carrie,” Roy said, his voice soft yet stern. “He needs to see the child. Try to understand.”
Carrie nodded. “Go on in.”
Sam walked into the room and the sound of childish laughter was like a symphonic concerto to his ears. Duke was laughing. Sydney, her face swollen and puffy, her brooding dark eyes sunken, smiled at the little boy. SpongeBob SquarePants played on the television.
“Hello,” Sam said.
Sydney looked up, startled. “Sam.” She wiped her nose. “Hello.”
“How’s the little fella doing?”
“He’s actually doing better. We’re just waiting now.”
“Your mom told me.”
“Who’s that, Sassy?” the little boy asked.
“Sweetie, this is a good friend of mine,” Sydney said. “His name is Sam.”
Sam smiled and walked forward, holding out his hand. To his surprise, the boy took it, shaking like a man.
“I hear you’ve been a little under the weather,” Sam said.
“Yeah. They poked me and took blood out of me.”
“Well, that didn’t bother a big boy like you, did it?”
“Nah. Mama and Sassy cried, but I didn’t.”
Sam ruffled Duke's hair—hair so like his own. “So what’s on the tube?”
“Duke’s favorite,” Sydney said. “SpongeBob.”
They watched television for a few minutes, saying nothing, until Roy and Carrie came back into the room. “Sydney,” Roy said, “you take a break for a while. Mom and I will stay with Duke.”
Sydney nodded and stood up. She glanced at Sam. Was he supposed to go with her?
Fine.
“Good to meet you, Duke,” he said. “I’ll be back to check on you later, okay?”
“Okay.” The boy smiled.
Sam’s heart melted. His son was a beautiful child. He had to be okay. He just had to be.
Sam wasn’t sure what to say, how to act around Sydney. One look at her and he knew he loved her. Feelings didn’t turn on and off like a water faucet. No sirree. And something else was evident as well. This woman loved her son—her brother—however she thought of him.
This was killing her. As much as it was killing him.
“You want some coffee?” he asked.
She nodded. “Sure.”
“Go on and sit down in the waiting area. I’ll go get it.”
Sydney took his arm. “No. I’ll come along with you if you don’t mind. I just can’t sit anymore. I feel like I’m just sitting around waiting for bad news. I hate it.”
Sam nodded. His gut clenched and he felt helpless, as he’d felt so many times before in similar situations. He knew how Sydney was feeling. He’d done his share of waiting around with Dusty for results. It was damned hard.
