Chapter Twenty #2
“Yeah. For good luck.” Max cocked his head, perplexed by his dad’s confusion. “You don’t remember?”
“I—I remembered that it was important. That it meant something,” Sam murmured, his glassy gaze fixed on the stone in his hand.
Clenching his fingers around it, he closed his eyes, struggling to compose himself.
When he finally opened his eyes again, they shimmered with tears.
“They never found my wallet, or any form of identification. Only this.” He uncurled his fingers, revealing the sliver of sea glass.
“It was stitched into the watch pocket of my jeans. I had no idea—” His voice warbled, as if overcome by the revelation that he’d possessed a link to his son all this time.
He swallowed, meeting Max’s gaze. “When I woke up in the hospital, I’d lost my memory.
I didn’t remember who I was, where I lived, or anyone in my life. ”
“Oh.” Max’s face fell. “You didn’t remember me?”
Sam shook his head, unable to speak, and Abby’s heart broke for them both. She couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to lose so much of yourself, to not even know what you’d lost. It had to be pure agony.
“I’m so sorry, Max,” Sam croaked.
“But you remember me now?” Max asked hopefully.
“Yeah.” Sam roughly rubbed the corner of his eye with his knuckle. “Yeah, buddy. I do.”
“Good.” Max nodded, satisfied with his answer. “Then you’re all better now.”
Sam smiled sadly. “Not quite. There’s still a lot I don’t remember.
The doctors said my memories could come back all at once or in pieces, little by little.
There’s no way to know for sure. But there is one thing I know for certain.
” He held his son’s gaze. “You’re the most important person in the world to me.
And as long as we’re together, everything will be okay. ”
Max beamed up at his dad, and Abby’s heart mended and broke all at once.
They’d finally witnessed the moment she and Max had prayed for—their miracle. And yet, while God had answered one prayer, He’d denied another. One family reunited meant the other one ripped apart.
How was it possible to be happy and heartbroken all in one breath?
“I don’t understand.” Logan’s voice tore through her conflicted thoughts.
To anyone but her, his tone sounded calm and steady. But she caught the subtle undertone of tamped pain and felt the cold, clammy sweat on his palm pressed against her own.
They’d each lost something that day. Something they’d never get back.
“How did you know to come here, to Blessings Bay?” Logan asked.
“I can only describe it as an act of God,” Sam confessed, addressing the adults for the first time.
“After the coma, the hospital got me connected to a nonprofit that helps people in my situation. They set me up with a loaner vehicle, a place to stay, and a part-time job while I continued therapy and a legal aid worked on my case. They saved my life.” His eyes glistened with gratitude.
“One day on the job, someone mentioned this café he ran across on a day trip with his wife. While he raved about the coffee, I couldn’t get the name of the place out of my head.
It became an obsession. On my next day off, I drove out here, hoping to find out why I couldn’t shake the feeling that it meant something.
While that first visit didn’t spark any memories, something told me to come back.
So, I did. Day after day, praying for a miracle.
Then Abby walked in.” He met her gaze, communicating a world of appreciation in a single glance.
“When you mentioned Max, something clicked inside here.” He tapped his chest, over his heart.
“I didn’t know why or what it meant, but I had the same undeniable gut-level hunch when my co-worker mentioned the café.
That’s why I followed you, why I agreed to stay. ”
Abby reeled at his confession, unsure how to process the role she’d played in their reunion. What if she hadn’t walked into CeCe’s that day? What if she’d never mentioned Max? What would have happened?
“But it wasn’t until you hugged me, Max,” Sam continued, tousling his son’s hair, “that some of my memories came back.”
Max glowed with pride.
Straightening with an assertiveness Abby had never seen before, Sam told them, “God brought me back to my son. And words can’t express how thankful I am to find him so healthy and happy.
” He glanced between Abby, Logan, and Carla.
“I don’t know how to repay you for taking care of Max when I couldn’t. ”
Don’t take him away , Abby’s heart pleaded, but words wouldn’t follow.
“We’re happy to be here for Max,” Carla said on behalf of them all.
“And while I’m inclined to believe the events you described and can understand how such events would alter someone’s appearance as drastically as they have yours, I hope you understand that there’s a necessary protocol to follow.
I’ll need to contact the hospital and the nonprofit.
And I’ll need you to consent to a DNA test.”
“Of course. I’ll do whatever is necessary.” Sam placed a hand on Max’s shoulder. “I just want to be with my son.”
My son…
Not hers. Not Logan’s.
Their family no longer existed.
And she had no idea how to move forward from here.