“I don’t doubt it.” Sam used a finger to swirl a dollop of whipped cream off the pie and pop it into her mouth. “Sometimes I feel so selfish where he’s concerned.”

Celia lowered herself to the edge of Sam’s bed. “How do mean? You’re here for him every day, despite a demanding, time-consuming job.”

“It would’ve been better…for him anyway…if the shot had been fatal. I can’t imagine how he stands living the way he does, confined to four small rooms and wherever he can go in the van the union bought him. But I wasn’t ready to lose him, Celia. Not then and not now. I thank God every day that bullet didn’t kill him. As much as I hate the way he has to live now, I’m so grateful he’s still here.”

“In his own way, he’s accepted it and come to terms.”

“I wish you could’ve known him.” Sam sighed. “Before.”

“I did,” Celia said with a smile, her pretty face blazing with color and her green eyes dancing with mirth.

“You’ve never told me that! Neither of you ever did!”

“I met him at the Giant, about two years before he was wounded. I helped him pick some tomatoes in the produce aisle, he asked me out for coffee and that was the start of a lovely friendship.”

Sam slipped into detective mode as she narrowed her eyes. “Just friends?”

Laughing, Celia said, “I’ll never tell.”

“You dirty dogs! How did you slide this by me? By everyone?”

“You weren’t looking,” Celia said, her expression smug. “Why do you think I asked to be assigned to his case?”

“You love him,” Sam said, incredulous.

“Very much. In fact, we’ve been talking about maybe…getting married.”

Sam’s mouth fell open. “Seriously? You said he’s been down lately, worried about something. Is this it?”

“It’s one of several things. He’s been terribly upset about what happened to you in the Johnson case and fretting over your safety as well as the promotion he thinks you’ve been due for some time now.”

“I wish he wouldn’t spend so much time worrying about me.”

“Sam,” she said with a smile. “You’re his life. His heart. He loves your sisters and their children very much, but you…”

“I know. I’ve always known that.”

“And you’ve always struggled to live up to it.”

Startled, Sam stared at her. “Been doing a lot more than nursing around here, haven’t you?”

“I hope I haven’t overstepped.”

“Of course you haven’t. You’re already family, Celia. I don’t know what we would’ve done without you the last two years.”

“So you wouldn’t mind too much if I married him?”