Willow Brook Road

by Sherryl Woods

  “So he’s a meddler,” Sam concluded.

  “And a master manipulator,” she confirmed. “Much to my dismay, I’m his current project. I don’t think you need to get tangled up in whatever plans he decides to pursue for me.”

  Amusement danced in Sam’s eyes, but he said very solemnly, “Okay, then. I’ll watch my step if we happen to cross paths.”

  “Oh, you’ll cross paths,” she said with regret. “I predict he’ll have figured out who you are within the hour if he doesn’t know already, and you’ll find him waiting on the doorstep at the paper first thing tomorrow morning.”

  Sam laughed. “Then it’s a good thing I don’t go in till ten. Mack can deal with him.” He held her gaze. “Now, you and I have some business to conclude. Where do we stand on dinner?”

  “The three of us, you, me and Bobby?” she hedged, trying a little manipulation of her own.

  “Nope. A real date, the way it was meant to be, just two people getting to know each other. Friday night. I’ll make arrangements for Bobby.”

  As tempted as she was, Carrie thought it was too soon for Sam to be abandoning Bobby to some anonymous sitter. It was the perfect excuse, so she seized on it. “Sam, you’ve seen the way Bobby keeps you in sight no matter what he’s doing. Maybe after he’s started school and really settled in here, he’ll be ready for you to go out and leave him with a sitter. But now?” She shook her head. “I think it’s a bad idea.”

  He nodded slowly. “So, just to be clear, you’re saying no because of Bobby, not because you’re not interested or because you’ve concluded I’m an irresponsible jerk?”

  She drew in a deep breath and examined her motives, then nodded. “It’s just about Bobby. And, again, I really am sorry about jumping to conclusions about you. You’ve given me reason to revise my first impression.”

  “Okay, then, if we’re past that particular hurdle, how about this? On Friday night the three of us will go out for pizza and two weeks after that, when school’s started and Bobby’s ready to spend some time with a friend, you and I can go on a real date, just the two of us.”

  “You’re only giving him two weeks to adjust?” she said, unable to keep a note of panic out of her voice. She realized that panic had nothing to do with Bobby and everything to do with her.

  Sam apparently saw that, too. “Do you need longer to adjust to the idea of a date with me?” he taunted.

  “Could be,” she conceded honestly. “But I really am thinking about all the changes in Bobby’s life. His adjustment may not happen on some precise timetable. Why don’t we just agree to play it by ear?”

  “Only if you agree that we’ll see each other in the interim doing things Bobby can do, too.”

  Carrie found his determination flattering, but she wasn’t quite ready to give in. In days gone by, playing hard to get would have been part of some strategy, but with Sam? It was panic, no question about it.

  “I’ve already said I’d come to a T-ball game,” she reminded him. “And we’re all going to Gram’s on Saturdays, too. I’ll see you tomorrow when I bring Bobby home.”

  Sam frowned. “Speaking of that, I usually wind up at the office till at least nine or ten at night getting the latest edition up online. You’ll have to bring him to the office.”

  “Where he’ll be bored to tears, hungry and pestering you the whole time?” she objected. “That will be fun for both of you. No. I’ll take him to the inn, see that he gets dinner and hang out till you get there. If he goes to sleep, Jess can keep me company.”

  “That’s too much,” Sam protested. “I don’t expect you to make a career of babysitting him.”

  “But that’s exactly the career I’m thinking of pursuing,” she reminded him. “Consider this part of my professional training.”

  “Then you should get paid.”

  “Not a chance. This is just a friendly gesture. If I do open a day care and Bobby needs a place to come after school at some point, then we can talk about fees and such.”

  Sam didn’t look all that happy about the arrangement. “Are you sure? I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

  “You’re not,” she assured him. “I offered.” For just an instant she had a flashback to all the times she’d said much the same thing to Marc, jumping in to take care of things that weren’t her responsibility and doing it to please him. The difference now, she told herself, was that this pleased her. If it bailed Sam out of a jam, so much the better.

  After studying her as if to assess her sincerity, Sam nodded. “Then I owe you a whole lot more than pizza.”

  “You can give me a lovely quote that I can use in my advertising when the time comes,” she teased. “Or you can design my website and online advertising. If you’re good enough that Mack trusts you with his precious paper, that’ll be great for me. Now I’d better get moving. I have to be up at five.”

  Sam’s gaze narrowed. “What time do you need Bobby to be ready?”

  “Five-thirty,” she said brightly. “Didn’t I mention that? You’ll be able to get a nice, early start on your day, too. In fact, you just might get to the paper in time to cross paths with Grandpa Mick, after all. Isn’t that something fun to look forward to?”

  He groaned. “And just when I was starting to have all these warm and fuzzy thoughts about you, I discover that you have a slightly twisted streak.”

  “That’s only when it comes to the adults in my life. Bobby’s perfectly safe.”

  Sam gave her a long look, his lips curving slightly. “Never doubted that for a minute.”

  * * *

  After sending a still-sleepy Bobby off with Carrie just before dawn, Sam went down to the inn’s kitchen to beg the biggest take-out cup of coffee to be had, then headed to the newspaper office.

  The walk through the quiet streets of Chesapeake Shores with the sun just beginning to streak the sky in the east over the bay with brilliant splashes of pink and orange was surprisingly invigorating. Sam thought it might even be worth getting up at this hour more often, though he doubted he’d do it. He’d been a night person most of his life and it was probably a little late to adjust his body’s clock now.

  As early as it was, he found Mack at the office before him. Mack looked up from his computer screen with shock.

  “I wasn’t expecting you for a few hours.”

  “I was up. I had to get Bobby ready to spend the day with Carrie,” he said, censoring himself quickly to keep from spilling the beans about the day-care volunteer work she was doing.

  “Carrie got Bobby at the crack of dawn? That has to be a first. She’s a night owl.”

  Sam shrugged. “They have plans.”

  Mack regarded him with suspicion. “Carrie and Bobby have plans?”

  “What can I say? It worked out for me, so I didn’t ask a lot of questions.”

  “They’re not getting too attached, are they?” Mack asked.

  Sam frowned. “No idea what you mean.” He held up his coffee cup. “I need a lot more of this before I start delving into motivations. Why don’t you fill me in on the log of stories for this week’s edition? I have some ideas for a home page redesign I want to run by you, something that will make it even more user-friendly.”

  Mack looked as if he wanted to protest, but instead he let the subject drop. “Before I get into that, there is one thing I should probably ask you.”

  “As long as it doesn’t involve deep thought, shoot.”

  “Susie’s been wondering why you haven’t called about looking at houses.”

  “Because I took your advice and decided to spend a lot of time with Bobby helping him to get acclimated. I know we need to get out of the inn and into our own place. I’ll have more time to look once he’s started school.”

  Mack nodded. “She was just worried maybe you’d decided to stay at the inn or maybe even use another Realtor.”

  “No other Realtor. I wouldn’t do that to her,” Sam assured him. “Tell her I’ll be in touch as soon as school star
ts. I really am anxious to see what she’s come up with.”

  “Will do,” Mack said, looking satisfied. He handed over a printout. “These are the news stories for this week. You can see the lead right there on top. There are three features, too. A couple of important meetings are coming up in town after our print deadline, but I want you to get the coverage of those up online as soon as the stories are written. I’ll do those myself.”

  “Photos?”

  Mack turned the computer screen in his direction, made a few clicks on his keypad, and a dozen pictures came up. “I sorted through a lot more and narrowed it down to these. I’ll use some in the print edition, but the joy of the online edition is that you can use all of them, especially the shots that showcase a lot of locals. They eat that up.”

  “Got it,” Sam said. “Everyone ID’d okay? I may not recognize faces just yet.”

  “I think so, but anyone you’re not certain about, ask.”

  “Okay, then. I’m on it.”

  He was about to take his coffee across the room to his own desk when the door opened and Mick O’Brien walked in. So, he thought, Carrie had nailed it. Sam had to turn away to hide a smile.

  Mack made the introductions, then looked at Mick expectantly. “What brings you by at this hour? I hope you’re here to take out a big full-page ad.”

  Mick laughed. “For what? Haven’t you heard? I’m retired.”

  “That’s not what I hear from the guys who work for your company,” Mack responded.

  “Has my nephew been grumbling again about being overworked?” Mick asked without rancor. “Matthew doesn’t know how easy I’ve been on him, on all of them, now that I’ve mellowed out.”

  “So, if you’re not here to advertise something, what does bring you by?” Mack asked.

  “I was hoping to catch Sam if he has a couple of minutes,” Mick said.

  Clearly surprised, Mack looked from Mick to Sam, then chuckled. “Sure thing.”

  Sam headed for his desk, then gestured toward the chair beside it. “Have a seat. I don’t have a lot of time. We’re on deadline today.”

  “This won’t take long,” Mick said, sitting down and taking his time studying Sam. “You know my granddaughter Carrie?”

  “I do,” he said solemnly.

  “Wonderful girl,” Mick said.

  “I don’t know her well, but I’m sure she is.”

  “I saw the two of you together last night. The boy with you, that’s your nephew?”

  “Bobby, yes. I just gained full custody of him after his parents died.”

  Seemingly genuine dismay registered on Mick’s face. “Terrible thing to lose both parents like that. He’s lucky to have you.”

  “I guess we’ll see about that,” Sam said. “But I’m going to try my best.”

  “Can’t ask more than that.”

  “Sir, if there’s nothing else on your mind, I really do need to get to work. Bobby’s with Carrie right now, and I need to get my job done, so I can take over again.” So what if the timeline for that wasn’t as tight as he was implying.

  Mick nodded. “I understand all about work taking priority, but a piece of advice from a man who got his own priorities all out of whack. Family’s what counts.”

  “I’ll take that to heart,” Sam promised.

  Mick held his gaze for a long time, then gave a little nod that Sam couldn’t interpret. He hadn’t known Mick long enough to conclude if the interview had gone well or if he’d failed miserably. He supposed time would tell. Time would also tell if Mick O’Brien’s approval was necessary if Sam was to have any hope of getting any closer to Carrie. Right now that might not matter, but he had a hunch things were heading in that direction a little faster than he’d originally anticipated.

  * * *

  At the day-care center Bobby had shadowed Carrie’s every move until Lucy finally interceded and managed to get him to play a game with several other children. Alicia drew Carrie aside.

  “That’s the boy you were so concerned about last week?” she asked with a nod in Bobby’s direction.

  “Yes,” Carrie confirmed.

  “And now he’s attached himself to you?”

  “I’m the only person he knows here. Sam was in a bind today and Julie said I could bring Bobby with me when I’m here, at least until he starts school.” She frowned at the look of concern on Alicia’s face. “Is there something wrong?”

  “You said he’d lost both parents. Obviously Sam is filling in for his dad these days, but what about you? Are you ready to take the place of his mom?”

  “No, of course not. I’m a friend. Barely even that.”

  “Bobby doesn’t seem to feel that way. He’s looking for replacements, Carrie. Unless you’re ready to step into that role, be careful how you handle things. We both know I’m not an expert, but I can see how attached he is already.”

  “He’s a wonderful little boy,” Carrie said. “I’m just trying to help out in a tough situation.”

  “Best intentions in the world,” Alicia agreed. “But a six-year-old...” She hesitated. “Is that right? He’s six?”

  Carrie nodded.

  “He’s going to gravitate toward the first person who can fill that huge void that’s been left in his life.”

  “I don’t know how to handle this any other way,” Carrie replied, frustrated. “He needs to know there are people who care about him.”

  “Then make sure there are lots of them,” Alicia advised. “Not just you.”

  Carrie could see her point, which meant that the sooner there were more loving adults surrounding Bobby and her role in his life was minimized, the better. It also meant those plans she’d made the night before with Sam should probably be put on hold for now. Creating an ongoing threesome might suggest something completely unintended to a little boy looking desperately for a family.

  She tried telling herself the disappointment that washed over her was all about not spending more time around a bright, inquisitive little boy, but it was the image of his grown-up uncle that she couldn’t seem to get out of her head.

  * * *

  Sam had left word with Jess that she could let Carrie into his suite when she arrived with Bobby. Not that Carrie couldn’t have persuaded her aunt to let her in, but why should she be bothered with the hassle?

  He’d hoped to be able to join them in time for dinner, given the early start he’d gotten in the morning, but one crisis after another with their internet server had made that impossible. At eight, he called Carrie’s cell phone.

  “I’m so sorry. I thought I’d be there by now to have dessert with you or at least to take over, but we seem to be in a holding pattern here.”

  “Not a problem,” Carrie assured him. “Bobby’s had dinner, taken his bath and is watching a video. What’s his bedtime?”

  “I aim for nine, but we sometimes get distracted,” Sam said, thinking of how often that had actually happened. Nine had been a pretty unrealistic goal apparently.

  She laughed. “I’ll make sure we’re not distracted. He should be in that routine by the time school starts, anyway.”

  “You’re right,” Sam said. “Tell him I’ll try to be there in time to read him a story.”

  “He’s already picked out tonight’s book—or five based on the pile he showed me. I’ll fill in, if need be, though I bet you do better voices than I can.”

  “He’s not an especially tough critic,” Sam said. “But I will try to make it. See you in an hour.”

  He actually came close to making it, too. It was 9:45 when he walked into the suite carrying a pizza and a bottle of wine. He regarded Carrie apologetically.

  “He’s already asleep?”

  “Out like a light. He had a big day at the day-care center. He was yawning by the time I got off the phone with you and asleep two pages into his first story.”

  “I don’t know how to thank you. This was way above and beyond.”

  “No thanks necessary. We had fun,” she replied sim
ply. “He really is a great kid.”

  “Well, I won’t start depending on you to fill in,” he promised.

  “Sam, it’s not a big deal. If I have Jackson, he can hang out with us. On the days I’m at the center, I already have Julie’s permission to bring him along. He was great with the other kids today. Everybody loved him.”

  “Okay, then. When I’m in a bind, I’ll check with you,” Sam said. “Now, then, are you hungry? Can you stay for a while and share the pizza and wine?”

  She hesitated for a surprisingly long time.

  “Carrie? What’s going on? It’s pizza and wine, not a lifetime commitment.”

  “It’s something someone at the center said today,” she told him. “They thought Bobby might be getting too attached to me. We already know you’re his lifeline. I can’t be one, too. You and I...well, we hardly even know each other. Bobby’s emotions are pretty precarious right now. We don’t want him to get any ideas about how I’m going to fit into his new world.”

  Sam set down the pizza and wine and crossed the room. He rested his hands on her shoulders and looked into her troubled eyes. “The fact that you care so darned much is proof of how special you are. It’s the reason I’d like to get to know you better.”

  “How am I supposed to trust that?” she asked. “You’re in a difficult situation. I’m able and willing to help out. Don’t you see how tangled up that could get? Add in the possibility that Bobby could get hurt and it’s too big a risk.”

  Sam’s heart sank. “So, you’re not only saying no to pizza and wine tonight, but next week and beyond, is that right?”

  She nodded. “I think that’s for the best. I’ll still come to his T-ball game on Saturday and I’ll be at Gram’s for our cooking lesson, but you should probably make sure he gets to know lots of other people right now, so he doesn’t get overly attached to me or anyone else.”

  “You’ve really thought about this, haven’t you?”

  “Ever since it was brought to my attention that the situation might not be healthy.”

  “For Bobby?” he said, wondering yet again if his nephew was the only one she didn’t want to risk getting hurt.