The Heartbreaker

by Maddie James

  She placed a hand on his forearm. “Sam, now listen. Of course, that’s exactly what I did. I’ve sensed for a while now that you really don’t want to have anything to do with Missy. So, I just fixed it for you. That’s all. What’s a woman friend for if not to rescue her male friends from females with claws? It will all die down in a few days anyway, so there is nothing to worry about. Certainly everyone around here knows how ridiculous it is to think we’re a couple? We’re best friends! But Missy, now, she’ll never get over it. For her to think that you would be interested in the likes of me, well, she just wouldn’t be able to fathom it. She find another fish out there soon enough. In fact, she was looking longingly into Reverend Halcomb’s eyes. We might want to keep an eye out for him. Your troubles are over with as far as she’s concerned, Sam. See, I’ve done you one humongous favor.”

  Lucki knew she was rambling, grasping at straws, and probably not making a lick of sense. But she didn’t care. At the moment it was her only defense mechanism.

  Sam studied her for a moment. “Doesn’t fly, Lucki.”

  Something caught in her throat. “What in heaven are you talking about?”

  “People around here think we’d be a fine couple. I think we’d make a helluva couple. You’re wrong.”

  She refused to allow herself to panic.

  “And, there’s something else that doesn’t add up here.”

  With every additional word he said, Lucki felt a little more nauseous.

  “The performance you put on today may well indeed have been for Missy’s benefit. But I think it was because you wanted to stake your claim on me. In public. I think you want everyone to know that I belong to you.”

  Lucki stepped back and gasped. “Sam Kirk! You don’t belong to me. I was not staking any claim! That is absolutely ludicrous!”

  “I could belong to you if you wanted me too.”

  In disbelief, Lucki simply stared. “You are making no sense.”

  “I want us to be a couple.”

  “You never wanted to be a couple before.”

  “Well, I want to be a couple now.”

  “Oh, yeah, Sam? For how long? You never keep a woman for long. You change women like you change underwear.”

  She watched a grimace settle over his face. “Not this time, Lucki.”

  How could she believe that? She couldn’t.

  “You’re being ridiculous, Sam. Past history dictates. . ”

  “To hell with past history, Lucki. I care for you. Deeply. I’m falling in love with you. I want you.”

  Lucki swallowed. She hadn’t had that said to her in a long time. He wanted her? In what context? And for how long? She had to turn this around.

  “Sam, you’re my friend. My best friend. You don’t want me.”

  “A very good basis to build a relationship on, don’t you think? And how do you know what I want? You won’t take me seriously. I’m serious, Lucki. I want a relationship with you. Beyond friendship. A long-term relationship. Very long-term, I hope.”

  Lucki swallowed. Relationship? Long-term?

  “I think you got into the communion wine. You’re talking out of your head.”

  “I think you want to kiss me again.”

  Immediately, Lucki’s gaze fell to his lips and something zinged up inside her. Quickly, she glanced away.

  “That’s ridiculous. I don’t want to kiss you. I didn’t want to kiss you this morning.”

  “That’s a lie and you know it.”

  “It is not a lie, Sam.” Lucki hated it when she lied.

  “Did you want to kiss me Friday night? In my kitchen? There was no one around then, Lucki. There was no one there for you to perform for. No excuses, Lucki. And you kissed the hell out of me and you know it. You enjoyed every second of it and so did I. You will never convince me otherwise.”

  Slowly bringing her gaze back up to his face, Lucki felt the panic in full force. He was right! Dammit! He was right!

  She had to put a stop to this.

  “Sam.” She braced herself and looked him square in the eyes. “I. . ”

  She couldn’t get the words out.

  “I. . ”

  “Yes?”

  She wished she could wipe that smirk off his face.

  “I. .I still need that date for the picnic.”

  Where that thought came from, Lucki didn’t know and didn’t care. It just popped out of her mouth like it was the thing to say and the topic of their conversation. Thank God sometimes her brain operated in bits and snatches.

  “Where in the hell did that come from?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. I just thought of it. Been on my mind, I guess. I gotta know. Did you find someone for me?”

  “You’re changing the subject.”

  “But since the subject is changed, have you given it any thought?”

  Shaking his head as though in disbelief, Sam took a step back and paced to the left, and then right. After a few seconds, he looked up at her, rubbing his chin.

  “Your date will be at Dairy Queen at two o’clock this afternoon. Be there.”

  With that, Sam walked off and Lucki watched him go.

  She tried to ignore the dangerous feeling deep in the pit of her stomach.

  * * * *

  At one minute after two o’clock Lucki was sitting at the picnic table to the left of the Dairy Queen, her fingers running up and down the sides of a large chocolate milk shake. Chocolate was the thing she needed to calm her nerves, she’d decided. Double chocolate and lots of it. And the kid behind the counter didn’t even balk when she’d said she’d pay extra for a double whammy of chocolate fudge made with chocolate ice cream with chocolate sprinkles mixed throughout.

  Today, she preferred her caffeine in the form of pure, unadulterated chocolate. She had a feeling she was going to need it.

  About fifteen minutes until two she’d suddenly gotten extremely nervous about the person Sam had chosen for her for her date. She’d wracked her brain trying to think of anyone in town who he might have contacted, but came up with no one. So, she’d decided it must be someone from out of town. Maybe someone from Memphis. Was a possibility.

  But what worried her most, was the exchange she and Sam had had that morning outside of the church. Them? A couple? When had he come to that notion and why did it seem to bother her so?

  Certainly, she and Sam were wonderful friends. Best friends. Had been for years. But a couple? As is relationship? As in marriage?

  Geez. .this thing was turning into something she hadn’t expected. And it scared the hell out of her. Yes, she’d admit, she’d been having feelings for Sam. Feelings that she’d always sort of had for him, but just hadn’t really thought about romantically speaking. She guessed a part of that was fear. And a large part of that fear stemmed from the fact that Sam was known to break hearts faster than any guy around. And—

  Lucki wasn’t immune to that, either.

  But, years had passed, hadn’t they? Sam wasn’t a teenager anymore. He’d grown up. So had she? Could it be possible that the could share something?

  Abruptly, the remembrance of her jilted prom date flashed through her. She’d hated that feeling. Hated it with a passion. And just as abruptly, she decided that she never wanted to feel that feeling again. No. Sam Kirk, The Heartbreaker, was better left alone.

  Sam Kirk was not the man for her.

  Sam Kirk was her best friend. Period.

  And that’s all there was to it. She had to stand her ground. Firm.

  Lucki brought the straw to her lip and sucked long and hard on the chocolate concoction. The cold and sweet and darkly sensuous taste calmed her for a moment. She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. Nothing like a chocolate fix to steady the nerves. She took another drink.

  Yes, she’d made the right decision.

  Looking up, she glanced toward the parking lot, wondering when this guy was gonna show. But something else caught her eye. And that something else held her gaze for several second
s. Sam stood leaning against a tree, watching her.

  What in the hell was he doing here? she thought. Checking up on her?

  Well, she’d just ignore him. He could just stand there.

  He held no claims on her.

  He was simply her friend.

  But why the hell was he here?

  * * * *

  It took everything in him not to walk up to Lucki, throw her over her shoulder cave man style, toss her into his car, and take her to his bed. She was driving him crazy.

  Why, all of a sudden, after years of living side-by-side were these wild thoughts of making mad passionate love to her, day after day, for the rest of his life, insinuating themselves in his brain?

  Because you love her, you dope. You’ve loved her al your life and you’re just now beginning to realize that. It was true, he supposed. He’d loved her for years. She was always constant. Always there when he came home from school and in later years when he’d visit Freedom. She’d always been there growing up. Through the break-ups with each of his girlfriends, to the practical jokes they’d play on each other and their friends, maybe a few enemies, to the quiet evenings they’d shared on their front porches, to his times of greatest despair, when his parents had died.

  She’d always been there for him.

  He loved her.

  Now, he just had to convince her that she loved him back.

  Just had to make her see.

  Slowly, he walked toward her.

  She looked up.

  His gaze locked with hers. He refused to let it go.

  Within seconds, he was sitting across from her at the picnic table. There was a small blob of chocolate hanging around the corner of Lucki’s mouth. Smiling, he reached up and whisked it away with his forefinger.

  Lucki sat still and let him, her eyes growing wide.

  Sam licked his finger. The taste was heavenly. It had nothing to do with the milkshake. He watched Lucki swallow, her gaze still locked with his. Was he softening her resolve to resist him? That was what she was doing, wasn’t it? Purposely resisting him. Her kisses said otherwise, though. But she was stubborn, always had been. And she wasn’t going to easily give up the notion that they weren’t just friends. There was a long road ahead of him, he knew.

  But he would do it. He would convince her that they were meant to be together. She took another long drink of her milkshake and looked him square in the eyes.

  “Why are you here, Sam? And where’s my date?”

  Blunt and to the point. That was the Lucki he loved.

  “He’s here.” No use beating around the bush, he told himself.

  “Where?” Lucki glanced around.

  “Here.”

  “Where?” Her brows knit as she looked at him. “Who is it? That guy standing over there at the window holding the dipped cone?”

  “No, Lucki. That’s not him.”

  She looked around again. “Then the one over there, sitting on the Harley? Sam, you know I don’t like motorcycle men.”

  “No, Lucki, it’s not the Harley man.”

  Again, her head bobbed from one side to another. Sam stifled a grin. “Then who? There’s no one else here?”

  “Yes there is.”

  “No, Sam, there isn’t.”

  “Yes, Lucki, there is.”

  At the second realization dawned on her, Lucki paled. “No.”

  She stood.

  Sam rounded the table.

  “No, Sam. It won’t work.”

  “Why? Give it up, Lucki. You want me, You know it.”

  Sam didn’t know if he’d ever seen Lucki’s eyes so big. “I do not want you, Sam Kirk! Get that notion out of your head.”

  Sam chuckled. He loved getting Lucki’s dander up. “You’re wrong, you know.”

  “I am not wrong.”

  “Let me take you to the picnic, Lucki.”

  “No, Sam, it would be a mistake. Find me someone else.”

  “Lucki, honestly, I’ve tried. There is no one else. I’ve run the gamut of every single male in town. There is no one.”

  “Oh, pooh. There are plenty of single men around here.”

  “Name one. No, name one you would go with.”

  He watched Lucki think on it. She opened her mouth once as though to speak, then shut it again. After a minute, he let her off the hook.

  “Can’t do it, can you?”

  She shook her head. “Well, but I’m sure you know someone in Memphis who could come down here for the afternoon. Did you think of that?”

  “Yes, Lucki, I did. All my friends either are busy or are married. There is no one. Guess you’re stuck with me.”

  Her face fell. Sam stifled the urge to grin.

  She was caving.

  “You have to be good.”

  “Lucki, I can be very good.”

  She groaned and glanced away.

  “Listen, Lucki. I’ll make no demands on you. I won’t kiss you. I won’t talk about us being a couple. I won’t even hold your hand. I’ll go as your friend. That’s all. If that’s what you want.” He knew she was struggling. He knew he had her between a rock and a hard place. He knew the picnic was Tuesday and she had to save face. He knew what her answer was going to be.

  “Oh, dammit, all right. You can be my date, Sam, but you listen to me.”

  Sam felt his smile spread from one side of his face to the other. “I’m listening.”

  “Friends only, you understand? Friends only.”

  Sam nodded his understanding.

  Lucki nodded her agreement.

  When she turned and walked back to her truck, Sam was still smiling. That woman was going to be his someday. And someday soon.

  * * * *

  Geez. .

  Lucki shifted the gears in her little pickup truck and turned for home. Sam was going to be her date.

  Sam.

  Oh, God.

  One whole day. Cheek-to-cheek egg races. Chest-to-chest Jello jiggle. Three-legged races. Pass-the-straw contest. Wheel-barrow races. And on it goes. .

  She and Sam. Together. In all this mess. How in the world would she survive the day without kissing his face off again?

  She didn’t know.

  If it hadn’t been for the fact that she was desperate. That Rick expected her to be there with bells on. That she needed to give Matt Farmer a reason to leave her alone. That she was in charge of the volleyball tournament. If it hadn’t been for all those things, she would have kissed the whole thing good-bye. But she’d had no choice.

  None.

  And now, Sam was her date for the Peabody Parks Department Fourth of July Picnic. Oh geez.

  Chapter Nine

  Monday came and went all too quickly. Lucki avoided Sam like the plague. She purposely waited until the last minute before picking up J.J. that morning, impatiently beeping her horn to summon him from the house, then took off before Sam could stop her. Glancing backward in her rearview mirror, she caught a glimpse of his frown as he’d stepped out the back door and watched her exit the drive. Oh, Lord, what was she going to do?

  The entire day, thankfully, was spent preparing for the picnic, so she had little time to think. Little time to dwell on the subject.

  Until Pinky interjected.

  “So Lucki,” she began, “you all ready for tomorrow?”

  Lucki grimaced internally.

  “I mean,” Pinky went on, “you did find a date, didn’t you? Whatever happened to that boyfriend you were supposed to have, anyway?”

  Lucki groaned. God, she hated lying. Even little white ones. “He got a new job and moved out of town.”

  “Oh, gee, Lucki. That’s too bad.”

  She waved it off. “Not a problem. It wasn’t that serious a relationship anyway.”

  The door behind her squeaked open and Lucki heard the din of kids playing in the rec room across the hall. A hand snaked around her waist and she cringed. God.

  “So, does that mean there’s hope for me still?” Matt Farmer’s breath lan
ced across her cheek. Lucki side-stepped until his arm fell from her waist. She turned, smiled sweetly, and returned in her best Southern belle voice, “Matt, dear, I’m afraid there’s no hope for you.”

  He feigned hurt and pouted. Lucki stifled a gag.

  He stepped forward. “But, Lucki, if you’re hanging loose as a goose now, well then, couldn’t you just consider a movie or dinner sometime? Or, hey, I know,” he snapped his fingers, “I’ll take you to the picnic!”

  Quickly, Lucki shook her head and braced her arms in an attempt to keep him from coming closer. “Matt,”

  she began, “you must have heard me say that my boyfriend had moved, but what you don’t know is that I do have a date for tomorrow. So, you see, I’ll have to decline.”

  Again, Matt pouted. It wasn’t cute.

  After a moment, he sighed heavily and perched his hands on either hip. “I’m never gonna have a chance with you, am I Lucki?”

  It was all she could do not to shout an emphatic, “No!” but she didn’t. She kept her cool. “Matt, I think there is another woman out there who would love to be with you. But that woman isn’t me, I’m sorry to say.”

  “Oh, yeah, and who may I ask?”

  Lucki chewed on her lip and glanced to her left. Pinky sat sawing an emery board across her nail tips. Oh, no. She couldn’t do that to Pinky, could she?

  Pinky glanced up, cracked her gum, and smiled.

  Swallowing, Lucki turned back to Matt. “Matt, I’m sure Pinky would love to go with you tomorrow.” She continued quickly, “And I know for a fact she doesn’t have a date, and she’s unencumbered as they say at the moment, and she looks great in that neon orange tank top, doesn’t she? And what do you think about the new hairstyle? Gee, I think it’s quite becoming don’t you? So. . ”

  “Whoa!” Pinky shot up off the chair.

  “Pinky?” Matt turned to her with a renewed gleam in his eye.

  Lucki raced for the door and waved. “Bye you two! I’m off. Got a zillion things to do today. Hey Pink, if I don’t catch you later this afternoon, I’ll see you tomorrow!”

  Then she exited faster than a hockey puck on hard ice.