Chapter 1

Sami listened to gospel music the whole way home. She loved this music. It put her in the right kind of mood to put up with Cord. Cord had been increasingly hostile with her over the last few months. It was always a cycle. There were times when he was sweet as could be, but then like a blink of an eye he would turn on her and her son. She never understood why he had those moments. He was so sweet and understanding two weeks ago, now he's yelling and cursing at Sami and her son, Giovanni. Sami couldn't help but wonder what mood Cord was going to be in when she walked through the door. Ever since she got a full time position at the local hospital, Cord has been pouting and yelling every day. To tell the truth, Sami did not really want to go home. She wanted to keep driving and never turn around.

Sami drove up to her trailer that she shared with Cord and Giovanni. In the window she saw one of the only joys of her day; her toy dog, Sheena. Sheena wagged her tail and jumped in delight to see her mom finally home. What Sami heard as she exited the car sent chills down her back. Cord was at it again. He was screaming at the top of his lungs about something. She took a deep breath and went in the house.

Sami heard Cord yelling and Giovanni crying. That was strange, Giovanni never cries and when he cries, something is terribly wrong. Sami walked in to Giovanni's room to see Cord standing over Giovanni about to punch him in the face. From the looks of it, this wouldn't be the first time. Something inside Sami snapped. He can do that to her all day long, but to her child? No.

Sami screamed a primal mom scream and punched Cord hard in the kidneys. Cord grunted and went down to his knees. "GO! RUN!" Sami screamed at Giovanni.

Giovanni ran past his dad and out to the neighbors house. Sami growled and kicked at Cord while he was down. Cord reached for her leg and pulled her down to the floor. He reached for her arm as she tried to struggle away. She wasn't strong enough or fast enough to get away. Cord climbed quickly to his knees and started punching her in the face and body. Sami screamed in pain and fear. She prayed for help and no help came. She prayed for him to stop and all went black.

1

Bailey rushed in to the hospital almost out of her mind with worry. She left Alaska for Mississippi almost 12 hours ago after Sami's son called, frightened and battered. He had told her all about that night. The details made Bailey shudder. She didn't know until she saw her friend how bad things were. All she knew was her friend wasn't able to talk and Giovanni wasn't forthcoming with details unless Bailey came home to take care of things.

Bailey rushed into the hospital room where Sami was assigned. Bailey took one look at Sami and fell to her knees. Sami had 90% of her face swollen and bruised. There was a long bandage tracing her jaw line covering stitches. Her ribs were bandaged under her gown and her arm was in a cast. Bailey swore then that if she ever saw Cord again, she would offer him a one-way ticket to the Alaskan wilderness and drop him off with a gun and one bullet. She felt someone touch her shoulder and she jumped. She turned to see Giovanni standing over her. Giovanni had two black eyes and a swollen lip. Bailey climbed to her feet and hugged Giovanni hard.

"Oh, Gio…how is she doing?" Bailey asked Giovanni.

"She's still the same. She hasn't woken up. Dad is in jail, grandma blames mom. This is such a big mess." Giovanni answered.

"Well, Auntie B is here. You can relax. Listen, call your brother and get him to come get you. I will call when she wakes up. Ok?" Bailey suggested.

"Alright" Giovanni sighed. "I am sleepy. I guess brother could come get me."

"Good boy. Now go. I will be here with her." Bailey ordered.

Giovanni walked out of the room to call his brother. An hour later, Sven, Giovanni's older brother came by and picked Giovanni up. Bailey settled in for however long she was needed. She didn't care how long she needed to be there. She was going to take Sami and Gio with her to Alaska come hell or high water.

2

A few days later, Bailey was anxious to talk to her best friend. She had so much to say, so much to catch her up on. She grabbed Sami's hand and in a firm voice said, "Wake the hell up, lady! You need to come home with me. You don't need to rest. You have me. Think of Gio, he misses his mom." Bailey urged Sami.

Bailey sat still watching her friend breath evenly and still nothing. Bailey let out a breath she was holding and let go of Sami's hand, turning back to the couch by the window. "Stubborn bitch." Bailey muttered.

"Who you calling bitch, Bitch?" came a voice from the bed.

Bailey wheeled around and grinned. She fought the urge to run and hug Sami for fear she would hurt her. Instead, she rushed to Sami's side and grabbed her hand.

"You crazy ho! How are you feeling?" Bailey asked excited that her friend was now awake.

"A little sore. Where's Gio?" Sami wondered.

"He's on his way now. He called and wanted to come sit with you so I can get some sleep. You have had enough I am sure, you have been asleep for a week! You have no idea how worried I have been. The girls have called. Oh, Cord is in jail, I think you know that by now. Your mom is packing your stuff under close supervision of your boys. You are moving to Alaska with me. I saved up some money and I am paying for you to come and you can have your stuff shipped. I have you a job already as a transporter at the hospital there. Oh, and a second job coding so you can work from home. I have a friend who has an apartment for you, but it won't be ready for a while. You can stay with me until then. Am I going to fast?" Bailey babbled in excitement.

Sami shook her head in disbelief. She couldn't believe it. In the span of a week, she had two new jobs, a place to stay, and a whole new life. Just like that, it made her head spin and ache. Bailey could always work miracles when it came to helping out someone. And just like that, she heard herself agreeing to Bailey's plans. Denying that woman was like telling a tree it wasn't going to grow. You just couldn't do it. She would hound you to the ends of the earth. The move would be good though. Or would it? She nodded her head in agreement.

"Ok, I'll go. Just shut up, you are hurting my head." Sami complained.

Bailey smiled and laughed. "Same old Sami…night, old lady."

Bailey walked out to give her some privacy. She ran into the boys in the hallway. "Boys, just the two people I wanted to see. Did you get things packed and on the way?"

"Yes ma'am." They said in unison.

"Good, your mom woke up but she wants to nap now. Let's give her an hour and then we will finalize plans to get her out of here and on the way to full recovery." Bailey said with flair.

The boys followed her down the hall with bewildered looks on their faces. This woman was going to change their mom's life. They just knew it.