Not Since You by Jenna Jared Page A

from Texas?"
                  "Originally, I'm from here. I mean, Rhode Island. Can I—would you like a drink or something?" Carrie invited Samantha in, leading her to the kitchen, where she sat down at the Formica-topped table. The dog followed, plopping down beside the girl, resting her coned head on her sandaled foot in supplication. "Diet Coke? Water? I don't suppose you're old enough for a beer…"
                  "I'll have a Diet Coke, please." Samantha smiled and quirked her eyebrows again. "I might as well get right to the point, since I suppose you're wondering why I'm here."
                  Astute child . "A little bit. I'm assuming it's got something to do with Ja—your dad." Carrie handed her a can of soda and sat across from her with a cola of her own. "God, you look so much like your mom." So much so, I could cry.
                  "I know. Everyone tells me that." Samantha shrugged. "Dad said you were Mom's friend too."
                  "He did?" Carrie stopped the soda midway to her mouth. "What did he tell you?"
                  "That you were best friends. Which made me start to wonder…there's something between you and Dad. I mean…" She trailed off and looked away. "This is going to sound awful. But I have to ask." She looked back. "You came here out of nowhere, and ever since, Dad's been acting weird. I mean…he's just…I've never seen him like this."
                  "Weird? Like, how?"
                  "Well, he's humming, for one thing." Samantha took a sip of her Coke.
                  "He doesn't normally hum?" Carrie bit back a laugh.
                  "Not like this." Samantha frowned. "And the day you came over—the day the dog ate your phone. He looked at you and I could see it. He—he loves you. Not only loves, but…he adores you. I swear, if I hadn't been there, he would have jumped your bones in about two seconds."
                  More than astute, Samantha was practically psychic. "Oh. Well…maybe it just looked that way, but—"
                  "But if you were Mom's best friend in high school, and he loves you like that after all this time, even when you show up out of nowhere, then…well…all I can think of is, this is something he's felt for a long time. But he married Mom right out of high school, which kind of makes me think I was the reason they got married in the first place." She picked at the tab of her soda can, studying it as if it held the answers she sought. Plink, plink, plink. "I tried asking him, but he won't talk. So I thought…I was wondering…"
                  Carrie shook her head. She'd promised Zack she wouldn't spill the beans about Samantha's conception, and now that she'd decided to let him back into her life—more or less—there was no way she'd breathe a word of anything to her.
                  Even though she knew exactly how Samantha felt. "I lost my mom when I was eleven, too," she said. "And my dad."
                  The tab on the soda can broke off in the girl's fingers. Plink. "I didn't know that."
                  "It's true." Carrie nodded. "In an accident." She sighed, remembering. "I was so scared, my first day of school here. I felt awkward, you know? Like a freak. An orphan freak who lived with her Nana." Even now, a lump rose in Carrie's throat.
                  Samantha nodded. "People treated me differently."
                  "Exactly. Adults did. They were too nice because they felt bad for you. But kids…"             
                  "They treated you like there was something wrong with you."
                  "And there was. I was different . I didn't have a mom or a dad."
                  "At least I have my dad." Samantha's eyes locked with Carrie's. They were on common ground. "I