by Skye Taylor
“Tell me about it.” Meg laughed, then rubbed her belly again. “I’m so looking forward to having girls this time. Even two at once.”
“When are you due?”
“Six weeks, but I’m ready now. I feel like the Goodyear blimp.”
Bree breathed a sigh of relief when Sam appeared, dragging a stick in the sand. The relief was short-lived when he dropped the stick and began running directly toward Will, who was by now thigh-deep in the water. Waves broke around him, ignored, as he reeled in the line, his rod bent hard under the weight of whatever he’d caught.
Bree jumped to her feet, but before she could call out to her son, Will had turned, noticed Sam, and barked a warning. Sam skidded to an immediate halt and watched while Will finished reeling in his catch.
By now Rick and Evan had joined Sam. All three boys plopped down on the damp sand to remove their sneakers and socks. Ben returned to shore and spoke to the boys. They scrambled to their feet and followed Ben up the hard-packed stretch of sand to the pile of fishing gear and a cooler filled with ice just waiting for their catch. Will joined them, a good sized fish wriggling on the end of his line.
Even without being able to hear the conversation, Bree could see the admiration in Sam’s stance. Will removed the hook and dropped his fish into the cooler. While Ben assisted his boys, Will showed Sam how to bait a rod of his own. He pointed at Sam’s feet, and Sam bent to roll up his trousers.
“Stay out of the water,” Bree called out.
“Don’t worry.” Meg reached over to pat Bree’s arm. “Will wouldn’t let anything bad happen.”
“He’ll get his pants wet,” Bree protested.
Meg shrugged. “Boys are always wet. I think it’s a requirement.”
Everything in Bree wanted to argue. The only thing that stopped her was the knowledge that Sam would be upset if she intervened. Wasn’t this exactly the sort of thing she’d been thinking about when she’d had the idea of dating again so there might be a male influence in her son’s life? Maybe it would have been different if Ed had been around to induct Sam into the world of men, but letting Sam be the kind of boy he was meant to be was harder than she’d ever imagined.
She kept her mouth shut when Sam waded out into the waves, first just ankle-deep, then up to his knees. But there was no stopping her heart from racing as the waves began to buffet his thighs. The only thing that allowed her to remain on the quilt with Meg was Will standing directly behind Sam. Will’s long legs and sure footing provided a bulwark between Sam and the danger of being overrun by breaking waves as he guided Sam’s hands on the rod, teaching him how to cast.
Sam’s first efforts only made it about six feet into the surf. Bree could see her son getting frustrated, but Will was patient, and his patience rubbed off. Sam tried again and caught his hook in the fabric of Will’s shirt. Will calmly removed the hook, and they started over. Finally the line sailed out beyond the first line of breaking waves.
By now, Ben and his boys had joined them. Rick had obviously done this before. He had his own rod and was expertly casting the bait well out into the sea. Evan was learning just like Sam, but with less success. It had to be hard being almost three years younger and trying to keep up, but Evan didn’t seem bothered by it. He just seemed happy to be one of the boys.
“This is what Sam’s been missing.” Bree sighed, then realized she’d verbalized the thought.
Meg looked like she was going to say something but didn’t.
“I hope Will doesn’t mind.”
This time Meg did respond. “He’s loving it.”
Suddenly Sam was jumping around. Hopping on first one foot and then the other, excitement in every movement.
Will grabbed for the pole, closing his hands over Sam’s. Then he showed Sam how to reel the line in. The bend in Sam’s pole was small by comparison, but Sam still had to work at it. His effort was rewarded when a slender silvery fish emerged from the water. He whipped around, looking to Will for approval, then turned to hurry toward the quilt where Bree waited.
“Look what I caught, Mom!” He dipped the pole toward her, and the little fish wriggled in front of her nose.
Carefully, Bree took the line between her thumb and forefinger and held the fish away from her face. “Good job, Sam. Your first try, and you got a fish. I’m proud of you.”
“Mr. Cameron helped.” Sam glanced back to where Will stood watching them. “Mr. Cameron’s the best. Right, Mom?” Without waiting for an answer, Sam turned and trotted back to Will.
“Right,” Bree agreed under her breath. But best for whom?
Chapter 10
“SAM ASKED WILL to sit with us at the Blue and Gold Banquet,” Bree told Zoe as they sat talking in Zoe’s living room while the baby nursed.
“You make that sound like a bad thing.” Zoe removed Molly from her breast and laid her against her shoulder, then started patting her back.
“I just feel a little uncomfortable about it. Will is Sam’s den father, but he’s also den father to seven other boys. He shouldn’t be playing favorites.”
“He has to sit somewhere,” Zoe argued reasonably. “And it’s not like he has his own kids. Besides, won’t it be a lot nicer to have someone else at your table that you already know? Relax and enjoy the company.”
“Will gave Sam a ring, too. A silver Cub Scout ring that Sam says was Will’s when he was a Cub Scout. I don’t know what to do about it.”
“What do you mean, what to do about it?” Zoe frowned.
“It’s like an heirloom or something. Shouldn’t he keep it for his own son some day?”
“I’d say that’s up to Will. If he didn’t want Sam to have it, he wouldn’t have given it to him.”
“But—” Bree broke off, remembering the look of pride and happiness in her son’s face when he’d shown her Will’s gift. Sam was learning to care about the man too much. “I’m afraid Sam’s getting too attached.”
“I think it’s a good thing for Sam to have a man take an interest in him. Ed’s been gone a long time, Bree. Almost half Sam’s life. Maybe it’s time he got attached to a strong male role model,” Zoe suggested. “Even if you aren’t ready to get serious with anyone yet.”
“But why Will?”
“Why not Will? He’s a good man. Good with kids. And he’s willing.”
Molly produced the burp her mother was looking for. Meg offered the infant her other breast, then looked up and asked the question again. “Why not Will?”
“Because the more Sam gets attached the more it’s going to hurt when Will marries and starts his own family or just moves on up the food chain with the Highway Patrol and gets stationed somewhere else.”
“Why are you so certain Will’s interest in Sam will end?”
“Why shouldn’t it? There’s no connection between them other than scouts.”
“You’ve lived in Tide’s Way longer than I have, so maybe you’ve already heard this from somewhere, but if you haven’t, let me fill you in. Did you know that Meg never knew who her daddy was?”
Bree shrugged. “I guess I just figured her father was the same as C.J. and Stu’s.”
“Nope. C.J. and Stu’s father was killed shortly after Stu was born. Mary Ellen started drinking and hanging out at that dump of a bar on seventeen. She brought so many men home, I don’t think even Mary Ellen was ever sure who Meg’s biological daddy was. But when Meg was around five or so, Mary Ellen hooked up with a really decent man, a cop from Wilmington. They lived together for three or four years, and Meg totally loved the guy. He was the daddy she never had, and he treated her just as if she was his daughter.”
“What happened to him?” Bree had no idea where Zoe was going with this story, but she couldn’t help being curious.
“Mary Ellen wouldn’t stop drinking, and eventually th
at killed the relationship, and Bobby moved out. But he didn’t abandon Meg. He visited her and took her places every week. When he quit the police force and joined the Marines, even then, he stayed in touch. He called her, sent her cards, and never forgot her birthday. He was there for her graduation, and he gave her away at her wedding, too. So, just because things didn’t work out with Meg’s mother, he was still Meg’s daddy in every way he could be.
“So, even if you and Will are never more than just friends, that doesn’t mean Will would just move on and forget all about Sam. He’s not that kind of guy.”
“I still think Sam should give the ring back.”
“Why, Bree? So Will can get his feelings hurt? And what about Sam? How is he going to feel if you make him give back a ring that obviously means something special to him? Part of the reason it means that much is because he likes and admires the man who gave it to him. Maybe to you it seems like something Will should save for his own son, if he ever has one, but apparently Will felt like it was more important to give it to Sam.”
“I never thought about it like that.”
“Besides, the way I hear it, Will is pretty taken with you, too.” Zoe wagged her finely arched red brows.
“He’s no such thing.”
Zoe grinned. “Why do you think he moved into your apartment building?”
“Because he needed somewhere to move into until he figures out where he’s going next, and there just happened to be a vacant unit for rent upstairs.”
“Beep! Wrong answer. There are lots of better places he could have chosen. Places a lot more convenient for a trooper with a motorcycle and a trailer, not to mention all his toys.”
“His toys?” Bree asked, refusing to think too deeply about the implications of her friend’s suggestion that the only reason Will moved into her building was because he was interested in her.
“His surfboards, his fishing gear, his kiteboarding stuff, his parachutes. Those kinds of toys. He’s big into all that kind of thing.”
The list took Bree’s breath away. All that many more reasons not to get involved with Will. Anyone who jumped out of airplanes was crazy. Will was just as wrong for her as Bob had turned out to be but for totally different reasons.
“Will told Ben about the new apartment right after getting reacquainted with you. Ben kidded him about moving there just because you lived there, and Will didn’t deny it.”
“Because of me?” Bree echoed faintly. A tumult of emotions raced through her. Excitement and dismay were neck and neck, followed closely by alarm. “Surely Will must have a girlfriend. Any guy that sexy can’t be unattached.”
Zoe snickered. “I’m glad to see your senses aren’t completely dead. I have to admit, I was beginning to worry about Bob. About you getting involved with him seriously, I mean.”
“Bob and I are over.”
“Good. He was all wrong for you.”
“He was safe.”
“Safe is overrated,” Zoe retorted.
“You wouldn’t think so if you were me.”
“Molly’s father would have been safe. Safe and rich. But I’m glad I sent him packing. What if I’d taken safe and missed the chance of being married to Jake?”
“That’s different.”
“How different? Are you saying this just because Will is a trooper and carries a gun?”
“He lives a dangerous lifestyle. He’s—he’s—” Bree searched for words to explain her distress. “He’s like this bigger-than-life hero. Just like Ed. I don’t think I could bear that all over again.”
“Life doesn’t come with guarantees, Bree.” Molly let go of Zoe’s nipple with a soft pop, and her head lolled. “You want to hold her?” Zoe asked, offering the sleeping baby to Bree.
Bree took the infant and cradled the bundle of warm baby and blankets in her arms. Molly smiled in her sleep, trusting and adorable.
“Jake could fall off the scaffolding at work,” Zoe said, interrupting Bree’s happy baby thoughts. “He could get trapped fighting a fire. For that matter, he could get run off the road coming home from work. I’d be heartbroken, but I wouldn’t give up loving him or being loved by him just to avoid the possibility of being hurt.”
“But I’ve already been there. I don’t want to go there again. I don’t think I could live through it a second time.”
“Will is not Ed, Bree. For one thing, Will wouldn’t be deployed more than he’s home. He may seem like an overgrown kid some of the time, but deep down, he’s a good man. He’s been hurt before, too. You’re not the only one who’s lived through a broken heart.”
“Oh?” Bree’s curiosity overcame her reluctance to know anything personal about the man she was trying not to care about.
“Will was engaged before. For a couple years, according to Jake, but Linda would never set a date.”
“What happened?”
Zoe shook her head. “Will got home from work one day, and Linda was gone. No note. No explanation. Just his ring sitting in the middle of his dresser. A couple months later Will got an email from a mutual friend who thought Will would want to know that Linda had married an airline pilot and moved to London. If you want to know what I think, I think she must have been cheating on Will even before she left him, and he’s better off without her, except he’s never gotten serious about a woman since.”
“He’s not serious about me, either. He can’t be,” Bree argued. “We barely know each other, and we haven’t even been out on a date.”
The memory of Will leaving scones and a get-well note beside her bed came back to tease her. Followed by the memory of a highly charged moment on the day of the Pinewood Derby races. A moment filled with emotions Bree hadn’t dared to think about too closely. But even Bob had noticed and commented on it, and that had precipitated the end of her involvement with him. Clearly, she’d been leading Will on somehow, but it had to stop. Maybe Bob was right when he called her a tease.
Before they parted an hour later on Zoe’s front porch, Zoe grabbed Bree’s arm. “Don’t rule Will out, Bree. At least give him a chance.”
I’ve taken all the chances I want to take in life. The argument hovered on the tip of Bree’s tongue, but she didn’t say it. “I’ll think about it.”
“Good.” Zoe kissed her on the cheek and added, “At least don’t spoil things for Sam just because you’re afraid to get hurt. He needs a man in his life, and for now at least, that man seems to be Will.”
BECAUSE WILL WAS a den leader, they arrived early for the Blue and Gold Banquet. Bree hung back, feeling out of place as Will joined the other leaders and began setting up tables. Sam and two other Cub Scouts were tasked with unfolding the chairs and setting them around the tables.
“Hi! I’m Katie Mann. You’re with Will Cameron, right?” A slender, dark-haired woman held her hand out. “Come on over and meet the crew. You can help put the tablecloths on.” Katie didn’t wait for Bree’s answer as she turned away.
Bree wasn’t sure how she would have answered anyway. She and Sam had come with Will, but she wasn’t with Will. Not like they were an item or anything.
“Hey, ladies, this is—” Katie broke off and turned to Bree. “Brianna Reagan. Right?”
“Just Bree.” Bree stuck her hand out and had a pile of tablecloths plopped onto it. Then a teenage girl who looked a lot like Katie Mann placed two rolls of crepe paper on the pile.
In less time than Bree would have guessed, the church hall was transformed into a banquet hall with blue and yellow stripes down the center of each table. While the women lit the Sterno cans under the hot dishes and began setting out rolls, salads, and desserts, the men and boys disappeared behind the curtain on the stage at the end of the hall.
Sam had been gleefully secretive about what would be happening once the banquet was over, but as Bree listened to th
e low rumble of men’s voices and the excited chatter of the scouts, she smiled. Considering she’d been instrumental in pulling together Sam’s costume, she was pretty sure what the upcoming skits would be about. It would still be fun to see Sam perform, though.
More scouts began arriving and disappearing behind the curtain while their families began staking out places at the tables. Bree looked for a likely spot for herself, Sam, and Will but didn’t know if they wanted her to save seats or if they’d prefer to choose for themselves. Then Meg and Ben breezed in with their boys.
“You’re here early,” Meg said. She glanced down at her younger son, who was yanking on her jersey. “No, Evan, you can’t go with Rick. Go help Daddy find a table with enough seats for all of us.” Meg patted his butt, and he scurried off. “Sorry. He so wants to be a scout, and he’s feeling left out.”
“Well, I was feeling a little left out too, so I can sympathize. I was helping with the tablecloths, but—”
“And no one introduced themselves?”
“Katie Mann did.”
“Katie’s a busy lady, but she’s really nice. She runs the day care here in town. The place Zoe takes Molly to.”
Before Bree could comment, Sam appeared. “You are going to be so surprised.” Then he made a gesture of zipping his lips. “Where are we sitting?”
“Find Evan, you’ll find our table,” Meg told him.
A moment later they were all jockeying for seats. Bree had planned on having Sam sit between her and Will. But by the time she figured out which seven seats Ben had claimed, the only chair left was between Will and a man she didn’t know.
“Come on. I won’t bite,” Will said as he pulled out her chair for her.
Bree slipped into the proffered chair and settled her purse on the floor by her feet. Will’s arm lingered along the back of the chair as if staking a claim.