Another Chance by Meredith Summers & Meredith Summers

Author:Meredith Summers & Meredith Summers [Dobbs, Annie & Summers, Meredith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Leighann Dobbs Publishing

Chapter Eleven

Stacy arrived at the funeral home half an hour earlier than necessary, hoping for a chance to center herself before the crowds arrived. When she pulled into the lot, she saw her sister’s van parked near the entrance. Brenda and Tommy were in the foyer, doing their best to keep young Sammy occupied.

“Hey,” Stacy said, giving her sister a hug. “How are you holding up?”

“Fine.” Brenda sniffled slightly and gave Stacy a watery smile. “Better once all this is over.”

“Yeah, I know.” She turned to Tommy next. She’d always liked her brother-in-law and gave him a hug before kneeling in front of Sammy. “Hi there, mister.”

The kid looked cute in his tiny suit, smiling and laughing despite the sadness of the day. If only everyone could stay inside such a happy bubble forever. Her heart broke a bit knowing the innocence wouldn’t last. At first he gave Stacy a wary look, not having seen her for quite a while. Then, slowly, his smile returned, showing that adorable dimple in his right cheek, the same as Stacy’s. Still, he clung to his mother’s long black skirt, playing peek-a-boo with Stacy until he was sure she was all right.

“C’mon, Sammy,” Brenda said, running her fingers through his silky blond hair. “You remember your Aunt Stace, right?”

Tommy crouched on the boy’s other side, the resemblance between father and son unmistakable. The loving bond between them was evident, constricting Stacy’s chest. Her father was gone. She’d never felt so isolated.

Sammy peeked out at Stacy again, and she forced herself to smile.

“Can you say hi?” Tommy asked him.

Sammy nodded then stepped out from behind Brenda’s skirt, tentatively holding up his little arms. “Aunt Stace!”

Shocked for a second, Stacy stared wide-eyed at her nephew. Then she scooped him up and twirled him around as he giggled. She’d always wanted children someday, always expected she’d have some. The pull now felt stronger than ever.

Sure, she was still young, but something about holding Sammy close, feeling the fluff of his hair against her cheek, smelling the clean toddler smell of his skin as he cuddled warm and soft against her neck, made her melt. The tightness in her chest eased under his hug, and for the first time since she’d come home, Stacy felt as if her burden of grief and regret had lifted and she could breathe at last.

“Ah-hem.” The funeral director stood at the top of the nearby stairs and cleared his throat. “Sorry to interrupt, folks, but it’s time to get started.”

Stacy put Sammy down and took his hand, following her sister and brother-in-law into the reception room, where her father’s casket rested on a black-satin-covered platform at the front of the room.

Soft instrumental music drifted into the space through the overhead speakers, and pink-tinged lights lined the walls, casting the room in a serene, almost otherworldly glow. The scent of lilies and roses clogged the air, and suddenly the reality of what they were doing slammed into Stacy with the force of a freight train.

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