Hearts Of Glass #AdultFiction

Chapter 52

Sam spotted Trish leaning against the wall, by the gate he had entered into earlier. He knew from the way that she was watching him alertly, that she was waiting for some kind of signal that she could approach him.

She was his sounding board when he was having a bad time, lending a shoulder to lean on and advice when he wanted it. And even when he didn't want it. Trish was the Jiminy Cricket on Sam's shoulder, always telling him when he had crossed a line. Wait till she hears this news. He tapped the envelope against his hand as he started walking towards her.

Trish met him halfway, her eyebrows raised. "Did you talk to Sarah?"

"No, I talked to my daughter. Here." Sam handed the envelope and the picture to Trish, guiding her over to a chair, "I think you might want to sit down when you read this."

Sam watched as Trish looked at the picture, then at him, her eyes opened wide. "A daughter? Yours?" She managed to gasp.

"Yeah, she's definitely mine. Look at her, she's a combination of both of us!" Sam took the picture and  looked at it. "She's beautiful just like her mother." He said softly.

Trish looked up from the letter she had just read. She said softly, "Her name is Shannon, that's such a pretty name." She looked over at Sam, questioning. "But Sarah doesn't know about this letter. What are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to fly to Buffalo in...." Sam looked at the clock. His heart sank when he saw the time. "Four and a half hours. I'm meeting Shannon at the airport. Then I'll fly to Philadelphia from there.  I'll get a few hours with her, at least. We won't get another chance for a week. I can't wait."

Trish nodded, she was well aware of their busy schedule. "Do you want me to stay here with you while you wait for your flight?" She knew that Sam wouldn't want to leave the airport.

"No, I'll walk you out, I have to go get my plane tickets." Sam took her hand to help her up and she tucked it into the crook of his arm as they walked past the gates towards the exit doors.

"I can't believe that Sarah was pregnant!" Trish said, then she looked sideways at Sam. "She didn't know that when she left, or she would have stayed. You know that, right?"

Sam shook his head, "No, Trish, I don't know that she would have stayed. That whole thing with Gisette....... But I do know that she would have told me if she thought she was pregnant. I don't think she knew it, either. I'm sure it hit her pretty hard."

***

Shannon was waiting at the gate when Sam's plane landed. She was skipping school and was a little nervous about getting caught. Cody had dropped her off at the airport, which was 30 minutes from their town. He promised her that he would stop at Uncle Pete's office and explain where she was. She was more than a little nervous about that part, but she had told Cody to say that she would explain it all to him later, just please don't tell her mom. Shannon knew that Uncle Pete would do as she asked, but she would have to answer to him when Cody brought her home.

She watched the passengers as they disembarked, then she saw Sam walking through the door, and she held her breath at the first sight of her father. He still looked at lot like the pictures, his hair was long and wavy, past his shoulders. He looked like a rock star right down to the brown tinted aviators, the fitted black leather jacket, tight black jeans and motorcycle boots that were his trademark outfit.

Sam covered the distance between them in three long strides, then stopped about two feet away, his eyes swept over her long blond hair and he felt the ache flare in his chest. He shook the hand that she offered awkwardly, then held it between both of his.