Fatal Series 00 - Fatal Destiny

shrew.”
    Sam let her have the parting shot. She’d made her point.
    “I’m so sorry you had to deal with that today of all days, Sam,” Shelby said, clearly undone by the whole thing.
    “I’m not sorry, so don’t you be either. It would’ve happened eventually.” Sam turned to Harry. “Go on back to Nick, and please keep her the hell away from him.”
    “I will, Sam. I promise.”
    “Graham,” Sam said when he started to follow Harry. “What I said about Nick having a family of his own…”
    “I understand, honey. We did our best to fill the void, but there’s no substitute for the real thing.”
    “He loves you all very much.”
    “And we know that. We love him just as much.”
    Sam nodded, and Graham left so he could be with Nick.
    “I probably shouldn’t be here either,” Leo said morosely. “I didn’t do much better by him than she did.”
    “You’ve never shaken him down for money or refused to introduce him as your son,” Sam said.
    Leo stared at her, agog. “She did not.”
    “She called him a month or so ago. She’d fallen down some stairs and was in the hospital. He went to her and came home twenty-five thousand dollars poorer. The last time she got married, she refused to introduce him as her son because she didn’t want the guy she was marrying to think she was lying about her age.”
    “ Bitch ,” Leo said. Sam was surprised by his tone. She’d never seen Leo angry before.
    Sam extended her hand to him.
    Hesitantly, he took it.
    “You’ve made an effort to right some of the wrongs. You and Stacy have made him part of your family. You’ve never asked him for anything other than his time and his forgiveness. You have every right to be here.”
    “Thank you, Sam.” He embraced her carefully. “For what it’s worth, I think my son is a very lucky man.”
    “It’s worth an awful lot coming from you.”
    “I’ll see you out there.”
    “I’ll be right along.” When they were alone, Sam turned to her father. “Well, nothing like a little drama to keep things interesting.”
    “I’m so proud of you, baby girl. I sure wish Nick could’ve seen that.”
    “I was just doing for him what he’d do for me.”
    “What was it exactly that you asked of Harry?”
    “When Nick was a kid, she’d promise to come visit and then never show up. He’d wait all day for her only to be disappointed. Then when she would come, he’d be able to smell her perfume on his skin for days afterward. He’d refuse to take a bath until his grandmother made him. To this day, the smell of her perfume sends him off a cliff. It just happened the last time he saw her. Takes him a while to get past it, which is the last thing either of us needs today.”
    “And Harry knows this?”
    Sam nodded. “Nick told him once in a weak moment. He cued me in after Nick saw her in Cleveland. Harry won’t let her get close enough to do that to him again.”
    “It’s amazing Nick came through it all as well as he did.”
    “Isn’t it?” Sam glanced at the clock on the wall. Five minutes to four. Feeling euphoric and victorious and ready to marry the love of her life, Sam looked down at her dad. “Well, my friend, you and I have a wedding to get to.”
    “After you, my love.”

Chapter 12
    As the soloist Shelby had hired sang “At Last,” Sam stood next to her dad’s chair in the back of the church and watched Nick’s brothers, her nephews, nieces and sisters precede her down the aisle. She had yet to allow herself to look at Nick for fear she’d lose her cool if she caught his eye before she was ready.
    “I like the song,” her dad said gruffly. “Perfect.”
    “I thought so too. I’m glad you approve.” Sam bent at the waist to look him in the eye. “And I’m glad you stuck around so you could give me away today, but don’t get any ideas about punching out now that all your girls are happily married.”
    The right side of his face lifted into a smile. “As it happens, I am too.” His Valentine’s Day wedding to his faithful nurse Celia had given them all something to celebrate. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve got plenty to live for, and I know it.”
    Shelby approached them. “Ready?” She handed Sam her bouquet of dark purple orchids.
    “Thank you, Shelby. For everything. I truly couldn’t have gotten through this without you.”
    “My pleasure. You have a very handsome senator waiting anxiously for you.” Shelby gestured to the doorway. “Whenever you’re