Page 73 of A Montana Fake Marriage

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

No letters in the mail.

No emails.

Not a single missed call or text message.

Sammie’s father had gone quiet.

Granted, she hadn’t reached out to him, either. Part of her blamed him for what had happened between herself and Caleb. He’d wormed his way into her mind and made her second guess the guy who had been her best friend.

But then, she couldn’t exactly blame her father entirely. What kind of friend would allow another person’s comments to destroy a close friendship? She should have known better than to let her father influence her.

Sammie deserved every hardship she suffered now.

She glanced around at Lacey’s modest apartment. Right now, Sammie was living on her couch. Everything she owned was either in suitcases, or in boxes in the complex’s storage building. Sammie didn’t have much. Most of what she owned was stillback at her childhood home. And right about now, she wasn’t interested in retrieving any of it.

With Caleb, she’d developed an appreciation for living simply. There was no need for extravagant things. She didn’t have to buy every pair of shoes she loved. She didn’t need that dress when she had several at home.

But even with Caleb at her side, she’d let her intrusive thoughts win. She’d let the judgment and disappointment her father had for her take root. When was she ever going to free herself from his clutches?

Bridger hurried into the living room, a stuffed dinosaur in his arms. He beamed at Sammie before climbing up onto the couch with her.

She’d only been staying here for a few weeks, and already the kid seemed to have made Sammie his new best friend. He told her the other day that he was five and he’d be six soon. His favorite animal was a T-rex, and his favorite color was green.

“Will you turn on Dino Tales?” he asked, scooting even closer to her.

Sammie stared down at him and once more wondered if things had turned out differently, would she be planning her own family? How many kids did Caleb want?

Bridger looked up at her and scrunched his face. “Sammie,” he moaned. “I want to watch Dino Tales.”

She let out an amused sigh. “I’m pretty sure you’ve seen all of the episodes there are.”

He shrugged.

“Don’t you want to try something different?”

Bridger shook his head. “I want to watch the one with the puppy.”

“The one where the dinosaurs adopt a dog?”

He nodded. “That one.”

Sammie sighed again, shaking her head.

“It’s not as bad as it seems,” Lacey laughed as she exited her bedroom and moved toward the coffee maker. “Occasionally, we get to watch reruns of that show about Australian dogs.” She held up the coffee pot. “You want any?”

“Please,” Sammie murmured, reaching for the remote. She curled her legs beneath her and pointed the device at the television screen. “Dino Tales it is.”

Soon, the smell of fresh coffee filled the apartment. Lacey joined them on the couch, handing Sammie her mug before she got comfortable.

“You hear about your inheritance yet?” Lacey mused, her eyes never leaving the brightly colored cartoons on the screen.

“Nope. And honestly, I’m not even sure I care anymore.”

Lacey shot her a look out of the corner of her eye. “You’re kidding.”

She shook her head. “This whole mess has been a disaster from day one, and for what? So I can get money my mother set aside for me. Money is the cause of all my problems right now, and while I can appreciate that it’s a necessary evil, I’m not so sure the benefits outweigh the stress it’s caused.”

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