“I say so, and I’m always right.”

“On that note, I’m outta here. I’ll call you when it’s over.”

“Good luck.”

“Oh and I love you too, and I’m very glad you’re okay. Thanks for calling to let me know.”

“It’s just how I roll.”

He was still laughing when she ended the call with a smile on her face.

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

A knock on her office door put Sam right back to work. “Enter.”

Jeannie McBride came in to update Sam on what she’d been working on, but it seemed like she had something else on her mind.

“Everything okay?” Sam asked her.

“Yeah, it’s all good. I’ll see you at the meeting.” Jeannie turned to leave, but stopped in the doorway.

“You may as well tell me why you really came in.”

Wearing a small smile at Sam’s persistence, Jeannie turned back to face Sam. “The trial.”

“Come sit. Shut the door.”

“It’s okay. I know you’re busy. We all are.”

“Come in, shut the door and sit down. That’s an order.” This was said gently and with an affectionate grin for the woman who’d become a close friend after Jeannie’s horrific attack.

Jeannie did as she was told, settling into Sam’s visitor chair. “I had a meeting with Faith and Tom today,” she said of the assistant U.S. attorney and her boss.

“It’s coming up soon,” Sam said.

“First week in January. It’s all I can think about...Having to see him again.” Jeannie shook her head. “I don’t know if I can do it.”

“I have no doubt you can do it, but it won’t be easy. I feel sick when I think about having to face off with him in court, so I can only imagine how you must feel.” Her own confrontation with Mitch Sanborn had resulted in a miscarriage that had broken her heart—and Nick’s. “But the alternative...”

“Is letting him get away with it. That can’t happen.”

“No, it can’t.” Sam got up and went around the desk to sit in the other chair. She reached for Jeannie’s hand. It was icy cold, so Sam held it between both of hers. “You’re the toughest chick I know.”

“Funny,” Jeannie said with a small laugh, “that’s what I say about you.”

“Nah, I’ve got nothing on you. You make the rest of us look like wimps. Look what you endured and survived.”

“Have I survived it? Truly?”

“As horrifying as it was, you didn’t let it ruin your career or your relationship with Michael. You’re back to work. You’re planning a wedding. You’re going on with your life. You’re not letting him win. If that’s not survival, I don’t know what is.”