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Her niece’s shoulders visibly relaxed "Good, because I like Sareat"

Sunshine left the hospital shortly afterward and headed to her studio, eager to get back to her latest project Often, when she returned from a business trip or a few days away, her head would sith ideas She could barely wait to get to the studio and get a paintbrush in her hand Not so this day Once in her studio she found she couldn’t paint This hat Ellie did to her She’d allowed her sister to steal her joy So many times over the years, Sunshine had wished for a better relationship with Ellie It hurt that they couldn’t be sisters, couldn’t be friends

After an hour of fussing around her work area, Sunshine drove hoitated, she cleaned her house and scrubbed the stovetop until she wore a hole through her rubber gloves Then she set to work in her yard, clearing the flower beds despite the threat of rain It was necessary to do whatever she could to take her mind off the sadness that ht have had in Ellie This lifelong tug-of-war that had left the if it would ever end

Chapter 11

Sam

Beth’s doctor said he wanted to keep her an additional three days in the hospital With this latest scare, Saht He fully intended to keep seeing Beth She let him know she looked forward to his visits, and the truth was he liked spending tiht with the guys He never uys All his friends were married and they faithfully attended unless it was a faency Usually Sam was the first to arrive and the last to leave

This Thursday was different As always, Saa had gotten easier for her, if she was regaining her strength Worries for her circled his ame He lost his money early, and much to everyone’s surprise made an excuse to leave

"Already?" Alex asked, not bothering to hide his surprise

"What’s the rush?" Charley wanted to know Charley was a high school friend of Rocco’s and had become a friend to Sam, too

Even Rocco looked surprised "It’s not even nine-thirty"

Rather than explain, Sarabbed his jacket and headed for the door He knew even as he pulled away fro to the hospital By the tih, Beth ake The minute he walked into her room, her srabbed hold of his heart Try as he ht, he couldn’t explain his reaction No wo you were going to show," she said and stretched out her ar her hand, Sauilty "You should be resting"

"I couldn’t sleep I just had this feeling you were coot to him in ways that should round, unable to stay away He wasn’t sure where this relationship was going Hadn’t taken time to consider the future, and knew he probably should He didn’t want to think about anything but the present He was living one day at a time with Beth, and while he fully expected this to blow up in his face sometime in the future, he didn’t care He’d deal with it when the tiood day?" he asked, and noticed she no longer needed the oxygen tube to aid with her breathing That was an iet out of here People die in here"

Sam snickered at her joke

"What about you?" she asked "Hoas your day?"

They’d texted back and forth a few ti to you"

She sht and war transferred tomorrow?"

"That’s the word"

He saw the fine lines etched between her eyes in a soft frown "You worried about so to know her well enough that he could tell when so troubled her