Luke didn’t react to anything Margaret said, surprising Sarah. He gave her a nod to prod her on.

“Yes, you’ve seen me on the phone and the computer. I’m working. Always working. Because I’m not just the name behind Spencer Software, I run Spencer Software. I always have. Sean had a dream but didn’t want to put in the hours and hard work it takes to build a company. So he used me to do it and took all the credit. Without my hard work and technical know-how there wouldn’t be a Spencer Software. “

She pinned Margaret in her gaze. “Everything you said about me wanting more money, always going out and having a good time, spending money we didn’t have, all of it applies to Sean. Not me.”

Margaret sucked in a breath in shock, but Sarah continued. She was going to make Margaret understand if it was the last thing she ever did. “Sean wouldn’t have gotten through his last year of college if it hadn’t been for me. He’d burned out and turned to drinking to cope, which made it even harder for him to get through his classes. He wanted to leave and start the company without finishing his degree. I convinced him he’d be better off with the degree in hand, that it would open doors. I got him through his last year of school. If you’ll remember graduation, you’ll recall I graduated summa cum laude, while Sean didn’t even graduate with honors.”

Margaret’s eyes turned thoughtful. Sarah assumed she was thinking back to graduation, and hopefully, to what her son was like when he attended college.

“He was quite the charmer back then. I never realized he was using me until it was too late and everything was a complete mess. He knew I had talent and he used my abilities and me because he saw an easy mark. A young woman alone and lonely; pay her attention, she’ll eat it up and try to please to get more.” It embarrassed her to remember how she’d been back then.

“Sarah.” Just her name on Luke’s lips conveyed all his sympathy and understanding.

She wasn’t that girl anymore. She stood up for herself now. “Yes, we started the company together, but early on, Sean just couldn’t keep up. He found it a lot easier, and much more fun, to be the salesperson and drum up business. I’m not saying that isn’t worth anything, but without all the work I did to back it up there would be no company today. And when that work made clients come to us and Sean didn’t have to sell so hard to keep the orders coming in, well, he liked to travel and have the time of his life. At first, he made it seem like the trips were for business, and then he just simply took off whenever he wanted. He was spending money like it would never run out, and I was trying to keep the company afloat.” She looked at Margaret with regret. “If you sent Sean money, I can tell you, it didn’t go into the business. He probably spent it on a trip, or . . . something else.”