Sheltered in His Arms

Sam had never tired of listening.

“Cassie is an animal doctor,” Sam told Mariah now, as she hesitated outside the door of the clinic. “She’s the one who gave Muffy to Grandma and Grandpa.”

Muffy hadn’t worked the magic on Mariah that Sam had hoped. The child, having always begged for a dog, had shown no pleasure at finding herself finally living with one.

But then, Muffy was old. And fat.

Sam had been saddened to see such obvious signs of the years he’d lost.

His parents had aged, too, but they still looked great. A little grayer, perhaps, a little more lined, but robust and healthy.

Apparently they walked a couple of miles every morning. And swam every afternoon. They were hoping to take Mariah out to the heated pool in the backyard with them this afternoon.

Sam wasn’t sure he could persuade the little girl to let go of his hand long enough to walk into the next room, let alone outside the house. But he was willing to try. If anyone could reach Mariah, his mother could.

“Look, honey.” He gently guided Mariah’s head in the direction his finger was pointing. “See the plastic fire hydrant? That’s for boy doggies to go to the bathroom.”

Mariah might have been facing the fake hydrant, but he could see that she was still watching him out of the corner of her eye. Sam wished he knew what kind of expression could reassure the frightened child. A big smile? A calm, neutral look? A devil-may-care grin? He had no idea.

The inside of the clinic was as pristine and plush-looking as the outside. Brightly upholstered chairs lined the walls of the waiting room. At the moment, they were all empty.

There was a fancy digital four-foot scale along one wall. Sam supposed it was for animals. He liked the decor, the bright yellows and oranges, the tile floor that would serve for easy cleanup.

With Mariah by his side, Sam walked up to the waist-high solid oak receptionist’s counter.

“Is Cassie in?” he asked, as though he stopped by often. As though he wasn’t asking a question he’d been yearning to ask for the past ten years.

“Dr. Tate?” the college-age girl asked. “Yes, she’s in her office.” She glanced down at the appointment book open in front of her. “Is she expecting you?”

“No,” Sam said, glancing down at Mariah’s head. “I grew up with her here in Shelter Valley. I’m an old friend, just dropping in to say hello.”

“Oh!” The girl’s expression changed from professionally polite to warm and friendly. “You’re visiting?” she asked, rising to her feet.

Again, Sam glanced at Mariah. “Uh, no,” he said. “I’m moving back to town. Just arrived yesterday afternoon.”

“Welcome back, then,” she said. “My name’s Sheila.” She grinned. “I’ve only been in Shelter Valley a couple of years, but I feel like it’s been my town forever. I love it here.”

The town had a way of doing that to people. Unless you were the “savior of the world,” as Cassie had jokingly called Sam. The heir apparent, future mayor and all-around best guy for the job. The man loaded down with everyone else’s expectations.

“Hi, Sheila. I’m Sam. You going to Montford?” he asked, years of Shelter Valley friendliness automatically kicking in.

The girl nodded. “I was, but I got married and just recently had a baby. Now I work here full time.”

Mariah’s little hand was getting sweaty inside his. Releasing it, Sam slid his arm around her shoulders, as he smiled at the receptionist. “She’s in her office, you said?”

“Shall I tell her you’re here?”

“No,” Sam said quickly, and then added, “I’d like to surprise her, if you don’t mind.”

He didn’t want to take the chance that Cassie would refuse to see him.

“Oh. Sure.” Sheila grinned at him again. “You just go through that door, and down the hall. Her office is on the right.”

“Thanks.” Sam led Mariah through the open door. “Is her partner in?” he thought to ask as he passed Shelia. There had been two names on the placard out front.

“Zack?” the girl said. “Not yet. His first appointment today is at eleven.”

Wondering if Zack was her husband as well as her partner, Sam braced his shoulders and strode forward. As a Peace Corps member and then a national disaster-relief volunteer, he’d spent the past ten years rescuing people from sickening, tragic situations.

He could handle a ten-minute meeting with his ex-wife.

CHAPTER THREE

NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES Cassie flipped through the pages of her calendar, there were no upcoming trips written in anywhere. She’d traveled so much over the past eighteen months, launching her nationwide pet therapy program in cities and universities across the United States, that Zack had been left to handle much of their Shelter Valley veterinary practice by himself. Her travel schedule was why she’d invited Zack, who’d been working at a practice in Phoenix, to go into partnership with her in Shelter Valley. His first marriage had just ended, and he’d been eager for a new start. And now, two years later, Cassie’s wedding present to him and Randi was to stay in town a while.

But damn, a trip sure would be nice. Help her put life in perspective again.

“Hey, stranger.”

Planner pages between her fingers, Cassie froze, staring at the month of May. It was coming up in a matter of weeks. She’d be—

“Cassie?”

She hadn’t imagined the voice. There was only one man who said her name in just that way. With that slight emphasis on the second syllable.

Heart pounding, Cassie didn’t know what to do. Sam was really back. After all this time.

She had to look up. To get through this. Making plans for May seemed so much safer.

Thank God, she was in her office. Private. No one was going to see if she messed up.

Except Sam.

He was standing in front of her desk. She could feel him there. She just couldn’t bear to look at him. Couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t make a total idiot of herself and start to cry.

Sam hated it when she cried. Nearly as much as she did.

There was movement over there, close to Sam, but not really where he was standing. It drew Cassie’s eye.

There, with her little hand clasped in a bigger one that could only belong to Cassie’s ex-husband, stood a little girl. A very solemn, beautiful, dark-eyed little girl. She appeared to be part Native American.

“We—” Sam raised the child’s hand “—Mariah and I just got into town last night. I couldn’t be in Shelter Valley without seeing you first thing.”

Oddly enough, Cassie understood that. She didn’t like it, but she understood. She and Sam would never truly be strangers, or casual acquaintances who just had chance meetings on the street.

“You could have called first,” she said, her eyes riveted on the child. His daughter? His daughter?

Pain knifed through Cassie, so sharp she couldn’t breathe. When he’d left her all those years ago, he’d taken from her any hope that she might have children of her own. Taken away any hope of the family and the life she’d wanted. And now he had the nerve to waltz back into town with a child who should have been theirs.