Scruffy scurried inside and sat patiently on the kitchen floor. With Will still clutched to her chest, Lin grabbed a plastic bowl from her single cupboard, filled it with water, and placed it on the cracked olive green linoleum. She took two hot dogs out of her minirefrigerator, broke them into small pieces, and placed them on a saucer next to the bowl of water. “This should tide you over for a bit. I’ve got to feed the little guy now.”

Scruffy looked at her with big, round eyes. Lin swore she saw thankfulness in the dog’s brown-eyed gaze.

With her son still clutched in her arms, Lin managed to remove her jacket before loosening the blanket surrounding him. Making the necessary adjustments to her clothing, Lin began to nurse her son. Reclining on the floral-patterned sofa, she relaxed for the first time in a long time. Her son was fed and content. She’d inherited an adorable dog, however temporarily, and she was warm.

For a while, that would do. Someday their lives would be different.

Lin stared at the sleeping infant in her arms. “I promise you, little guy, you’ll have the best life ever.” Then, as an afterthought, she added, “No matter what I have to do.”

Chapter 1

Friday, August 31, 2007

New York University

Will’s deep brown eyes sparkled with excitement, his enthusiasm contagious, as he and Lin left University Hall, a crowded dormitory for freshmen located at Union Square. If all went as planned, Will would reside in New York City for the next four years before moving on to graduate school to study at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, one of the most prestigious veterinary institutions in the country.

“I just hate that you’re so far away from home. And in New York City, no less,” Lin said for the umpteenth time. “With all the remodeling and holiday parties going on at the restaurant, I doubt I’ll be able to make the trip north for Thanksgiving. I don’t want you to spend your holiday alone.”

“Mom, I said I’d come home if I could. And I will. I promise,” Will said. “Besides, I’m a big boy now. I just might like spending some time alone in this big city full of hot chicks.”

Laughing, Lin replied, “I’m sure you would.” She watched her son as they rode the elevator downstairs. Over six feet tall, with thick, raven black hair, Will was the spitting image of his father, or at least her memory of him.

Lin recalled all those years ago when she’d first met his father. She’d fallen head over heels in love while he’d been visiting a friend in Georgia. Briefly, Lin wondered if Will would follow in her footsteps or his father’s. She prayed it wasn’t the latter, though she had to admit she really didn’t know how he’d turned out. But she didn’t want her son to take after a man who denied his son’s existence. Lin knew he was very wealthy, but that didn’t mean he was a good man. Good men took care of their children, acknowledged them.