Her Sister's Shoes Read Free

regular basis and he came to as many of his sporting events as he could manage with his busy schedule. He was the best kind of father to Cooper and Sean, and they worshipped him in return. A divorce would devastate them.
    Sam stared at her watch, counting the minutes as they ticked away toward party time. The idea of barging in on the couple in bed, with Bill’s mistress pulling the sheets up to cover her naked body, held no appeal for Sam. But she couldn’t leave until she had a chance to confront the cheating bastard.
    Five minutes later, Bill emerged from the house alone. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Sam leaning against his car.
    “She doesn’t look sick, so I’m guessing she’s not your patient. Should I assume she’s one of your nurses? She appeared skilled in giving you mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.”
    Bill smiled at Sam, the warm smile she imagined he used when delivering bad news to his patients. “She’s actually the widow of one of my patients.”
    Sam stared at him, mouth agape.
    “Is there any chance I can convince you to keep this between the two of us?” he asked, his tone hopeful.
    Sam pushed herself off the car and stood face to face with him. “You’re kidding, right?”
    He held her gaze. “Actually, I’m not.”
    “If you wanted to keep your little love affair a secret, why were you flaunting your glamour girl through the middle of town like a beauty queen in the Fourth of July parade?”
    His shoulders sagged. “I wasn’t thinking.”
    “You were thinking, all right. Just not with the head on your shoulders. Are you going to tell my sister or should I?”
    He slumped back against the car. “I should be the one to tell her. Although I think I should wait until after the party tonight.”
    “That’s awfully big of you, considering it’s her fiftieth birthday and she’s been planning this party for months.”
    “You never have liked me much, have you, Sam?”
    She smacked him on the back. “Don’t take it personally, Bill. Aside from my father and Captain Mack, I’ve never met a man I could trust.”

Two
    Samantha

    B y the time she arrived at the office complex at the hospital, Sam was nearly thirty minutes late to pick up her son. She slid into the closest handicapped-parking place and ran inside. She found Jamie waiting in the lobby, hunched overin his wheelchair, watching a baseball game on ESPN.
    “You’re late,” he said, his eyes glued to the television.
    She bent down to kiss the top of his dark head. “I know, honey. I’m sorry. Something important came up.”
    “Moses wants to see you. He’s waiting for you in his office.”
    Sam glanced at her watch. They were due at Jackie’s in an hour. “Okay. Wait here and I’ll be right back.”
    “Seriously? Like, where else would I go?”
    Sam dashed down the hall to the physical therapist’s office and burst in without knock ing. “I’m so sorry, Moses. I had a family emergency.”
    “Nothing serious, I hope.” He came from behind his desk to greet her. He towered over her as he took her hand in his. Although she’d gotten to know the therapist well over the past six months, Moses’s size always amazed her. Jamie referred to the framed articles on the walls and the trophies lining the shelves as his shrine, a tribute to his time playing tight end for the Georgia Bulldogs.
    Sam let out a deep breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. Revealing family secrets was not in her nature, but Moses had proven his trustworthiness many times. “I caught my brother-in-law Bill in a rather embarrassing situation this afternoon.”
    Moses’s chocolate-brown eyes grew large. “Uncle Bill, the brother-in-law who’s married to the sister with the twins?”
    “Exactly. Cooper and Sean.”
    “That’s too bad,” he said, shaking his head.
    “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but I thought you should have a heads-up about the situation. The last thing Jamie needs right now is more drama, but