The London Paradigm (book 4 of Adopted by the Josephs)

15. Tyler

Samantha was due to come home in a few days. I was beyond excited to see my daughter. I'd missed speaking with her when they went camping. She'd only been able to text when they went somewhere with wifi.

She'd sent pictures when she was in Paris and she looked so happy. She was having a lot of fun and I should have been happier for her. But I still had that nagging sensation that she might not want to come home.

A few times we'd managed to set up a FaceTime call and Rosie had squealed with delight seeing her sister on the computer screen.

"How's Rosie?" Sam asked.

"WoWo!" Rosie said, proudly pointing to herself.

I was getting a few things together for Sam's return home when my phone rang. It was Mark and immediately I was on high alert. Was Sam okay? Had she had an accident? A seizure? A blood sugar issue?

"Hello? Mark? Is everything okay?"

Mark laughed.

"Hi Tyler. Everything is fine. Wonderful. The kids are having a great time. We were wondering if it would be alright for Samantha to stay another week? We have a fair in town and I think she'd really enjoy it."

I was stunned. Did I want to extend Samantha's absence another full week?

"Well, we have some things to get ready before school starts," I said. "And she's got orientation at the high school."

"We can change her flight to the seventh. She'll be back in plenty of time." Mark reasoned.

"Let me talk to Jenna. What does Sam say?"

"I haven't asked her yet. I thought I'd run it by you, first."

"Oh. Um. Well. Let me talk to Jenna and I'll text you in a little while."

"Splendid," Mark said.

"I think it's a great idea," Jenna said, after I told her about Mark's phone call. "It's just a week. She'll love it."

"I don't know. I'm ready for her to come home. I miss her," I said.

"It's a week, Tyler," Jenna said.

But what if it wasn't?