Remind Me

by Samantha Chase

  That wasn’t normal, was it? Was he some sort of sociopath that didn’t have any real feelings toward people? Or was it strange how he never developed any kind of attachment to a job or a place? Holy shit, what if something was seriously wrong with him?

  “Earth to Sam!”

  Oh, right. He was in the middle of a conversation. Clearing his throat, he decided to get off the topic of himself and on to another awkward one. “Does it bother you that mom is dating?” he asked his sister.

  She shrugged. “It was a little weird at first, but…I don’t know. This is the happiest I think I’ve ever seen her, and Colton is a really nice guy.”

  Sam couldn’t disagree. “It’s a little annoying how Mom’s got a more active social life than I do.”

  “And whose fault is that?”

  He shook his head and reached for his bottle of water. “This town’s!”

  “Oh, my gosh, are we back to that again? For the love of it, Sam, let it go! You did a lot of stupid things and now you have to prove to everyone that you’ve changed! It’s not a big deal.”

  “Why should I have to?” he argued loudly. “I don’t stand around passing judgement on everyone, why do they get to do it to me?”

  “Not everyone is…”

  “Oh, please,” he interrupted. “Everyone is so damn uptight around here it’s almost painful.”

  “Not true,” Mallory said with a soft sigh. “You are completely over-exaggerating, and you know it.”

  Leaning forward, elbows on the table, Sam smirked. “Mal, you and I both know that no matter where I go, people give me looks.” When she went to comment, he cut her off. “Old Mrs. Whitman at the grocery store? She always shakes her head and gives me a disapproving look when I go in there.”

  “You stayed out all night with her daughter Penny the summer we were seventeen!”

  “She needs to move on! Penny’s married with three kids!” Shaking his head, he continued. “Then there’s Mr. Jenkins at the bank. I do all my personal and business banking there and he still acts like he doesn’t want to touch my money.”

  “I’m sure you’re exaggerating,” she began and then her eyes went wide. “Oh, wait! You dated his daughter that same summer! When Penny was grounded, you took out his daughter! Her name was Jen or Jan or something like that.”

  Groaning, Sam hung his head.

  “So the parents of this town aren’t too fond of you. Some of them have a good reason.”

  “It’s not just the parents. That uptight librarian is always looking at me funny too. Like she peers at me over her glasses like she’s disapproving of something or other.”

  “When do you go to the library?”

  “I don’t!” he cried. “But I take care of the property next to it and whenever she sees me out there, I get the over-the-glasses glare.”

  Mallory studied him for a moment. “Wait. You mean Shelby? You know she’s…”

  “Doesn’t matter.” He shrugged. “I don’t know what her name is. All I know is she’s definitely got some kind of stick up her butt about something.”

  “Sam, Shelby’s our age. Are you sure you didn’t hook up with her and never call her again?”

  “Dammit, Mal, it’s not always that! I’m telling you, the people of this town are the worst!”

  He knew his twin well enough to know she was carefully considering her words and mentally counting to ten before she spoke. After a minute, she looked at him serenely. “While I am sure there are some residents here in Magnolia who aren’t the nicest people, I can’t think of one who has gone out of their way to make a spectacle of themselves like you seem to thrive on doing.”

  “I haven’t in a long time!”

  “A long time? Really? Do you realize you’re the reason there is a “No Public Urination” sign next to the church? Pastor Steve was devastated that he had to put it there!”

  He didn’t mean to snicker, but…it just sort of slipped out. When Mallory shot him a sour look, he instantly sobered. “Yeah, he’s really the worst for sitting and passing judgement and really, he shouldn’t.”

  “Oh, this I’ve got to hear,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

  “As a pastor, isn’t it his job to preach forgiveness and not judging others? Isn’t that biblical or something?”

  The look she gave him said she agreed with him, but he knew she wouldn’t say it out loud.

  “So him and his secretary…”

  “His wife,” Mallory corrected.

  “Whatever. So him and his wife look at me with those pinched expressions like their sucking on lemons or something, and yet he continues to call and ask for estimates on working on the church grounds.” He paused and took a sip of water. “I mean, why? He clearly knows it was me so…is he just trying to bait me into coming to the church so he can yell at me? Condemn me? Pray for me?”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “If you were me, would you go there? Knowing how he felt about you?”

  “For starters, I never would have done what you did.”

  Now it was Sam’s turn to roll his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah…you’re perfect. Can we just pretend for a minute? Put yourself in my shoes?”

  “Sam…” she whined.

  “C’mon, Mal. Humor me.”

  She let out a long breath. “Okay, fine. No. I probably would not go there.”

  Her answer pleased him greatly.

  “However…”

  So close…

  “You could send one of your top guys over to talk to Pastor Steve. You wouldn’t have to do it yourself. It could be a good contract for you and good for the business. As a businessman, can you really afford to turn down jobs just because you’re embarrassed by your previous behavior?”

  And that was the thing with Mallory–she had a way of putting things into perspective that made complete sense and he couldn’t argue with. The work the church needed was fairly extensive. They were going to take down a bunch of trees and create a small park on the church property and wanted Sam to do all the landscaping–including designing the space.

  Apparently, someone had let it be known that Sam had some skills in that department and now they were interested in having him design something custom for them.

  Ugh…why me?

  “I guess I’ll think about it,” he murmured.

  Mallory sat up straighter and smiled. “Excellent!”

  And now he just wanted to move on to another topic. “So what else is going on with you? Anything exciting?”

  “Not really. Wedding plans are at a standstill until we can get the work done here. I’m too afraid to set a date and then risk having the house unfinished.”

  He laughed softly. His sister had a weird obsession with this house–she had ever since they were little kids. It was their great-grandfather’s home and had been in the family for over a hundred years and while it was nice, he never felt the connection to it that Mallory did. With their mother inheriting it and deciding to turn it into a bed and breakfast, there were a ton of changes it was going through, and she still was mildly obsessed with it. “Your fiancé is the contractor for the entire job, Mal. Surely he knows when the house will be done.”

  “You would think,” she muttered and instantly cleared her throat and put a smile back on her face. “Jake and the crew aren’t the problem. Mom is.”

  “What?” he asked with a laugh. “How is that possible? She’s been very hands-on with the whole thing and all she does is talk about the work that’s going on and how happy she is!”

  “Sure, she’s happy, but she also keeps changing things! Half the original plans have been scrapped because she’s come up with a better idea. She’s making Jake crazy and she’s frustrating me because it’s always been my dream to get married in this house. The longer she drags this out, the longer I have to wait!”

  “Maybe that’s her plan,” he teased. “Maybe she’s not really on board with you marrying the boy next door, ever think of that?”

 
Mallory’s eyes went wide and she paled. “Do you…I mean…do you think that could be it? I always thought she was okay with me and Jake and our relationship. There was a time when it was a little awkward, but…

  Instantly, Sam felt bad for teasing her. Reaching out, he placed a reassuring hand on hers. “Mal, relax, I’m just messing with you. Mom adores Jake and we’re all happy for the two of you. Seriously, I was just kidding around.”

  She practically sagged to the floor with relief. “Not funny, Sam!”

  “Come on. It was a little bit funny.”

  She stuck her tongue out at him. “No, it wasn’t. And just for that, I should invite Pastor Steve over for dinner to talk to you tonight!”

  “You wouldn’t dare!” But he saw the twinkle in her eye and knew she was just trying to get even. His sister was many things, but she wasn’t mean and she wasn’t spiteful.

  She was the angel to his devil.

  “You’re right,” she said with a pout, “but I really wish I could!”

  “Nah, you’re too nice.” He took another drink of water. “So what else has mom changed?”

  Standing, Mallory waved him off. “We’ll talk about it tonight over dinner. Be over at seven and bring some wine.”

  If a bottle of wine was all it was going to take to get a free dinner, Sam was completely on board.

  “I think I’m in a rut.”

  “No kidding.”

  Shelby Abbott rested her face in her hands and sighed. “No need to agree so quickly.”

  “Shell, I’m not trying to offend you…”

  “Could’ve fooled me.” Okay, she was being a bit of a drama queen right now, but when your best friend basically agreed with how pathetic your life was, it didn’t quite inspire warm, fuzzy feelings. Tilting her head, she looked over at the one person who knew her better than anyone. “So what do I do, Laney? I am desperate for something…something exciting to happen to me! Something! Anything!”

  It was late Friday afternoon and they were sitting in the break room in the library. Their shifts were over, and they had come back here to collect their things and ended up talking.

  Well, Shelby had started talking and Laney had just sort of sat and quietly listened. Why? Because she was a good friend. The best, actually.

  “If you really want to get out of this rut, you’re going to have to venture out of Magnolia once in a while,” Laney said, her tone wasn’t the least bit condescending and yet she certainly got her point across.

  “And go where? And why? What is so great about other towns that I have to go there to have some fun?”

  Laughing, Laney stood up and walked over to pat Shelby on her shoulder. “You’ve lived here your entire life and you have to ask that question?”

  “Well…yeah.”

  With a sigh of her own, Laney walked around the table until she was facing Shelby. “This town is full of the people we’ve known all our lives. No one ever moves here! It’s the same people, the same faces, the same stories! Gah!” she cried out. “Don’t you want to meet someone new? Someone who doesn’t know you were Miss Mini Magnolia in the second grade? Or how you had the chicken pox in middle school?”

  “Maybe…”

  “No maybes about it! Do you know how big the world is, Shell? Or even…just how big North Carolina is? There is so much to see and do and you never want to go anywhere! Why?”

  Good question.

  “I…I guess I’m just always busy,” she said somewhat lamely. “The library keeps me busy and you know my folks always have something going on that they need help with…”

  “Shell, it’s time for you to start living for you,” Laney said seriously, solemnly. “You need to have a social life. When is the last time you even went on a date?”

  Ugh…she didn’t even want to think about it.

  “I don’t know.”

  Laney placed both her hands on the table and leaned in a little menacingly. “It was four months ago and it was Garrett Blake.” She straightened and shuddered. “He was a dork in high school and he’s still a dork. Why did you go out with him again?”

  Shelby shrugged.

  “Shell…?” Laney prodded.

  “Okay, fine. My parents set us up. They’re friends with Garrett’s folks and they thought we had things in common.”

  “The only thing the two of you had in common is you both live in Magnolia and you’re both boring.”

  “Hey!” Shelby snapped, not even mildly amused.

  “It’s true! I’m not going to sugar coat it for you! You said you’re in a rut, I agreed, and now we’re going to fix it!” Coming around to Shelby’s side of the table, she pulled her to her feet. “We are going out tonight and we’re going to find you someone interesting to go out with!”

  Shelby couldn’t help it, she snorted with disbelief. “Good luck with that. The only guys who ever seem to be attracted to me are boring.”

  “Not where we’re going.”

  Laney took Shelby’s hand in hers and dragged her out of the break room, out of the library, and out to their cars. “Where are we going?”

  Grinning, Laney nudged Shelby toward her car. “You’re going to go home and find something fun to wear–not any of your librarian clothes,” she clarified. “And we are going to take a ride to Wilmington and have dinner and go for a couple of drinks and go dancing. Then we’re…”

  The loud sound of lawn equipment flared to life and blocked out whatever it was Laney was going to say. Shelby looked over her shoulder and sure enough, the landscaping crew was next door cutting their neighbor’s lawn. Part of her wanted to be annoyed, but…Sam Westbrook was the one on the large mower today and…yum.

  Tall, sandy brown hair, stubbled jaw, tanned skin, and oh so many muscles that were currently on display as he walked around in a tight, white t-shirt and a pair of snug, well-worn jeans…yeah, a woman would have to be dead to not look at Sam and think all kinds of naughty thoughts.

  I bet he tastes good too.

  She let out a quiet little hum of approval as Laney stepped in beside her.

  “Ahh…good to know it’s not mutual.”

  Shelby turned her head so quick she felt a sharp pain in her neck. Rubbing at it irritably, she asked, “What are you talking about?”

  “You just said how only boring guys are attracted to you.” She shrugged. “I was beginning to wonder if that was all you were attracted to too.” Then she nodded in Sam’s direction. “I’ve heard Sam Westbrook described in many ways, and boring isn’t one of them.”

  Yeah, Shelby had heard all about him too.

  From just about everyone she knew.

  Frowning, she forced herself to look away. “Yeah, well…it doesn’t matter. I’d never go out with someone like Sam and I greatly doubt I’m his type either, so…”

  Laney slapped her playfully on the shoulder. “Oh, stop. You don’t know that.”

  Walking over to her car, she let out another sigh. “Trust me. I do. Any time I’ve ever been within five feet of Sam, it’s like he sees right through me–like I’m not even there.” She paused and hated how pathetic she sounded. “And why are we even talking about this? Don’t we have plans or something?”

  “We do! Just promise me something.”

  “Sure. What?”

  “No glasses tonight. I know we already covered no librarian clothes, but that goes for the glasses to.”

  Reaching up, Shelby tentatively touched the frames. “You know these are just for show. They’re not prescription or anything. I don’t even need them.”

  “Then why do you wear them?”

  This time her sigh was more of a huff. “We’ve been over this a thousand times; my parents don’t know I got Lasik. They said it was a waste of money.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah…I know, but…your parents aren’t here. I get why you’d wear them when you’re out with them or over at their house, but…why all the time? You’re going to have to tell them eventually.”

  “Oh, please. You kn
ow they’ll give an endless lecture on how I shouldn’t be so concerned about my looks and the importance of being wise with my money! And besides…basically everyone in this town has a big mouth,” she said, frowning more. “You know if anyone we knew came into the library and saw me without my glasses, they’d ask why and then word would get back to my folks and…ugh. It’s just easier this way. But don’t worry, I won’t wear them tonight.”

  “I’m serious, Shell, you are going to have to stand up to them. You can’t keep living like this.”

  “I know, I know. And I will. Someday. Just…not today.” She sighed and glanced one more time in Sam’s direction. He was doing nothing but riding on the large mower and yet…he looked better than any man had a right to.

  If only he’d look at me just once…

  “Earth to Shelby.”

  Quickly, Shelby averted her gaze and muttered an apology. “So, um…yeah. No glasses tonight. No worries.”

  “Okay. Good. So go home and grab a change of clothes and then come to my place and we’ll get ready.” Then she stopped. “On second thought, just come home with me now.”

  “Why?”

  “Because we both know you’re going to bring something I’m going to disagree with and you’ll ending up wearing something of mine anyway.” She shrugged. “This just saves some time and then we’ll have more time for dinner.”

  “I am completely on board with that because I am starving.”

  “You eat like a bird, Shell. Tonight, I’m putting my foot down and you will eat something more than a salad for dinner. You have to get a burger or at least a sandwich.”

  Inwardly, she cringed. “That’s a very messy option and how productive would it be if I have ketchup stains all down the front of me when we hit a bar or club?”

  Laney started to laugh and then nudged Shelby toward her car. “I know you hate eating anything with your hands so I’ll give you a partial pass.”

  “A partial pass?”

  “Uh-huh. No burgers or sandwiches, but you are eating something other than a salad. No arguments.”