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ChapterTwenty-Six
Rayna
Oh no.
I lurched away from John, but he held onto me, keeping me right by his side, and from the corner of my eyes, I saw John’s jaw flex and firm up. He turned with me and only dropped his arm when Samantha took another step, her gaze flittering between the two of us.
“Dad? What’s going on?”
He smiled thinly. “Sam, I suppose you saw me kissing Miss Everett, did you?”
“Um, yeah,” she replied. “But why? Well, I know why, she’s pretty and all, but I don’t understand…”
“I’ll explain,” John said. “But not here. Let’s go to the kitchen.”
My feet felt like lead when I followed them to the kitchen and stood aside as John took out some drinks for us. I took my glass and fell quiet, unsure what to do now. Our little secret had been busted wide open, and I didn’t want to make another wrong move.
“Sammie, Miss Rayna and I met before I saw her at your school,” John started, and I tensed with apprehension at where he was going. His gaze flickered up to give me a reassuring look before he continued. “And we became friends, but things changed when she decided to help you. Yes, she’s pretty, but she’s smart and kind too. I like that.”
“…But what about Mom?” Samantha asked.
I felt a bit of chill settle into the lowest parts of my stomach. A part of me wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer.
“Kiddo, I don’t think Mom would hate that I took an interest in someone else,” John said kindly. “You like Miss Rayna, don’t you?”
“Well, yeah,” Samantha replied. “But it’s Miss Everett. Won't it be…strange if everyone knows about it? Even at my school? They’ll tease meforever.”
“Which is why no one needs to know yet,” John replied gently. “It’s very new, Sammie. With grownups, friendships like this, relationships like this, it’s much more delicate for you and your friends at school to understand, Sam. Sometimes they don’t work out…”
My head jerked back like I had whiplash.
“…which is why we’re still working things out,” John replied.
“Soooo?” Sam drew the word out and then wrinkled her nose. “The two of you aren’t like getting married?”
A strangled sound came from John’s throat—it sounded mocking and a bit disparaging. As if what Sam said was not only out of the question but an impossibility. “No, Sam, we’re not getting married.”
Maybe I was reading into this more than I should have, but even knowing that did not stop the blows from coming.
“She’s your girlfriend, then?”
“Yes, Sam, she is,” John replied.
Something…something didn’t feel right.
I felt like the ground beneath my feet had shifted, and the rush of emotions consuming me was too strong to ignore. John’s seemingly blasé comments about our relationship dug deep inside me and shredded our blossomed connection to shreds. I could understand his need to keep things G-rated for Sam, but I felt…cut to the core…hurt…rejected.
The high I had felt a moment ago had withered into nothing, and I felt the inescapable need to be somewhere else.
He’d said he loved me, but now, it felt like something he’d said at the moment, just to match my words.
“Oh, is that true, Miss Everett?” Samantha blinked at me.
I kept a calm face and even managed to give her a smile. “It’s right.”
The doubt as to whether she would accept us or not hovered in the air. I knew it would be hard for many children to accept a strange woman instead of their birth mother, but there could be a chance with how much time had passed between Sam’s early years and her mother’s death.
Once again, Sam looked between us, and just as I expected her to huff and declare she didn’t like it, Sam gave a simple one-shoulder shrug. “Okay. I’ll be doing my homework.”
