“Oh, ah…Brooke.” Saying the name brought a twinkle to Sam’s eyes. “Yeah, she’s…special…very special indeed.” Sam could feel her heart begin to race at the thought. Needing to move, she sauntered over toward the lighted Christmas tree.

“Samantha, I know she said that she did all this for your roommate but…” he studied his daughter’s back and pushed on, “I think you must mean a great deal to her for her to make such a long trip.”

Shrugging her shoulders, Sam stuttered out, “I…I don’t know. I mean…she seems to like me.” The twinkling blue lights on the tree caught the blonde’s gaze and suddenly they were not lights but rather Brooke’s blue eyes. Sam stared into the vibrant blue and wished that the tall woman, with the loving eyes, was there to comfort her.

“Were those her children in the truck?” Samuel asked softly as he slowly moved closer to his daughter.

Sam didn’t hear his question. The only thing that her mind seemed to want to concentrate on was the love that she shared with Brooke. Gathering up her courage, she stared into the blue lights, then spoke hesitantly. “Dad…do you really hate me…I mean…for the way I feel?”

Samuel’s face filled with worry. “Baby, I could never hate you. I never have. You’re still my little girl. You always will be. Nothing will ever change that.”

Touched by her father’s love, Sam wiped the tear from her eye. “I was hoping you’d say that, Daddy.”

Parent and child moved closer until Sam felt the warmth of her father’s embrace and wrapped her own arms around his waist.

“You are what you are. God made you that way and I will always love you, Sammi,” he whispered into her ear. “Things are going to be different from now on. You’ll see. I have my baby girl back and I am not letting go this time around.”

Sam basked in the embrace, then, without moving from it, answered her father’s question from earlier. “Dad,” Sam kept her head on his shoulder, “the kids in the car, they’re Brooke’s sister’s kids. They love her.” Sam smirked, “She’s a wonderful aunt.”

“Is that the one who’s pregnant?”

“Ah…No. That one is Terri, her younger sister. The kids are Randi’s, her older sister.

“Oh…” Samuel smiled as he made the connection. “So, tell me a little more about Brooke.”

The young woman stiffened up at first, then slowly pulled back to see her father’s face, zeroing in on his warm friendly gaze. “You know, don’t you?” Sam whispered as she brought her hand up to her mouth.

“I kind of…” he took in a breath, then let it out. “Well, I figured it out,” he smiled favorably at her.

“And you’re not upset?” Startled green eyes grew wider as she thought for a moment, “God, does Mother know?” Sam’s eyes darted out toward the kitchen. “Is that why…”

“No, Baby. I’m not upset.” He followed his daughter’s gaze toward the kitchen and shook his head. “No…I don’t think she’s put it all together.”

“Good,” Sam breathed a sigh of relief. “I don’t think I could take more insults from her. Not after Brooke did all this trying to make me happy.”

Samuel smiled, seeing the concern in his daughter’s eyes. “Does she treat you well?” He cleared his throat. “I mean, is it serious between you two?”

A smile tugged at Sam’s mouth and slowly broadened. “Yeah, Dad, she’s…” Sam paused as she felt the heat of a blush start to rise on her face. “Ah…we’re very serious.” She looked around the room, then back into her father’s eyes, then whispered in disbelief, “She’d have to be to do this for me.”

Seeing the look of love on his daughter’s face, Samuel needed to be reassured that he was right. “Is it like…” he paused searching for the right words to say, “I mean, when you say serious…”

The young woman looked up into his face with a determined look and confirmed his suspicions. “Dad, I love her.”

He slowly nodded, taking great pleasure in Sam’s happiness. “And I’m sure she loves you very much.”

“Who loves who very much?” Elaine stood at the doorway to the room and demanded to know the answer to her poignant question with her arms crossed tightly in front of her chest.

Samuel could feel his daughter’s muscles tense at the sound of his wife’s voice. “We…we were just talking, Darling…about…”

“Why me, of course.” Sarah had been coming down the stairs when she’d heard her mother’s demand. Seeing the startled look on her sister’s face, she could only assume that it was really Brooke that she was telling her father about. Sarah came bounding down the stairs, two at a time now, flashing a heart-warming smile to her sister. “You love me, don’t you, Sam? Because I still love you.” The teen watched as her father’s grip tightened around her sister’s body and the man winked in her direction.

Letting all talk of the present and future go by the wayside, Sam and her father passed the hours by reestablishing the bond that they previously had. They filled their time together with memories of the past and often found themselves calling on Sarah to help them remember little known details of their exploits.

“Sarah,” her father called out. “Sarah, come help us.” Samuel looked over to his eldest daughter and smiled. “She’ll tell you.”

“Yes, Dad?” The teen stuck her head in the doorway to the living room.

“Do you remember the time that we went for that ride up to Pennsylvania?” Samuel tried not to smile.

The girl thought for a few seconds, then spoke up through a beaming smile. “Oh, the time when we stopped at Hershey? Ah man, I remember that place with the Hershey Kisses for street lights and the smell of chocolate everywhere.”

“How about the chocolate colored hedge? Do you remember that?”

Sam looked over to her father with a puzzled look on her face. “Hedges aren’t brown unless they’re dead.”

“Neither of you remember that?” He looked from one daughter to the other, then gave them more of a hint. “Come on girls, it spelled the words “Hershey’s Cocoa” out on that sloping hillside right next to the factory.” He watched their faces go blank as one looked to the other.

“I remember that tour ride through the factory and Sarah meeting the candy characters,” Sam offered. “I bet you still have that photograph of all of us with that big Reese’s Peanut Butter cup at the end of the ride.”

Samuel smiled remembering that time when his family was all together. Lost in his thoughts for only a few seconds, he turned his attention to his youngest when she began to speak.

“What I remember most when I think back on it is…” Sarah paused letting the suspense build, “…is Sam trying to sneak all those cans of chocolate syrup into Mom’s hand basket before she got to the checkout.” The teen giggled as she looked over to her sister.

Sam blushed as she thought about her last use of her favorite syrup and hid behind her hand.

“I bet you still love using that syrup on your desserts, don’t you?” Samuel watched as his daughter’s face deepened its shade of red.

“Well, I have found some other uses for it…” Sam peeked through her fingers to see her mother standing in the doorway, her face drawn tightly into a scowl.

“I should have known you were going to be trouble even back then.” Elaine’s eyes grew narrow as she pushed out a breath through pursed lips. “Sarah, get back into the kitchen.” She waited for the teen to leave before turning her ire on her husband. “If you’d leave well enough alone, Samuel, we’d already have this dinner on the table.” She gave one last glare directed at her eldest daughter. “Dinner is in ten minutes.” She then turned briskly in a huff and stormed off to the kitchen where she took her anger out on the pots and pans.

Samuel gazed at the empty doorway in shock. “I…I don’t know what to say, Sammi. I’m sure she didn’t mean it.”

“Dad, I’ve learned that people usually say what they mean,” Sam looked to her father and sighed.

Sam sat eating quietly at the table, as did everyone else. The simple act of complimenting the hostess had been nothing but a disaster. The young woman ran it over again in her mind. Where could I have gone so wrong? How did a simple…”Gee Mom, the table looks great. You didn’t have to go all out for me.”…make her any more upset with me?

Sam stole a glance in her mother’s direction as she thought about her reply after her father had tried to smooth things over with his own comment. “I do it every year, Samuel. You should know that. You live here, unlike some people.” The blonde pondered the thought before letting her mind ask its own question. Does she think that her lack of acknowledgement or stares will make me go away?

The blonde bit back on her lip before swallowing her last mouthful of food. Even though the food was good, dinner was anything but appetizing for the young woman and early on, Sam had decided that her mother’s cold stares would not affect her.

For a brief moment, Sam locked gazes with her mother, but she refused to look away until the chill from it touched her deep into the bone. Mustering up every ounce of recollection she had, Sam stayed unwavering in the warming thought of the woman who had arranged this day for her. One thought of Brooke could unfreeze a thousand chills that her mother could send her way.

Sam looked over to her father and sister and found the same warming sensations entering her being as she did with the thought of her lover. God, thank you for letting Brooke be the one to show me what real love is all about. And a smile came to her face as she thought about how good it was to be with her father and sister again.

“So, will you stay for dessert?” The question was thrown out without even the courtesy of a salutation, just the deadly cold eyes that looked to Sam’s face telling everyone just who she was talking to.