Bound to You by Vanessa Holland Read Free Book Online Page B

got here I thought it was you answering the door instead of your sister. She looks like you.”
    “ It’s been almost three years.”
    “ Hard to believe, huh,” he said.
    “ It felt much longer.”
    “ So it’s real, not some joke?”
    In the darkness, she couldn’t see his eyes, and was grateful. “No, it’s certainly no joke.”
    “ So he’s really mine – the kid I saw?”
    “ No, he’s mine.”
    “ You know what I mean.” An edge came into his tone. “I need to know the truth.”
    “ I didn’t lie. And I’m not mistaken. There was no one else so don’t even ask.” There had never been anyone else, and likely never would be again.
    “ Not even that Stewart guy I saw you riding in a Porsche with?”
    “ Especially not him. I told you that before.”
    Sam let out a soft chuckle. “Wow, I just can’t believe it. How old is he?”
    “ He just turned two last month.”
    “ When’s his birthday?”
    “ May seventh.” He’d been born nine months to the day of his conception.
    “ Wow,” Sam said. “What’s his name again?”
    It bothered her that he didn’t remember his son’s name. Even though he hadn’t known when they’d met he had a son. “Ethan.”
    “ Ethan. That’s okay, I guess. Ethan what? What’s his middle name?”
    She hesitated, wishing she hadn’t felt so sentimental and forgiving when she’d named her son. “Ethan Samuel.”
    Sam was silent for a little while, and for the first time she wished she could see his eyes. Was he offended? So touched he couldn’t speak? At last, he found his voice. “Why’d you name him Samuel?”
    He was offended, obviously, and now planned to torture her. “Why do you think? After you.”
    He startled her by laughing. Not a simple laugh, but a rumbling laugh that went on and on and ended with what sounded like tears of hilarity. “Lord…. We’ve got ourselves in one hell of a mess, huh, baby.”
    “ You think his name is funny?” she demanded, now the offended one.
    “ Well, yeah,” he said, “since that’s not my name.”
    “ Sam is short for Samuel.”
    “ Usually,” he said, “but not in my case. My mom was probably doped-up on painkillers when she named me.”
    “ So what’s your name?”
    He hesitated and let out a long, soft groan. “I’ll only tell if you promise not to repeat it.”
    “ Fine, whatever. What’s your name?”
    He groaned again and shifted in his seat. “Samson. They started calling me Sammy when I was little so I wouldn’t get beat up. Samson Elijah. The Elijah part was from my great-granddad. Probably a cool name in 1883, less so in 1983 when I was born.”
    For a moment, she couldn’t respond, and then a slow tickle of humor came over her. Samson? It was a little funny. And a little sad that she hadn’t known Ethan’s father well enough to know his real name.
    “ Good grief. This just gets worse and worse,” she said with a groan. “My poor baby is doomed.”
    “ No, Ethan Samuel is a good name,” he said seriously. “A good solid name. You did good. Better than my mom, for sure.”
    Warmed by his compliment, a month’s worth of stress seemed to melt off her shoulders. She wanted to really talk to him, to move over beside him and pretend the past three years hadn’t happened. But she couldn’t. There wasn’t really anything between them now. The entire situation was still too uncertain.
    “ I have a brother named Boone,” he said, still going on about names. “So be glad. That could have been me.”
    “ He has your eyes,” she said, not sure why she felt the constant need to compare this man, a virtual stranger, to her precious son.
    “ Yeah, you said that.” Suddenly his voice sounded tight and annoyed. “I can hardly remember what he looked like.”
    “ Are you mad?”
    “ Mad? I don’t know yet. Surprised. Shocked. And yeah, a little upset you didn’t tell me sooner. Why didn’t you tell me?”
    “ I didn’t know where you were.” You ran off, remember ?
    “