Just one reason, p.30
Just One Reason,
p.30
“You got me a puppy?!” Sam couldn’t stop smiling as the puppy wiggled and licked. “I can’t believe it.”
“It gets even more unbelievable. Mark, go get Tilly,” Lynn said.
Mark went outside and came back a moment later with a crate. “This one’s ours.” Another black puppy, nearly identical to the one in Sam’s arms, burst out as soon as he unlatched the gate.
“Terri picked out the puppy and I picked out the collar,” Lynn said, stepping forward to scratch the head of the puppy in Sam’s arms. “I know how you love rainbows. And I set you up with training classes for him too. That was the plan. Then Terri convinced me that Mark and I needed a puppy too…” She went over to take the other puppy from Mark, kissing its head as she did. “But look at this face—how could I say no? She looked so lonely sitting in the cage after we took her brother. The woman at the shelter said it was a good idea. This way they can have play dates.”
“I’m not sure what’s crazier—you two with a dog or me with a dog.” As Sam watched her parents coo over their puppy, she realized maybe Terri was right. Maybe she needed to change her perception of them. Terri hung back a little, her hands pressed together.
“Do you like him?”
“He’s exactly what I always wanted.” Sam grinned as the puppy tried to hug her with one paw on each shoulder. “Best present ever.”
“Happy birthday.” Terri stepped forward and kissed her cheek.
“I think you’re going to like this too,” Mark said, reaching for the card.
Terri held out her hands to take Sam’s puppy. “I’ll hold him while you read.”
“Do you know about this too?”
Terri shook her head. “This is all your dad. But he’s been acting like he’s got something up his sleeve.”
“He only just told me on the drive over,” Lynn added. “And, trust me, I tried everything to get it out of him earlier.”
Sam opened the envelope, wondering what surprise her dad would come up with. He wasn’t one for presents. Then again neither was her mom. Every year for as long as she could remember they’d either taken her to a store so she could pick something out or given her cash.
A slip of paper fell on the ground when she opened the card. She reached for it, realized it was a photocopy and quickly scanned the lines highlighted in bright yellow.
“I probably should explain,” Mark said.
“This is a copy of Grandpa’s will?” Sam guessed.
“One of the pages from it. He wrote that letter to you, saying what was in the will with all the restrictions, but then I got to wondering…” Mark waited for Sam to finish reading before he continued. “I decided to read the original will. There’s nothing in there about a husband. Only that you have to be married by the age of thirty-four. Gay marriage wasn’t legal when the will was drawn up so that’s probably why he didn’t specify.”
“But it’s legal now.” Sam finished. “So I could marry anyone I want?”
“And the money would be yours. Of course you wouldn’t have to get married at all. But seeing as how you’re already engaged, all you’d have to do is show Grandpa’s lawyer a marriage certificate.”
Sam read the highlighted sentences again, still doubting it. “You sure about this? There isn’t a different section in the will that contradicts this part?”
“I went over every line.”
Sam sank down on the sofa. She folded the paper and set it on the coffee table by the box the puppy had come in. Her puppy. “My life’s been so much better since I wrote that money off. Maybe I shouldn’t take it.”
“I had a feeling you were going to say that.” Mark sat down next to her. “This isn’t only about you,” he said, picking his words slowly. “It’s about Paul too. My brother wouldn’t want the money going to that church foundation. Neither do I. Think of who you could help instead. Maybe donate some of it to AIDS research. Set up a scholarship for local kids.”
Sam looked over at Terri, searching her face for some hint on how she felt about it all. If she decided to accept it, the money would be her responsibility too. But she already knew Terri would leave this decision to her.
All along she hadn’t believed the promised inheritance would ever be hers. Even as she’d gone through the steps to become a doctor, she didn’t truly believe that one day she’d have forty-one million to show for it. That was partly why she’d been able to walk away from the money. “I want to do right by your brother, Dad. But life’s pretty perfect right now. What if this screws everything up?”
“You won’t screw it up,” Lynn said. “As hardheaded as you are and as much as we don’t often understand you, in the end you make the right decisions.”
Sam looked at Terri again. “What do you think? We’d be together in this.”
“Money won’t change how I feel about you, Sam.”
Sam knew the same was true for her as well. She nodded and then glanced back at her dad. “It’s not a puppy, but that’s some card, Dad.”
“Well, I can’t exactly compete with a puppy.”
Terri and Lynn set both puppies on the ground and they sprang at each other, tails wagging as they fell to wrestling. Everyone was quiet for several minutes, watching the puppies play, and the reality of what she was taking on settled on Sam’s shoulders.
“Where’s your camera, sweetie?” Lynn said. “I want a picture of the two of them playing together.”
“And then we need to talk about names,” Terri added.
“Names?” Sam watched the puppies roll on the ground. “I just found out I’m a dog owner and forty-one million dollars richer. I’m not sure I have the brain space to come up with a name.”
“You’re not forty-one million dollars richer until after the wedding,” Terri said. She winked when Sam looked up at her. “Good thing you already found someone willing to marry you, huh?”
“Good thing.” Sam held out her hand and Terri clasped it. “I love you. Thanks for the best birthday present. And for asking me to marry you.”
“I may have asked, but we both know who belongs to who.”
Sam smiled. “I know I’m all yours.”
Bella Books, Inc.
Women. Books. Even Better Together.
P.O. Box 10543
Tallahassee, FL 32302
Phone: 800-729-4992
www.bellabooks.com
Jaime Clevenger, Just One Reason
