by Ann Roth
“Broke up. Yep.”
Her friend pulled away from the curb. They’d only been dating a month, and she’d never said anything about loving him, but she was hurt all the same. Samantha gave her a sympathetic look. “Poor you.”
“It’s my fault for jumping into bed with him on the third date. If I’d only waited, I could have saved myself a lot of grief.” Jana sighed and turned onto Kirkdale Road. “Next time, I swear I’ll wait at least six weeks before I let a guy get intimate. If I don’t, feel free to slap me, hard.”
“I’ll stick with a reminder instead. Why don’t you come over for ice cream and cookies Saturday night? We’ll watch TV and gorge ourselves.”
“That’s sweet, but my sister offered to treat me to dinner and a movie. Listen, I don’t want to talk about my messed up love life anymore. I’d rather talk about you.” Jana gave a sly smile. “I hear that things are heating up between you and Adam.”
Understatement of the world.
For the past three mornings, Adam had stopped by after Samantha dropped off William and before he went to work. They sat across the kitchen table, sipping coffee, eating treats, and talking about everything. Adam’s dad, who sounded like a very difficult man. Samantha’s parents, who even during a call last week, had pressured her to contact Jeff and make up with him. William, Adam’s progress with his class and studies, her baking business, and whatever else came up.
But the best part of their time together happened after the snack, when they continued with what they’d started and couldn’t seem to stop. Samantha still wasn’t ready for sex, but with every passing day, she and Adam skated closer to making love. They both knew it was only a matter of time before she invited him into her bed.
She slanted her friend a look. “How did you know about Adam and me?”
“Let’s just say that his 4Runner has been spotted in your driveway more than once.”
“Betty Randall.” Samantha groaned. “I knew I should have knocked on her door and explained.”
Which she couldn’t do when William refused to nap. For a full week now, despite cookies and other attempted bribes, he wouldn’t even lie down. Samantha guessed he’d outgrown his need for an afternoon rest. He was getting bigger every day.
She should have run over to Betty’s yesterday or the day before, during kindergarten. Instead, she’d been with Adam.
“Talking to her would only backfire,” Jana pointed out. “It’s a known fact she likes to be the one in the know.”
“But we’re friends,” Samantha said.
“Even so, no matter what you tell her, you’ll only make things worse.”
“You’re probably right.” Samantha grew pensive. “I wonder who she told.”
“All I know is, she had a hair appointment at Tommie’s Hair and Nails yesterday, with Carol Sue.”
The popular hairstylist happened to be every bit as nosey as Betty. “She may as well have rented a megaphone and shouted out the news to the whole town.” Samantha groaned again. “I moved to Guff’s Lake because I assumed this city was too big for the busybody gossip that thrives in Enterprise.”
They were about two miles from Deb’s now, and Jana braked to a stop for a red light. “Twenty thousand-odd people isn’t exactly a big city.”
“Compared to the five thousand in Enterprise it is.”
“Doesn’t matter. Around here, gossip is the spice of life. Back to Adam. Exactly when did you decide to make time for a man in your life? Because I’m supposed to be your best friend, and I sure didn’t hear about it.”
Samantha had wanted to keep the fact they were seeing each other to herself. “You and I are both so busy,” she said. “I haven’t had time to call you. Besides, this isn’t something Adam and I planned. We just sort of fell into it.”
“From the sparks you two generated at Rosemary’s the day you met, I should have guessed.”
“Not even I could have guessed. I swear, it’s not that big a deal.” Samantha wasn’t about to share what she and Adam did together. “Neither of us wants anything long-term.”
“Who cares if you are or ever will be serious? The point is, right now, Adam Healey is interested in you. Trust me, there are plenty of women in town who’d love to snag his attention, even for a little while. Including yours truly. If I was in your shoes, I’d broadcast the news myself.”
“You don’t have a son who could get hurt.”
Jana looked confused.
“William has seen Adam exactly three times. That day we met him at Rosemary’s, again when we toured the station, and then when Adam came to dinner Saturday night. He—”
“Hold on, there. You invited Adam over for dinner?”
“Actually, William did.”
“Really.” Jana almost sang the word. She sounded way too happy.
Samantha hastened to explain. “It was just a simple meal, a thank you for showing William and me around the station. I didn’t go to any trouble, except to set an extra place at the table.” If you didn’t count that they’d eaten in the dining room or that Samantha had worn the jeans and sweater she knew flattered her. “William hasn’t stopped talking about him since.”
He mentioned Adam at least twice a day. Samantha had begun to think Betty was right—her son needed a father figure. “I don’t want him growing too attached, so when Adam left Saturday night, I told William we wouldn’t be seeing him anymore.”
“Only you are seeing him.”
“But William doesn’t know.” Samantha gnawed the pad of her thumb. “If he found out Adam has been coming over while he’s in kindergarten instead of when he’s home…. I don’t know what he’d think. He’s been rejected once, and I can’t let him suffer through that ever again. Besides, Adam and I don’t have a future together.”
“William would get hurt.” Jana gave a sympathetic nod. “I get that.”
“And now Betty has gone and told people about Adam and me.” She knocked her forehead against the passenger window. Why didn’t I tell him to go away?” Because she hadn’t been able to stop herself. She wanted him that much. “What if William hears something?”
“From who?” Jana pulled into the parking lot and parked in a slot in front of Deb’s Knitting Store. “He’s a little kid. He won’t.”
On the heels of her words, the clouds parted and sunlight burst into the car. Samantha took that as a good omen. Maybe Jana was right.
*
Around the table at the back of Deb’s Knitting Store, hands flew, needles click-clacked and stitches accumulated as Samantha and the four other women in class chatted and worked on their various projects. Except for Deb, the married fifty-something owner of the store, they were all about the same age and all single.
Becca Chambers, owner of Second Hand Rose, glanced at Samantha. “So, you and Adam Healey are a thing now.”
Every woman paused mid-purl and wide-eyed her.
Samantha concentrated on pulling out a row of the sweater that would not end, where she’d somehow dropped a stitch. “We aren’t exactly ‘a thing,’ but we have been seeing each other.”
“Adam Healey. Now there’s a man.” Hallie Sawyer, a freelance writer and a decent knitter, exhaled dreamily over her half-finished pink angora sweater.
Collective sighs filled the air, including Deb’s.
“Samantha doesn’t want anyone to know about the thing with Adam,” Jana said. She didn’t seem at all bothered by Samantha’s “shut it” glare.
Everyone looked confused. “Explain about William,” Jana said.
Advice from her friends could help. Samantha told them about Jeff. She segued to her son’s quick attachment to Adam and finished with exactly what she’d told Jana.
Deb nodded thoughtfully and bent over the cutest baby blanket. “You never know, you just might be the one woman Adam can’t get enough of. And he might the perfect man for you.”
“Wouldn’t that be something?” Becca murmured, shaking her head.
So much for advice.
Samantha wished they’d all stop acting as if she and Adam were an actual couple.
“Don’t talk about Adam and me as if we’re together. We aren’t,” she chided. “And please, if you hear anything to the contrary, set people straight.”
The women promised they would. The talk turned to knitting, and after a moment, Samantha relaxed.
Still, she couldn’t quite shake the feeling that no matter what they said, people would continue to talk.
Chapter Twelve
‡
Friday morning, Adam whistled as he took the porch steps two at a time to Sam’s front door. He’d missed not seeing her the day before, plus he wanted to tell her about his lawyer buddy.
Seconds after he rang the doorbell, she answered.
“Hey,” he said, wiping his feet.
She barely widened the door enough to stick her head out. “I don’t think you should come in.”
The frown tugging at the corners of her mouth puzzled Adam. He squinted at her. “Are you sick?”
“It’s worse than that.” She stepped outside and ran her hand through her hair. After a cautious glance up and down the street, she lowered her voice. “Everyone in town knows you’ve been coming over while William is at kindergarten.”
He scoffed. “I doubt that.”
“The women in my kitting class found out, and guess how? Betty had a hair appointment with Carol Sue.”
Familiar with the hairdresser and her motor mouth, Adam grimaced.
“It’s only a matter of time before William finds out,” Sam said.
He swore. “Your neighbor should keep her nose out of our business. Now, can we go inside?”
“No, and I don’t want you to come over anymore.”
“At all?”
“That’s right. Why give Betty or anyone else more to gossip about?”
Feeling Gobsmacked, Adam shook his head. He enjoyed being with Sam, talking to her and eating her baked goods. Best of all, he liked the sweet sounds she made when he touched her. When he took her sky-high and she let go. They hadn’t had sex yet, but they were getting closer.
He definitely did not want to stop coming around.
He stamped his feet, his boots making a loud thud against the porch’s wood planks. “We need to talk, and it’s too cold to stand out here. If you won’t let me in, let’s go someplace and get a coffee.”
“So that more people see us together? No.”
Okay, then. “You want to sit in my car?”
Sam shook her head and gave a resigned sigh. “You may as well come in.”
After shooting a wary look around for signs of nosey Betty, he entered the house. As always, he shrugged out of his jacket and hung it on the doorknob. He didn’t smell fresh coffee or warming treats. To his disappointment, instead of heading for the kitchen, Sam went straight to the living room.
Adam plunked onto the couch, where he and Sam had fooled around on his last visit. She chose an armchair.
“C’mon, Sam, I promise not to bite.” He patted the cushion beside him.
“All right, but no kissing or touching.” She tucked herself into the corner, as far away from him as possible.
Well, hell. “Even if Betty strolls past the house, she can’t see in here…unless she sneaks into the backyard and the looks through the window.”
He thought Sam might crack a smile. She didn’t.
“She’s too busy to bother today,” she said. “She’s out shopping for presents for her grandchildren for an upcoming trip. At least that’s what she said when I called her last night.”
“Did you tell her to butt out of our business?”
“I explained about William. She hadn’t considered him, and she apologized for saying anything. But it’s too late now.”
“If she’s going out of town…”
“She doesn’t leave for a couple more weeks.”
“We can meet at my place,” he suggested. “No one in my neighborhood cares who I see or what I do.”
“I don’t think so.”
Suddenly, he understood. This wasn’t about William or the nosey neighbor. Sam had lost interest in him. Coming out of the blue this way, it packed a real wallop.
Not about to show his bruised feelings, he used a trick perfected after Marcus had died—schooled his expression into bland indifference. “If you don’t want to see me anymore, just come out and say it.”
“Oh, I’m still interested.” Her expressive eyes, always easy to read, underlined the words.
This was great news. The tension that had put knots in his belly eased. He started to move closer, but she held up her hands, palms up.
“I have to protect my son.”
“What’s to protect? He doesn’t know about us.”
“Not yet, but with people talking, it’s only a matter of time. I don’t want him thinking you’re going to be part of his life.”
There was that. Adam didn’t want to cause the boy pain or let him down. After screwing up so bad with Richard, he didn’t need this on his conscience, too. But he still wanted to see Sam.
He scratched the back of his neck. “What if we explain that we’re good friends and make sure William understands?”
“Is that what we are, Adam? Friends?”
“Well, yeah.” Maybe a little more than that. “Plus, we have great chemistry.”
The look she gave him…. Longing and heat. Oh, yeah, major chemistry.
In that moment, he’d never wanted a woman as much as he wanted Sam. Forgetting her orders to keep his hands to himself, he slid over, cupped her face and kissed her gently. “I don’t want to stop seeing you, Sam.”
“Oh, Adam, me, either. If it weren’t for William….” She gave him a sad smile. “Even if we swear we’re only friends, he’s bound to get his hopes up. In the end, he’ll get hurt. For his sake, we have to stop.”
For several glum minutes, neither of them said a word.
This seemed a good time to change the subject. “I ran into a buddy of mine yesterday, a lawyer named Dwight Cornell. He helped me with my divorce all those years ago, and since then, he’s worked with some of the guys at the station when their marriages fell apart. I mentioned that you need legal advice about your ex. He said to call.” He fished Cornell’s business card from his hip pocket and handed it over.
“Thanks.” Sam set it on the coffee table. “As soon as I save up the money, I’ll contact him.”
“You don’t need any money upfront, not with Dwight. As a friend of mine, you can figure out the payment schedule that works best for you.”
“I’m still paying off debt from the divorce. I don’t need to add more. You’d better go.”
Adam gave a reluctant nod.
They both stood and headed for the door. Seconds later, standing in the entry with his jacket on, he touched her cheek. “Take care, Sam.”
*
After a lousy weekend—Adam missed Sam, and he’d lost at the Friday night poker game—he finally caught a break Monday morning. Dr. Fowler green-lighted him to return to his regular shift.
Adam was elated. Captain Comings had given him the okay to come in at noon, over an hour from now. He thought about stopping by Sam’s and sharing the good news, but they’d agreed he should steer clear.
He stopped at his pop’s with the expected muffin to let him know he wouldn’t be back until Wednesday, waiting until the muffin disappeared. “I’ve been cleared for regular duty, so you won’t see me tomorrow. I’ll stop by with your muffin Wednesday morning.”
“So, it’s back to the salt mines for you.”
His father’s attention never wavered from the Swiffer commercial on the tube, making it clear that he preferred the lame ad to Adam’s company.
Never mind. Once he made lieutenant, Richard would look at him differently—would look at him, period.
“See you, Pop,” Adam muttered.
On the drive to the station, he donned his Bluetooth and dialed Sam. She didn’t want to see him, but they
hadn’t discussed phone calls.
“Adam.” She sounded surprised.
Her voice worked its magic on him, winding its sweetness through his gut and filling him with familiar hunger. God above, he wanted to be with her. “Hey.”
“Hi.”
Then, silence.
He waited for her to say she missed him, that she’d changed her mind and wanted him to hurry over. She didn’t.
He cleared his throat. “Dr. Fowler okayed me to go back to work. I’ll be clocking in at noon.”
“Hooray! You start today?”
“Yep.” His ferocious need and frustration made him terse.
“But your shift begins at eight in the morning.”
“That’s right. I’ll make up the rest of the hours later. Tell William for me. He’ll want to know.”
“I will. Thanks for calling, Adam.”
She acted as if he were a stranger, not the man who’d seen her naked and lost in the throes of passion. Damn.
In a crappy mood, Adam disconnected. As he drove toward the station, he forced his mind to the day ahead. It’d be good to be a part of the crew again. Between work, hanging with the guys, and studying after dinner, he’d have no time to fantasize about Sam.
Chapter Thirteen
‡
On a slow Monday afternoon a week after Adam returned to his regular shift, Rafe clapped him on the shoulder. “Up for a workout?”
They all liked to keep fit and, time permitting, they worked out in the station’s gym.
“Hell, yeah.”
By the time Adam changed into shorts and a T-shirt, Rafe, Daniel, Rob, Ethan, and Owen were already hard at it. Captain Comings, Hank, Max, Tony, Gus, Nate, and Liam had just finished up.
Sweating and grunting and straining, Adam put himself through all the paces and then some. After some two months off, he needed it. Plus, with the required physical test that was part of the promotion process just around the corner, he had to kick his ass back into shape, fast.
When he finished, he felt great, ready for whatever came his way. And plenty did.
Two fires, one in the dead of night. Tuesday morning, seriously sleep-deprived but coping, he drove to Orchard High, his alma mater, to conduct a safety training assembly.