For Their Child's Sake

An accident of his own had stolen the life he and Tara had created. Little by little, the addiction chipped away until he’d left Tara no choice but to leave and protect their daughter.

And now look where they were. Him clean and sober for a year, holding down a steady job he was proud of, and desperately wanting his family to be whole again. He hadn’t even been sure that was possible, but now his baby girl...

“We want another opinion,” Sam stated, shifting in his seat.

Damn it. He’d gotten his life together; he’d overcome addiction and was ready to fight for his family, to get them back to where they used to be before pills destroyed them. He might have lost Tara, but that didn’t mean he was abandoning them. He planned on being a provider, damn it. He would make this up to them, even if he’d killed any chance of being Tara’s husband again.

Panic stirred at the thought of his sweet Marley totally unaware of what she faced. His sole purpose and goal over the past year had been to repair his life, Tara’s and Marley’s lives. How the hell did he fix this? He was her father. He was supposed to fix things when she got hurt or was sad.

“Wanting another opinion is understandable.” Dr. Benson slid the images into Marley’s medical folder. “As I stated before, I consulted with one of my colleagues and his prognosis was the same. I’m a parent myself, so I understand the concern and the fear.”

“Does she know?” Sam asked, swallowing his own worry so he could focus on finding a quick fix. Unfortunately, he had a sinking feeling there was no quick or easy fix. This sounded like something that could only be healed by time.

Dr. Benson shook his head. “I wanted to discuss everything with the two of you and let you figure out how to tell her. The news would be best coming from the people she’s closest to.”

Sam glanced to Tara. Tears slid down her face as she stared at the doctor. She’d shed too many tears because of him and his selfish actions. He didn’t even remember the last time he saw her smile, and every single time she hurt, it gutted him.

Unable to watch her suffer alone, Sam reached across for her hand, which she quickly pulled away. The rejection wasn’t a surprise. Knowing Tara would rather face this unknown future with Marley’s medical issue than accept his touch stung...but why had he expected her to let him in? He deserved nothing.

“What can we do for her?” Tara swiped at her damp cheeks before smoothing her wavy hair behind her shoulders. “How can we make her memories return?”

“You’re going to want to make her life as stress-free as possible,” Dr. Benson stated simply. “Right now she’s floating around the time frame when she was about three or so. She’s a happy girl. When I asked about her home life to see what she recalled, she mentioned her dog, Daisy, that the two of you just got married and that you guys were planning a beach vacation.”

Sam’s heart sank. She’d been at the altar with them when they married—that was one thing he’d insisted on. Her dog had been hit by a car when Sam hadn’t fixed the back door and she’d gotten out and darted after a stray cat. And that beach vacation was supposed to have taken place right after she turned four. Everything happy in her memory bank had been tarnished. He’d done that. He’d ruined her childhood.

When pills had overtaken Sam’s life, taking priority over his family, and he’d missed her fourth birthday party, Tara had officially had enough and kicked him out. There had gone the loving beach vacation as a family.

“I’d say with a stable home life and doing what you always did as a family, Marley will have a better chance at regaining her memories. But whatever was going on when she was three will have to be going on now, I’m afraid. Slowly her memory should return, but the mind is so complex, we just don’t know.”

Sam’s thoughts tumbled into each other as he tried to figure out exactly what all of this meant. Dr. Benson had no clue he and Tara were separated, and at the time Marley was three their family hadn’t quite started falling apart yet. So as far as his daughter was concerned, her parents were still happily married and Daisy the faithful dog was alive and well.

Damn it.

Perhaps they could find a new Daisy dog for her. But the marriage? He didn’t want to make things more difficult for Tara. If she was constantly questioned...it would make a bad situation even more uncomfortable. There was no way he would make her life that much more unbearable. From the moment he’d gotten clean and sober, Sam had vowed to do whatever he could to make Tara’s and Marley’s lives better...even if that meant he wasn’t living under the same roof...though that was exactly what he wanted. More than anything.

Tara might have pushed him out of their home, out of the marriage, but that act of tough love had been the exact slap in the face he’d needed to make him seek help. Losing his family, his life, had utterly destroyed him.

Sam had always heard the term rock bottom, and losing everything he held precious had no doubt been his bottom. Through counseling, he realized now that no one could heal him until he actually wanted to be healed. Damn, he’d been so selfish for so long.

Would they all be in this predicament if he hadn’t turned to pills to cope with life? Would his daughter be fine?

He honestly had no reason to think this was his fault, but he needed to place the blame somewhere and his shoulders already carried the brunt of the load of his screwed-up life.

“When can I take her home?” Tara asked, cutting into his wandering thoughts.

I. Not we.

Sam wasn’t about to correct her, not here. But there was no way he’d let either of the ladies he loved go through this without him. He would be the foundation in this family once again and he’d make damn sure Marley got the best care and recovered fully. Clearly, Tara didn’t want him around, but that was too damn bad. Not only did Marley need taking care of, but Tara couldn’t do all of this alone—and she shouldn’t have to.

Above his need to prove to Tara that he was a different man, their little girl and her condition had to come first. Those initial goals after becoming sober were now completely different. Sam hated the thought of telling his innocent daughter what had happened. She was so young. How could she possibly understand what all of this meant? He was thirty-six and could barely wrap his mind around this whole amnesia thing himself.

“We will keep her here overnight,” Dr. Benson told Tara. “One of you can stay with her and she will be dismissed first thing in the morning, provided there are no surprises. I scheduled a repeat CT scan for later tonight to double-check for swelling. I suspect it will be clear, but with children and head traumas, unexpected things pop up and I’m taking precautions.”

“I’ll stay,” Tara stated.

Again, Sam wasn’t going to argue. Besides, Marley would want her mother here. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t make provisions for when they returned home. Already he’d started planning and plotting.

Sam would make sure Marley got her memories restored, then he’d prove to Tara that he’d changed and he was able to provide for his family. Life might have knocked him down, but he was coming back now, stronger than ever.

Chapter Two (#ua6f6e4d5-6fd6-570d-b7a5-65c6e9650752)

“Can I have ice cream?”

Tara stepped inside her two-story cottage, ushering Marley ahead of her. “Let’s shoot for a good breakfast first and getting you settled.”

The hospital had just started coming around with breakfast trays but the second Marley had gotten her discharge papers, they’d been out of there. Tara wanted to make her daughter breakfast at home; at least that would feel like getting some normalcy in this waking nightmare.

Sam came in behind her and closed the door. He carried a bundle of balloons with a bear that Marley’s camp had sent to the hospital. He also held the overnight bag he’d thoughtfully packed and brought to her since she’d been staying all night. The fact he brought her a phone charger, the paperback from her nightstand, a brush, some comfortable clothes...

Part of her warmed at the idea of his trying to care for her. But now he was in her home, what used to be their home. Sam’s affection for her had never been the issue. He could care for her and still not put their lives first. She wasn’t taking him back, would never take that risk again, and now sure as hell wasn’t the time to even think of such things.

Tara couldn’t concentrate on her estranged husband or the mixed emotions she still carried around. She didn’t want to think about how attentive he’d been all evening in the hospital, then showing up early this morning because he didn’t want them to be alone and he’d wanted to speak to the doctor in person.

He’d also insisted on following her and Marley home. He’d pulled her aside and told her he’d talked to his boss and was taking most of the next week off work. They still hadn’t told Marley anything was wrong with her memory. They’d agreed to get her home, get her settled and play things by ear. They didn’t want to worry her more than necessary.

And that’s precisely what Tara needed to focus on—her daughter’s recovery. Because if Tara let her fears and the unknown ending to this diagnosis consume her, she’d collapse into Sam’s arms and cling to the fairy tale that she’d once believed they had.

Falling into her husband’s arms was the last thing she should do. They were over. She’d made that clear when she’d kicked him out the night of Marley’s fourth birthday when he’d come home after missing the party. She could tell he’d been using and that had been the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

She’d wanted to help him. Of course she had; she was his wife. More important, she was a counselor. She’d offered him multiple names to contact, but he hadn’t wanted to help himself, so there was nothing she could’ve said or done. Her family, her marriage couldn’t stay intact if only one person held everything together.

Over the past year since their separation, though, he’d checked himself into rehab in Knoxville, gotten clean and made no bones about the fact he wanted to make up for the man he’d been. He wanted to show her and Marley that he could take care of them. He’d even told her he didn’t blame her for pushing him away, but he wasn’t going to ignore his duties as their provider.

Why did he have to make things so difficult?

Case in point...the unsigned divorce papers. If he’d sign those then maybe she’d feel free, but as things stood now, she wasn’t free and she didn’t want him to think for even a second that she couldn’t manage on her own.

“I went to the store.”

Sam’s words pulled her from her thoughts. He stepped around Tara and picked Marley up; her squeal echoed through the foyer.

And just like that, Tara’s memories flooded through. She had no clue where Marley’s mind was, but Tara couldn’t ignore the rush of emotions that accompanied this entire déjà vu scene.

“Your favorite strawberry ice cream is in the freezer and I’m making tacos for dinner, Marmaid.”

He always called her Marmaid for her love of the ocean and mermaids, plus her name. Only Sam called her that...the special bond between father and daughter couldn’t be severed. Unlike Sam and Tara’s marriage.

Tara stood in place, watching Sam’s retreating form, remembering all those times he’d carried Marley around while shopping, at the annual carnival, when she’d fall asleep on the couch and he’d taken her up to bed.