Chapter One

The morning sun was just coming up when Liberty Farraday walked into her son, Sammy’s room to wake him up.  Not only was today a school day, it was also Sammy’s birthday.  Eight years old.  She could hardly believe it.  Eight long years of raising Sam Holt’s son - without Sam.  Of course, when she thought about it, which was more often than she wanted, she had to admit it was her fault she was on her own, because Sam didn’t know Sammy existed.   But it was Sam who walked out on her and didn’t come back.  The way she figured, if he didn’t want her, he wouldn’t want Sammy, either. 

Most of the time, her reasoning worked, but ever now and then, like this morning, watching her son as he slept, and knowing that with each passing day he was growing into the image of the man who’d broken her heart, she doubted her judgement.

Libby frowned, then shook off her sadness.  Today was a day for rejoicing.  Sammy’s eighth birthday and all it entailed.  She glanced at the Star Wars clock hanging over his bed, and leaned down with a smile.

           “Good morning, little man,” Libby whispered, then tickled the back of Sammy’s ear as he began to rouse.  “Happy birthday, Sammy.  Better hurry up and get dressed.  I’m making pancakes this morning and you don’t want to be late for school.”

With the skill only a child can manage, Sammy came awake within seconds, talking before his eyes were even open.                                                                               

“Mama, are you bringing cupcakes to school this afternoon for my birthday?”

Liberty Faraday stifled a sigh.  One more thing to squeeze into an already hectic work day.  But a guy only turns eight one time, and celebrating the day with your school friends was a must in Azalea, Tennessee.

“Absolutely, little man,” Libby said.

Sammy grinned.  Their family consisted of mother and him, which made him the undisputed ‘man of the house’.  He liked it when his Mama called him little man.  And since he was eight years old today, he was getting closer and closer to being a real man.

“Are they gonna be chocolate?” he asked.

Libby grinned.  “Is there any other kind?”

“Mama, you’re funny,” Sammy said, and rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

“Don’t forget to wash your face and brush your teeth,” Libby said, as she laid out the clothes for him to wear to school.

“Okay, Mama,” Sammy said, and so their day began.

Not only did Libby have pancakes waiting at Sammy’s plate when he came to the table, but his birthday present was there, as well.

“Yea!  Can I open it now?” Sammy asked.

“Of course you can,” Libby said, then sat back with a delighted smile on her face and trying not to think of how much her little boy looked like his Daddy.

“Star Wars stuff!  Way to go, Mama!” Sammy said, and gave her a high-five as he tore into the box.  “Cool!  There’s Lando Callrision, Hans Solo, Yoda... oh, oh, look Mama, an Ewok.  They’re funny.”

Libby nodded in all the right places but had no clue as to who the characters were.  Although they owned everyone of the Star Wars DVDs, she had yet to sit all the way through even one of them.   Then she glanced at the clock.

“Oops, better get at those pancakes.  You can play with your Star Wars stuff this evening when you come home from school.”

“All right, Mama.  Boy.  I can’t wait to tell Pete what I got.”

Pete Wyatt was Sammy’s best friend, and his grandmother, Kate Wyatt, was probably Libby’s best friend, although their ages were separated by more than forty years.

A short while later Libby pulled up in front of Robert E. Lee Elementary and handed Sammy his book bag.

“Have a great day, my love,” Libby said.  “I’ll see you later... cupcakes and all.”

“Bye, Mama.  Make pretty bouquets,” he said, referring to her job at Faye’s Floral Fantasies, then waved as he headed toward the main entrance to the school.

Libby gave Sammy a last wave, then paused, watching as his funny swagger and thought again, the older he got, the more he looks like Sam..  Then she bit her lip and looked away.  No need thinking of that man.  He’d walked out of her life even before she’d known Sammy was on the way.  And the breach between them had been so devastating that the idea of calling him later to inform him she was pregnant was impossible. 

It hadn’t been easy being a single mother, and there were times when she felt the guilt of Sammy growing up without a man in his life.  But on the rare occasions when he asked what happened to his father, and why he wasn’t in their lives, Libby always said their Daddy just got lost from them.  So far it had worked, but the older Sammy got, the less he would be satisfied with the answer.   However, life wasn’t perfect.  Sam Holt had taught her that.

Then someone honked and her focus shifted..  She looked up just in time to see Kate Wyatt waving at her as she dropped off her grandsons, Pete and Charlie.   Libby waved back, then as soon as the street was clear, she pulled away from the curb and headed to work.

Libby was a skilled floral designer, which prompted her boss, Faye, to willingly worked around Libby’s schedule so she could be home when Sammy got out of school.  It was the best job in Azalea for a woman in Libby’s situation.  She didn’t make enough money for daycare, but thanks to Faye’s leniency, she made enough for them to get by.  As she paused for a red light, she mentally ticked off the time it would take to get home after work, pick up the cupcakes, then get back to school at the appointed time.  Then the light turned green, she accelerated slowly and was in the middle of the intersection when she heard brakes screeching.   She was vaguely aware of something coming at her from the driver’s side of the car, then everything went black.

                                                                *       *       *

The ambulance pulled up to the emergency entrance of Jackson Memorial Hospital with lights and sirens blaring.  The staff had already been alerted to their imminent arrival and met the EMTs at the door.  The woman on the Gurney was covered in blood and there was a brace on her neck and an IV in her arm.   The paramedics were running as they pushed her into ER.   One of them was calling out her vitals as the other one pumped the bag on her oxygen mask.

“She got T-boned by a semi at the intersection of Elm and Main.  Her BP is 80 over 60.   Her pulse is erratic and thready.   We lost her twice on the way here.  She’s bleeding into her abdomen, got broken ribs and God knows what else.”

“Put her in Two,” a doctor said, while a team of nurses followed behind. 

They transferred the woman onto the bed and then the team took over.

“What’s her name?” the doctor asked as they began to assess.

“Farraday.  It’s Libby Farraday.”

There was a collective gasp.  This woman was unrecognizable as the pretty little thing they all knew who made deliveries from Faye’s flower shop.   But there was no time for shock as they began trying to assess her immediate needs and stabilize her long enough to get her to surgery.

                                                                *       *       *

Sammy knew something was wrong when he was called out of his classroom just after second hour had begun.  When they told him to bring his book bag, he knew he would be leaving, which didn’t make sense.   He didn’t think he was in trouble, but with grown-ups and rules, it was always hard to know. 

He entered the principal’s office, expecting to see his mother and saw Pete’s Grandma Kate, instead.  She’d been crying.  That was when he started to get scared.

“Come here, honey,” Kate said, then wrapped her arms around Sammy and hugged him so tight he couldn’t breathe. 

“What’s wrong?” Sammy asked.  “Where’s Mama and why are you crying?”

“Honey, your Mama had a wreck on her way to work this morning.  I’m going to take you to the hospital.”

“But today is my birthday,” he whispered, as if nothing this awful could possibly happen on his special day.

Everyone in the office had already been in tears, but hearing the fear and the shock in that little boy’s voice was more than they could take.  The secretary excused herself and left the room while the principal blew his nose and then patted Sammy on the back.

“You’re excused to leave, son.  I’m sure your Mother is going to be okay.  When you see her, tell her we said to get well soon.”

He didn’t answer.  He couldn’t.  

Kate Wyatt had already been told how serious Libby’s injuries were.  She prayed all the way to the hospital that Sammy’s mother would still be alive when they got there.  She couldn’t imagine what would happen to this precious little boy if Libby didn’t pull through.  They were all each other had.

                                                                *       *       *

Sammy was too shocked to cry.  Mama didn’t look like Mama anymore.  Her turned-up nose was swollen to twice it’s size and her lips and face had lots of tiny cuts.  They’d told him it was because of all the broken glass from the wreck, but he didn’t want to think about it.  He kept watching all the machines they’d hooked to her and frowning at the needles in her arms. 

“That’s not Mama... is it?” he asked.

“Yes, honey, it’s Mama.  She’s just swollen from the accident.  That will go away as she heals.”

His stomach hurt and the words burned the back of his throat so bad he didn’t think he could say them.  But he had to ask. 

“Is she gonna die?”

Kate wouldn’t lie.  “They’re doing everything they can to make her well,” she said, then stroked the top of his head.

“Can I touch her?”

Dear Jesus, Kate thought.  “You sure can, honey.  And you can talk to her, too.  Just because she looks like she’s asleep doesn’t mean she can’t hear you, okay?”

Sammy walked to the side of the bed, carefully sliding three fingers across the sheet, then worked them beneath her hand.  He kept wishing Mama would wake up and squeeze his fingers back, but she didn’t.  All he could hear were the machines - beeping, beeping, beeping.  

“It’s me, Mama,” he whispered.   “It’s okay you couldn’t bring the cupcakes.  I don’t wanna have a party without you.”

Finally, tears welled and spilled, running down his face in two steady streams.   “Mama.  Please wake up.  You have to get well, okay?”  Then he put his head down on the side of the bed  and sobbed.

He was still sobbing uncontrollably when Kate picked him up and carried him out of Intensive Care.  Once she got him outside into the hallway, she got down on her knees and made him look her in the eyes.

“Sammy!  Sammy!  Listen to me, darling.  You’re not alone.  Pete and Charlie and I are here for you.  And until Mama gets well, you’re going to come stay with us.  You like spending the night with Pete.  It will be like a long sleep-over, okay?”

He was afraid to answer.  Decisions were out of his control.   He just laid his head on her shoulder and held on for dear life.

                                                                *       *       *

Pete Wyatt was a complete opposite to his best friend, Sammy.  Where Sammy was tall and on the thin side for his age, Pete was short and stocky with red hair and green eyes..  Sammy’s hair was straight and black and his eyes were brown. 

Pete had seen Sammy cry before, but he’d usually been bleeding.  He didn’t know what to do about sadness.  He’d never seen anyone cry from being sad before, except once Melissa Stewart in fourth grade had torn her new pants on the playground and he was pretty sure she’d been sad about that when she’d cried all through recess. 

Grandma Kate told him and Charlie that Sammy was sad because his heart was hurt.  Pete wanted to fix Sammy’s heart, but he didn’t know how.  Instead, he pulled a half-dozen tissues from the box, and crawled up onto the bed beside Sammy and patted his shoulder.

“I’m sorry your Mama got hurt,” he said, as he handed him the tissues.   Charlie came in and sat down on the bed, too.  “Yeah, I’m real sorry about your Mama, too.”

Now Sammy was really scared.  Charlie usually picked on them.  Instead of talking, he just rolled over and buried his face in his arms.

Pete sighed.  He didn’t know how to cope with this.  He patted Sammy on the back and then went to find his Grandma.  

Kate was in the kitchen with the phone to her ear as she worked.  Everyone in Azalea knew she and Libby were friends and it hadn’t stopped ringing since the word had spread.   Her back was to the doorway, so she didn’t see her grandson’s arrival.  If she had, she might have chosen to voice her fears to the pastor at a later date.  But she didn’t know he was there, and she let her worries overflow.

“No, Pastor, they don’t have any other family that I know of.  Hmm?  Oh.  Yes, of course, I guess he has a father somewhere.  Libby never talks about him, but if he was dead, I think she would have said so.” 

There was a pause.  Pete knew he should speak up, or at least let Grandma know he was there, but he wanted to know what was happening and knew she’d stop talking if she saw him, so he stepped back into the hallway and continued to listen.   Charlie walked up behind him, started to thump him on the back of the head, when he realized what was happening.  Instead of picking on Pete like he usually did, he stood beside him, a cohort in eavesdropping.

“If she dies...? Lord, Lord, please don’t say that.  I know, the possibility exists.  But it just happened today.  What would happen to Sammy if she did?  I suppose the State would step in.  I would offer to foster him, but I’m already treading on thin ice with my own grandsons.   You know how small this house is, and with my health issues, they’d never give me custody of another child.”

“What’s wrong with Grandma?” Pete whispered.

Charlie sighed, then patted his little brother on the head.  “She just has arthritis.  That’s all.”  He didn’t see any need to let the twerp know that Grandma also took pills for her heart.  He knew because he’d recognized the name of the medicine on her pill bottle as the same one being advertised on a late-night television commercial.

“What’s gonna happen to Sammy if Libby dies?” Pete asked.

Charlie frowned and shushed him as they continued to listen to Kate’s conversation with the preacher.

“It would break my heart if he wound up a ward of the state.   All those news stories about how awful foster care is, and orphanages... well, don’t get me started.”

Pete backed up, swiped the tears off his cheeks, and then turned to his big brother. 

“We hafta do something, Charlie.”

“Like what?” Charlie muttered.

“I don’t know,” Pete said.  “But you’re the oldest.  Figure something out.”

Then he walked away, leaving Charlie alone in the hall with yet another burden on his shoulders besides the ones he already had.

                                                                *       *       *

One week later:

Sammy hadn’t missed a day going to see his mother, although Libby Farraday was still in a coma.  The hospital had bent rules so that the little guy could stop and see her every day after school, rather than wait for proper ICU visiting hours.  He was quiet as a mouse and usually sat in a chair beside her bed without moving.  Once in a while the nurses could hear him talking to her, although they didn’t hear what he was saying.  But for Sammy, his message was always the same.       

“Mama, it’s me, Sammy.  School was okay today.  Our teacher took us outside for Science class.  I found a praying mantis on the side of a tree and saw some ladybugs in the grass.  She said I had sharp eyes.”

As usual, Libby maintained her silence, but Sammy wasn’t finished.

“I ate my vegetables at lunch, even though they weren’t as good as the ones you make.  The ones in the cafeteria never have any salt on them, and they are always too squishy.  You cook the best ones, Mama.  When you wake up, I’ll cook some for you.”

He waited the usual ten second count for an answer that didn’t come, then moved on to the next topic.

“Mama, if you’ll wake up, I’ll tell you a secret.”

His gaze was fixed on her face, looking past the green and purple bruises and scabs on the cuts to her eyes, praying for the lashes to flutter - praying that her lips would move.

Disappointment was an old friend and he’d cried all he cared to cry.  When she didn’t answer, he just sighed and patted her hand.

“It’s okay, Mama.  I’ll tell you anyway.   Pete heard his Grandma talking to the preacher.  If you don’t wake up, they’re gonna make me go live with strangers... some people named Foster, and I don’t wanna leave you.  So, you know how you always told me that Daddy got lost from us?   Well, Charlie has a plan to fix that.  It’s gonna be the best Mother’s Day present ever.  You just have to wake up.” 

A nurse walked up and touched his shoulder.   “Sorry, Sammy, but it’s time for you to go.”

He nodded, then leaned over and whispered.  “Remember what I said, Mama.   The best Mother’s Day present ever.  I promise.  You just have to wake up to get it.”

                                                                *       *       *

Something shifted in Libby’s darkness.  There was a flash of cognizance, reminding her of life, and then it was gone and she fell back into the shadows, unaware that her little boy had come and gone.

                                                                *       *       *

It was Saturday.  Kate was up to her neck with laundry and worn out from the extra work of taking care of Sammy along with his visits to the hospital every day.   So when Charlie offered to take the boys to the park for the day, she was all for it.

“I’ll watch them good, Grandma, I promise,” Charlie said, and held up his duffel bag.  “I’m taking frisbees and the soccer ball and I’ve got us some snacks.”

Kate sighed, thinking there was hope for her fourteen-year old grandson yet.

“I appreciate this, Charlie.”

He grimaced, thinking about the lie he was creating.  “I know, Grandma.”

 Then she pointed at the clock.  “Watch the time.  You boys come on home by three.  It’ll be too hot by then to still be out in the sun.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Charlie said, and then yelled.  “Come on you two or I’m going without you.”

Kate winced from the blast in her ear, but refrained from mentioning his faux pas.   She heard the boys coming and sighed again.  A little peace and quiet would be welcome.

“You boys mind Charlie,” she said, when Pete and Sammy came running through the laundry room on their way out the back door. 

“Yes, ma’am,” they both echoed, and out they went.  

The quiet they left behind was so startling that it took Kate a few minutes to acclimate herself, but she soon fell back into the rhythm of folding and sorting as the washer sloshed and the dryer hummed.

                                                                *       *       *

Three blocks over, Charlie’s  friend, Howard, was waiting.  When he saw the three boys coming up the driveway, he ran out to meet them, then led them into the house the back way and down to the basement where his Dad kept his video equipment.

“You sure this is okay with your folks?” Charlie asked.

Howard shrugged.  “As long as they don’t know it, it is.”  Then he grinned.

Sammy’s eyes widened nervously.  He wasn’t in the habit of breaking rules and defying adults, but he viewed this as an emergency and wasn’t going to rock the boat.

“Did you bring the picture?” Howard asked.

Charlie pulled a frame out of his duffel bag and handed it to Sammy.

“Here, kid.  You’re gonna hold this in front of you like we planned.  Remember?”

Sammy nodded and took the photo, then looked at Pete who gave him a thumbs up.  It should have reassured him, but Pete was always oblivious to the possibilities of discovery until it was too late. 

“You know what you’re doing with this stuff, right?” Charlie asked, as Howard pulled a tripod out into the middle of the floor, then mounted a video camera on it.

“Yeah.  I help Dad do this all the time.  We took a bunch of film at his bowling tournament last month.  I even downloaded the two gutter balls Mr. Waychoff  bowled onto YouTube for him.”

Charlie grinned, thinking of Mr. Waychoff, the banker bowling.  He was really, really tall, and really, really skinny.   Throwing gutter balls was always humiliating, especially for grownups, and especially in their tournaments.   Then he remembered why they were there and gave Sammy a nervous glance.   He knew the dangers of having kids images on the internet.  His Grandma had talked long and hard to him about porn sites and perverts before she’d let him use her computer.  He didn’t think what they were doing was going to put Sammy in any danger, but he wasn’t sure.  Still, he felt sorry for the kid and like Pete, didn’t want to see the little guy placed in some awful foster care place.

“You ready for this, Sammy?”

Sammy nodded as he clutched the 8 x 10 photo of him and his mother.   “Where do I sit?” he asked.

Howard pointed to a straight-back chair he’d pulled from the dining set.  “Sit there, kid and when I say go, you start talking.”

“His name is Sammy,” Pete announced.

“Whatever,” Howard muttered.

Charlie frowned and shook his head at Pete.  They needed Howard’s help, so antagonizing him wasn’t a good idea.

Pete stuck his tongue out at his brother, then gave Sammy a thumbs up.

“Do you remember what you’re going to say?” Charlie prompted.

Sammy nodded.  “I’ve been practicing it in my head for two whole days.”

A phone rang somewhere in the rooms above.   Howard glanced up at the ceiling.  When no one yelled his name.  He breathed a sigh of relief.

“We gotta do this fast,” he said, then pointed at Sammy.  “Ready?”

Sammy nodded again.

Howard punched a button, checked the camera for clarity, upped the volume, then pointed at Sammy and mouthed the word GO.

Sammy took a deep breath, reminded himself this was for Mama, clutched the picture against his chest and started talking.

“My name is Sammy Farraday and I’m eight years old.   My Mama’s name is Liberty Farraday but everyone calls her Libby.   This is a picture of us taken on Valentine’s day this year only Mama’s hair is longer now.  Two weeks ago a truck crashed into my Mama’s car and hurt her really bad and she won’t wake up.  My best friend, Pete, heard grownups talking about making me live in Foster’s care..  I don’t know any people named Foster and I don’t wanna go live with strangers.  I don’t know who my Daddy is, but Mama always told me that he got lost from us and doesn’t know where we are anymore.”

When Sammy’s chin started trembling, Mike’s own eyes welled.  The kid was getting to him.  Hopefully the rest of the nation would pay attention, too.

“So the reason I’m doing this is because I promised my Mama the best Mother’s Day present ever if she would wake up.   Pete’s big brother, Charlie, told me the Internet goes all over the world, and if I was lucky, maybe my Daddy would see this.”

Mike pointed at Sammy.  “Say it now, kid.”

Sammy took another deep breath.  “Daddy, I know you don’t know me, but I’m a good boy.   If you see this, would you please come find us?   I don’t want them to take me away from Mama and give me to the Fosters.   If you came, it would be the best Mother’s Day present ever.  We live in Azalea.  It’s in Tennessee.  If you look on the map, it’s not too far from Nashville.”  His little voice was trembling as he ended.   “I guess that’s all.  Amen.”

Howard stopped the recording.   There was a long moment of silence.  No one moved.  No one spoke.   Then Sammy asked.

“Was that okay, Charlie?”

Charlie cleared his throat before he could answer.  “Yeah, kid.  That was great.”

Sammy beamed, then looked at Howard.  “When are you gonna put my movie on the Internet?”

“Right now,” Howard said, and grabbed the camera off the tripod and hustled over to the computer center in the west corner of the basement. 

The trio watched, unaware that, within days, Sammy Farraday’s plea was going to explode beyond the world wide web to media coverage all over the world.

                                                                *       *       *

Kate Wyatt was putting the last pan of cookies into the oven when her phone rang.  She glanced at the clock, making a mental note that the cookies would be done in plenty of time before she had to go get the boys from school, then wiped her hands before answering.

“Hello?”

“Kate.  It’s me, Myra.  Turn on the television!  Hurry!”

“What on earth?” Kate muttered, as she reached for the remote to turn on the little set she kept in the kitchen.  “What channel?”

“Ten.  Channel Ten.”

Kate hit the number then gasped as Sammy Farraday’s face and voice filled the screen.  She heard all the way from “Daddy I’m a good boy, to I guess that’s all, Amen,” then groaned.  “I didn’t hear the first.  Where did this come from?” she asked.

Myra was a busybody and loved knowing stuff first.  There was a hint of complacence in her voice as she filled Kate in.

“The news man said it was one of those videos that people put on that Internet site... YouTube.  He said it had become the most watched video ever and was getting thousands of hits a day.”

“Who did this?” Kate asked.

“Obviously, Sammy and most likely your two, as well.  He could hardly do this by himself now, could he?”

Kate bit her lip to keep from saying something she might regret later and just hung up in Myra’s ear.  She set the timer on the cookies and then walked the floor until it went off.  Within seconds, she had them off the cookie sheet and onto the cooling rack along with the others, then headed for school.  She knew three boys who were going to get out of school a little early today, but she didn’t think they were going to like the reason why.