Just Perfect (7 page)

“No. That's her choice.  She could have a family if she
wanted one.”

Lily shook her head. “I didn't want to do anything again
without thinking it through. But since I met you, I seem to do all kinds of impulsive
things.  I know working at the diner won't save the house but I just felt so
frantic at the thought of leaving.  I have to do something.  If I don't try,
I'll hate myself.

Sam studied her. “If you hadn't met me, the house would have
been put on the market anyway.” He pointed out. 

She smiled a bit, looking a little chagrined, “I know, I
guess it's just easy to blame you.”

“That doesn't make any sense.”

She shrugged her shoulders as though it made perfect sense
to her.  But, as long as she was sitting in his lap voluntarily, she could
blame him for whatever she wanted.

He wiped a new tear from her cheek. “You're quite a lady,
Lily.  You held your family together after your dad died.  You're young and
took on the challenge while raising a son.  Which, by the way, you’re doing an
excellent job with.”

She smiled shyly.
 Making progress
.

“All I want is for you to get to know me.  I'm not as bad as
I seem.”  He watched her ponder his words while she played with a button on his
work shirt.  He wondered if she even realized she was touching him so casually.

Finally, she nodded. “Okay, Sam.  We'll try to spend some
time together.  But, I don't want Johnathan to see me date.”

He felt his excitement take a dive. “You're not hiding me
from your son like I'm a dirty secret, damn it.”

“Sam-”

His anger spiked. “No, Lily.  We're not hiding anything from
anyone.  I'm too old to sneak around.”

Her eyes flashed at him. “You can't tell me what's best for
my son.  I don't want him to get to know and like you then if things don't work
out he'll be hurt.”

“So your solution is to lie to him and not let him have any
kind of relationships?”

Her face flushed with anger and her hands pushed on his chest
as she tried to scramble off his lap.  He held her hips tightly knowing if he
let her go the conversation would be over.

“
Let me go.”
  She practically snarled.

With a heavy sigh, Sam forced his fingers to release her. 
He was about to lose any progress her made with her, but he wasn't willing to
compromise on this.  He wouldn't hide their relationship.  He stayed seated
while she jumped up and faced him with her fists clenched at her sides.

“I'm trying to protect
my
son from any unnecessary
hurt.”

“You're going to teach him that it's okay to sneak around
and that forming attachments is bad or wrong.” He tried to keep his voice calm.

Fury tightened her delicate features. “Fuck you, Sam.
Get
out!”
she yelled.

That's it.  He had enough of her tantrum.  He surged to his
feet in one smooth movement and she fell back a step.  He clasped her upper
arms and pulled her resisting body to his chest.  “There's no reason to use
that language, Lily.  We were having a conversation.”  He growled at her.  She
tried to rip herself out of his hands but he held her tightly.

“No, we weren't.  You were telling me how it would be and
I'm just supposed to do what you say.”  She said through clenched teeth “But I
don't want to do what you say, Sam, he’s my son.
Not yours.
”

He needed to get out of there before he did or said
something he regretted.  Damn, she pushed his buttons.  He set her away from
him and released her arms.  “I would never talk to you the way you're talking
to me.” Her eyes grew wide as he stepped around her to walk to the kitchen.
“I'm leaving.  You have some thinking to do, and a little growing up to do.” 
He continued walking through the kitchen.  She didn't stop him, not that he
expected her to.  She was probably happy to be rid of him. 

Unable to stop himself he turned back when he put his hand
on the door handle.  To his surprise, she was standing in the kitchen doorway,
her face resigned.  It made his heart stutter. This would probably be the last
time he saw her.  She already had her doubts about him but now he ruined his
chances with how he handled the conversation about Johnathan.  He briefly
considered telling her he was sorry, but if he waffled now, she would think he
wasn't consistent for reliable.

“You know where my shop is if you want to talk.”  Her
shoulders relaxed a bit and her eyes dropped from his.  Had she thought he
never wanted to see her again?  Sam gentled his voice. “You should go wash your
face before Johnathan gets home.”  She put a hand to her cheek and nodded
before turning and walking away. 

He pulled the door open and left the house and took a deep
breath of crisp fall air.  Even though the conversation had been less than
ideal, he knew more about her and liked the way he felt when he was she was
close.  He never pursued women, but Lily would be worth it.  She would have to
come to him this time, though.  He meant what he said to her.  He wouldn't hide
their relationship.  She had to trust him. 

Just before climbing into his truck he felt a tingle on the
back of his neck.  He turned and scanned the upstairs windows and there she was
watching him.  He didn't wave, just held her eyes before getting into his truck
and pulling away from the house. 

Dean and their part-time mechanic, Rick, greeted him.  “Hey,
Romeo's back,” Dean announced. “How'd it go with your lady love?”

“She told me to fuck off,” Sam said easily.

Rick snorted in amusement and Dean looked flabbergasted.
“Are you serious?” He shook his head. “I don't believe it.  She actually looked
at you and said that?”

The corner of Sam's mouth lifted. “Yeah.”

“What did you do to her to make her say that?”

Sam shrugged.

“I know what you did. You probably went over there and
started bossing her around.” He paused. “Or you told her you were buying her
house.  That would do it.”

“I didn't tell her about the house.  She's not ready to hear
it yet.”

“Well, if she told you to get lost for being bossy, she's
probably going to shoot you when she finds out about the house,” he warned.

Just as Sam was about to agree, a thick southern accent
yelled from the bay doors. “Hey, dumb ass!” 

Willa Rae, their only female driver, looked like a
pint-sized wild cat ready to take something apart.  She was about five foot
nothing, but she packed a lot of curves on her tiny frame.  With wavy brown
hair, dark brown eyes and tanned skin she was a knockout.  Sam liked her.  She
kept the place lively with her over the top personality.  Under all that sass
though she was worked hard to be respected in a male dominated profession.  She
was only twenty-two and Sam worried about her out on the road but it wasn't his
place to say anything.  She did a good job so he had no complaints.

“I think she's talking to you.”  Rick rumbled to Dean.

“Good morning to you too, Willa.”  Dean drawled.

Willa stomped into the shop with murderous eyes pointed at
Dean.  “Did you take my furniture dolly?”

“Now why would I do that?”

“Because you're a sneaky snake, that's why.”  She answered
quickly.

Dean got an angry glint in his eyes.  “That's not nice,
Willa.”

“I had to ask for help with my deliveries all day
yesterday!” She cried.

“Stop yelling at me, Willa.  If you did your pre-trip
inspection, like you're supposed to, you would have realized it wasn't strapped
to the back of the cab. “And,” he held up a hand when she started to speak “you
weren't supposed to do deliveries yesterday anyway.”

“Since when is it any of your business what loads I do?  You
made me look incompetent, Dean.”  She wanted to be taken seriously and never
asked for help even when she needed it.

“It was me, Willa.” Rick interrupted. “I didn't think you
had a load yesterday, I didn't see it on the board.  I'm sorry.”

Sam chuckled “Why do you need a furniture dolly?”  Rick was
almost seven feet tall and had huge, bulging muscles.  He usually unloaded his
truck by hand for exercise when he couldn't get to the gym. 

“I had a load of kitchen cabinets,” he explained, “a lot of
the pieces are too awkward to lift by hand.” He ran a hand over his shiny bald
head. He looked almost embarrassed to admit it.  It made Sam want to laugh out
loud.  Embarrassment didn't look right on Rick's face.  He resembled a bad guy or
villain in a movie who was sent out to kill people.  Sometimes Sam wondered if
his thoughts were actually right.  He didn't know much about Rick's past, but
he did know Rick wanted out of his old life in Loredo, Texas and live quietly. 
He mostly kept to himself.  Most of the other drivers avoided him because of
his looks and size, but Sam knew Rick was a good person and he was fairly
confident he wouldn't hurt anybody.  He didn't have a record of violence when
Glen did a background check for employment anyway.

Willa's shoulders relaxed. “Oh, that's okay, Rick.  I asked
Glen for an extra run yesterday.  I wanted some extra miles.  I guess it didn't
get on the board. Is it still on your truck?”

“Yeah. Come on, I'll put it back.” Rick turned and headed
for the lot and Willa followed.

“Hey! Don't you owe me an apology?” Dean called.

Her response was to give him her middle finger on her way
out. He glared after her.

“I don't think she likes you,” Sam said unnecessarily.

“Don't know what the hell her problem is,” he grumbled.

“Where was all that charm you were talking about?”

“Doesn't work on her.  Something’s wrong with her.”  The
frustration on his brother's face was comical.

“Hopefully, you didn't say that to her?” Sam asked with a
raised brow. A guilty look crossed his brother's face.  “She's a nice girl and
a hard worker, Dean. Don't make her uncomfortable here.”

“Did it look like she was uncomfortable?” He pointed to the
doors. “She about took my head off while you and Rick watched!”

Deciding to let the matter drop, he told Dean what trucks
were coming in for maintenance.  He was going to stay busy and wait for Lily to
come to him.

She didn't show.  Every day that passed, Sam became more and
more irritated.  It put him in a bad mood and people around the shop started
avoiding him.  It was Friday and he was counting the minutes until noon.  If
she didn't show up today with dessert, he was going to find her.

He was standing at the shop computer ordering parts when
Glen walked up. “We're about ready to grill, Sam.  You going to eat?  I've been
sent in here to get you because everyone else is scared.  Even Rick.”

“Yeah, I'll be out in a bit,” he said without looking up.

“She's coming today, you know,” Glen said after a minute.

Sam turned to stare at him. “You talked to Sarah?”

“Yes. Actually, I've talked with her several times this
week.”

“I'm going to buy the farmhouse, Glen.  I went through the
realtor and made an offer.”

Glen looked surprised and nodded slowly. “Sarah told me
there was an offer on the house.  Do you think that's a good idea?”

“Yes,” Sam said without hesitation.

Glen scratched the side of his nose. “Lily doesn't seem too
thrilled about selling the house.  When she finds out it's you who's buying
it,” he paused and shook his head, “it might hurt her.”

Sam heaved a heavy sigh. “I don't want to hurt her. I want
to help her.”

“I hate to break it to you Sam, but I don't think she likes
you all that much.  Aside from that, you haven't known her that long.”

Sam dropped his pen on the messy desk. “It'll work out. If I
didn’t make an offer on the house someone else would buy it. I don’t want that
to happen.” He stared hard at Glen “About not knowing her, she's it for me.  It
doesn't matter how long I've known her.  I just know.”

“I don't think that's a sound plan.” His friend looked a
little anxious.

“I want her, Glen. I think she'll come around.”

“I don't envy the fight you'll have on your hands when you
tell her.”

“Hey, Glen.” Willa bounced into the shop “Can I get one of
them loads to Seattle?”  Willa seemed to want more and more long loads.

“You've never been out there before,” Glen said.

“Oh come on, Glen, please? It's a no touch.  I can do it,
lickety-split.” She snapped her fingers.

“Do what lickety-split?” Dean asked as he came through the
side door.

“None of your business.” Willa snapped “Don't you have a
mirror to primp in princess?  This here's grown up talk.” She crossed her arms
over her chest and did her best to look down her nose at Dean.  Which was
difficult considering she was almost a foot and a half shorter than he was.

Dean clenched his jaw. “I've had just about enough of your-”

“Children!” Glen clapped his hands. “Willa, first run out west
has to be with a driver that's done the route before.”

“Out west?” Dean asked. “No way.”

Willa threw her head back. “Excuse me? Just because you're
scared to drive so far away from home doesn't mean I am.”
 

Surprisingly, Dean stepped closer and glared down into her
furious face.

“It's dangerous, Willa.”

“Just because you had a hard time with it doesn't mean I
will. Besides, I'm not as pretty as you so I'm sure the lonely truckers will
leave me alone.”

Dean's face grew dark and he reached for her.

Sam stopped him with a hand on his chest. “Dean, back off.”
He turned to Willa. “You get that chip off your shoulder. Everyone takes a
rider that's done the route the first time. Not just a woman. You can't go
around mouthing off to everyone that says something you don't like, Willa, that
is
dangerous in your profession especially if you want to be taken
seriously.  You're a young, attractive woman, whether you want to hear it or
not. You need to be careful.

Her shoulders dropped “Alright. I'll take a rider.” She
muttered and turned to Glen. “Please, Glen? I could use the miles.”

“I think we can work that out.  Just need to find a driver.”

“Rick!”  She caught sight of him walking by. “Have you done
the Seattle run before?”

“Yeah,” he said walking toward them. “Why?”

“Will you ride with me on my first trip?”

“No”

She looked shocked he said no to her. “Why? I thought we
were friends.”

Rick turned to walk away. “I don't like anyone enough to be
stuck in a truck with them for a week.  Take Dean.”

She blushed and avoided looking Dean. “Is Jimbo back yet?” 
She asked, referring to the old driver that only did a couple local runs a
week.

“I think so, but I don't know if he can ride that long,
Willa.”

“I'll go,” Dean said.

She looked at her boots for a minute and then said. “You
know what! I don't even know if I have enough time on my clock.  I don't know
what I was thinking.”

Without a word Dean left the shop.

Glen patted Willa on the shoulder. “I'm going to start
grilling.”

“I'm sorry, Sam,” Willa said once they were alone. “I just
can't be stuck with him that long.”

“He's a good guy, Willa.”

She let out a startled breath and shook her head. “You’re
right about that stuff you said.  I just can't seem to keep my mouth shut
sometimes.”

“You're good at your job. You don't have to prove yourself
to us.”

Tears came to her eyes and she tried to blink them away. Sam
didn't know what her story was but he knew she needed a friend.  He pulled her
into a hug. “Don't cry. You'll ruin your badass reputation.” 

She started laughing and tipped her head back to look at
him. “Thanks, Sam.”

Someone cleared their throat and they both turned to see
Lily and Dean standing in the bay doors. Lily's face was white and Dean wore a
frown.

Willa and Sam pulled apart just as Lily turned to walk away.

“Shit,” Sam muttered.

“Oh no, Sam. Is that your girlfriend? Do you want me to talk
to her?”

“I think you've done enough, Willa.” Dean punched out.

“Enough!” Sam strode to the lot to try and catch Lily before
she left.  This couldn't be happening.  The look on her face.... shit.  By the
time he spotted her car, she was pulling out onto the road.  Sam ran a hand
through his hair. “Shit.”

He turned to Dean. “Did she talk to you?” He demanded.

“I saw her getting out of her car and I went to help her
with the boxes.” He lifted the boxes in his hand. “She asked me if you were
here.”

Damn it! She finally came to see him and found him with
another woman in his arms.  He couldn't go after her right now. He had too much
work to do.  He'd go as soon as he was finished.

“Why were you hugging Willa, Sam?”

Sam met his brother's eyes. “I don't want Willa, Dean.  She
was upset. Because of you.” He pointed out.

“Was that Lily?” Glen asked from behind them.

“Yeah,” Sam said.

“She didn't want to stay for lunch?”

“No. Sarah didn't come with her.”

“I know. I'm taking her out to dinner tonight.”  Glen
sounded pleased with himself.

Sam turned to him. “Really? You're making more progress than
me.”

“She's young, Sam. Give her time.”

Sam shook his head. “Time's up.”