The One She Left Behind (Harlequin Super Romance) (17 page)

After wiping her hands on nearby towel, she finally felt strong enough to face him. Strong enough to ask an important question. “Why did you choose to sing that particular song?”

He hooked his thumbs in his pockets. “Why not?” he asked, as if he had no idea what he’d done to her with his choice.

“You know why, Sam.”

He released a frustrated sigh. “It’s a song, Savannah, and I’ve been singing it for years. Don’t try to read more into it.”

She hated the fact that his attitude hurt her beyond reason. “I’m so pleased we’ve cleared that up. Now, why are you here?”

“Because Gracie sent me in to see if you’re okay. You looked pretty upset when you left.”

No real surprise that he hadn’t come of his own volition. “Yes, I was a little upset. I thought about my dad and how much he loved Jim’s ice cream and that I have over a hundred text messages from work on my cell phone. I also forgot to have someone water my plants.” Her lone ivy that so far had survived her neglect.

He looked totally unconvinced. “Are you sure that’s all it is?”

“Believe me, that’s enough.”

He shifted his weight from one leg to the other, a sure
sign of discomfort, and very unlike him. “Are you sure you’re not still dwelling on last night?”

“We had sex, Sam,” she said, a little louder than necessary. “We answered a few biological urges and it was pretty good, albeit a little over the top. But it wasn’t so phenomenal that I need to cry about it.”

His expression turned hard, unforgiving. “Yeah, that’s all it was. Hot sex. Glad we cleared
that
up.”

Savannah tossed the towel on the counter. “If we’re done with this pointless conversation, I need to see if my mother’s ready to go.”

“That’s another reason why I’m here,” he said. “Right after you left, she announced she was about to go home because she had things to do.”

Savannah doubted a heart-to-heart talk with her daughter had made it to Ruth’s to-do list. “You should’ve said something the minute you walked in here. If she gets a head start, she’ll probably lock herself in her room to avoid speaking to me.”

Since Sam didn’t seem to want to move, she had to work her way past him or stay rooted until he left. When she opted to leave without further ado, he clasped her arm, thwarting her departure and forcing her to look at him.

His features had mellowed somewhat, contrasting with the slight shading of evening whiskers that Savannah had always loved. “After you have that little sit-down with your mom, don’t forget to call me if you need to talk.”

Emotional overload drove her to say, “That’s price
less, Sam. Last night you told me to call someone else, remember?”

Without giving him time to respond, Savannah wrested away and returned to the yard to find everyone standing—and Ruth Greer nowhere in sight. “Where’s my mother?” she asked, a slightly frantic edge to her voice.

“She headed on home,” Jim said. “She told me to tell you that you should stay as long as you like.”

Typical. “I’d love to visit a while longer but I need to help her pack. You know how she is, she doesn’t want to bother anyone.” She didn’t want Savannah’s help, either.

“We need to go, too,” Darlene added as she braced both hands on Jamie’s shoulders. “This one is on her last leg.”

“I’ve got two legs, Mommy,” Jamie said, eliciting laughter from the group.

While Sam stood conspicuously in the shadows, Savannah doled out hugs to everyone, including Darlene and even Brent.

Saving Jamie for last, Savannah knelt down on her level. “Be good, sweetie, but like my dad used to like to say, if you can’t always be good—”

“Be smart,” Sam cut in from somewhere behind her, confirming once more how well he’d grown to know her father.

After giving Jamie a squeeze and a kiss on the cheek, Savannah straightened and said goodbye, feeling somewhat down in the dumps over not visiting with them again in the foreseeable future.

Jamie tugged on the hem of Savannah’s T-shirt, gar
nering her attention. “Are you going to live in Ruthie’s house now?”

Savannah shook her head. “I’m afraid not. I have to go back to Chicago on Tuesday.” Or she could return on Monday now that her mother decided to leave a day earlier.

Jamie looked up at her with pure innocence. With eyes very much like Sam’s. “Are you going to come back soon?”

She chose to answer as honestly as possible. “Maybe someday.”

“S
HE’S NOT COMING BACK
.” Sam knew it as surely as he knew the sound of his child’s voice.

After putting Jamie’s suitcase in the trunk, Darlene turned around and scowled at him. “How do you know that, Sam?”

“Because she doesn’t have any reason to come back. The house is sold and she didn’t have much to do with her friends in the past twelve years.” That included him, but then they hadn’t parted as friends.

Darlene leaned back against the sedan like she was settling in for a spell. “Maybe you should visit her in Chicago.”

“I’ve been there and I don’t care for it.”

“When were you ever in Chicago?”

He probably should’ve told her long ago. He’d had no reason not to aside from some guilt that had prevented him from coming clean. “I spent some time there when I went to that equipment conference a few months after Jamie was born.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I thought that conference was in southern Illinois, not Chicago.”

Man, the woman had a memory the size of a wheat combine. “A few of us drove up for a baseball game.”

“Did you get in touch with Savannah?”

Even now, suspicion rang as loud and clear as a church bell in her voice. “If you’re asking if I went to see her, no, I didn’t.” The thought had crossed his mind, but he’d been trying to make his marriage work at the time. Seeing Savannah wouldn’t have aided that cause, and that’s if she would’ve even agreed to meet with him.

“That’s neither here nor there,” Darlene said. “What matters is right now. I can sense there’s still something between the two of you.”

“Like always, your imagination’s getting the best of you, Darlene.” Only this time, she wasn’t entirely off base. “And I’m not sure why you’re so worried about my personal life when I’ve never interfered in yours.”

“Look, Sam, you hand over jobs you’d prefer to do yourself to people who need money. You’re always there for Jim and Gracie and Lord knows you’re a great father to Jamie. I’m concerned because I don’t see you doing anything for yourself, and by that I mean settling down with someone special.”

He’d already found someone special, and she was about to walk out on him a second time. “Like I told you the last time we talked about this very thing, I’m okay with my life the way it is. No complications or heavy commitments.”

“And like I said before, you have no one to come
home to at the end of the day, and I don’t mean Jim and Gracie.”

Time to lighten the mood. “If you’re that worried, you could give me Jamie.”

She looked stunned. “Are you serious?”

No, he wasn’t, but she deserved a little ribbing for being so nosy. “Sure. You’re going to have a spare kid, so why not?” He punctuated the comment with a grin.

Darlene didn’t look at all like she appreciated his teasing. “For being such a nice guy, sometimes you can be a borderline bastard, Sam McBriar.”

He imagined some women saw him that way on occasion. One in particular, but she considered him a jackass. “Lighten up, Darlene. You know I’d never make you hand over the kid to me full-time, although I would like to have her all summer when she gets a little older. She needs to learn to drive the tractor so she can help me out when I’m old and infirm and
alone
.”

“That wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for her career choice, but I’ll think about it,” she said with a reluctant smile. “Now back to you and Savannah.”

Just when he thought they’d swept that subject under the rug. “There’s nothing to discuss.”

She sent him the “yeah, sure” look, the one she used to routinely give him during their arguments. “I’ve seen those little glances between the two of you. I saw them tonight when you were singing to her. The intimacy was palpable. Brent even commented that he felt like a voyeur during your little performance.”

“A couple of glances and a song don’t translate into intimacy, Darlene.” What they’d done last night, did.
And that was information he didn’t opt to share with the ex-wife.

“Wouldn’t you say having sex with Savannah is fairly intimate, Sam?”

How the hell did she know that? He couldn’t imagine Savannah taking his ex into her confidence. Most likely Darlene was trying to bait him into a tell-all moment. “Did I mention you have one hell of an imagination?”

“No imagination involved, Sam. I heard all about it a while ago with my own two ears, and so did everyone else. Luckily Jamie dozed off or she would have heard it, too. You both should learn to lower your voices if you’re going to rely on a screen door for privacy.”

Damn. If only he’d heeded Gracie’s long-standing order that he shut the door behind him; they didn’t live in a barn. “We weren’t talking that loud.”

“Oh, yes, you were. But then you and Savannah have never been known for your discretion.”

Sam assumed that was a direct reference to the legendary breakup in the diner until Darlene added, “For instance, take the pond incident last night.”

“How in the hell did you find out about that?”

Darlene snorted. “Good grief, Sam. Getting caught by Pearl Allworth’s husband was bound to cause a stir. You’ve given the good people of Placid something to talk about for years to come. Why, they haven’t been as excited since Abe Young got caught stealing bloomers from Harriet Hamilton’s clothesline back in the fifties.”

“What happened between us didn’t mean anything.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’ll never convince me of
that, Sam. And I think it’s high time for you to tell Savannah how you feel about her and see where it leads.”

He knew exactly where it would lead—nowhere.

Fortunately, Brent picked that moment to come out of the house, providing another “guy” presence to put an end to the unwanted conversation. “I started to wonder if the two of you had run off together,” he said as he joined them at the SUV.

“Not a chance,” Darlene replied. “We were just having a little talk about Sam’s love life.”

Brent draped one arm over Darlene’s shoulder and pulled her against his side. “Let me just say, Sam, that you have great taste in women.”

Darlene slid her arm around his waist. “Thanks, honey.”

In that moment, Sam realized he didn’t own one iota of jealousy over his ex-wife’s and her new husband’s public display of affection. That revealed a lot about his relationship with Darlene. He couldn’t deny he’d once loved her, but not like he’d loved Savannah, an admission a long time in the making.

Brent kissed Darlene on the cheek. “Are you ready to go, darlin’?”

Darlene smiled up at him. “Sure.”

“Where’s Jamie?” Sam asked.

“She’s conked out on the couch,” Brent said.

Sam saw an escape route and planned to navigate it. “I’ll go get her while you start the car to cool it off.”

“I’ll come in with you and tell your parents goodbye.” Darlene released her hold on her husband and headed for the house.

After shaking Brent’s hand, Sam took a couple of steps toward the porch before he heard, “One more thing, Sam.”

He turned back to Brent. “Shoot.”

“Just a few words of advice. You’ve already let one good woman go. Think twice before you let the other one get away again.”

As far as Sam was concerned, Savannah was already gone.

A
S CLAWLIKE LIMBS BIT
at her legs, Savannah realized that had she not been taught to respect her elders, she’d be cursing her mother about now. Even though the three-quarter moon helped guide her, as soon as she’d entered the thicket right before the bridge, she began to stumble in her haste to get home. Of course, Ruth had brought a flashlight for the journey back to the farm. And of course, she didn’t wait around to share it with her daughter.

If she could just get past this rough patch without impaling herself on a briar, maybe, just maybe, she could make it to the house before her mother retired for the evening. If not, their little talk would have to wait until tomorrow.

As soon as Savannah reached the break in the trees, she pulled up short at the sight before her. Ruth stood on the bridge, looking out over the fields, her right hand fisted against her heart.

Panic set in, sending Savannah hurrying to her mother’s side, where she lightly touched her shoulder. “Are you okay, Mom?”

Ruth continued to stare straight ahead, a faraway look in her eyes. “The last time your father and I took a walk, we ended up here. ‘Ruth,’ he said, ‘there’s nothing prettier on God’s green earth than a good piece of land.’”

She suspected her mother might be having second thoughts about selling the farm. “It’s understandable if you miss the place once you’re gone.”

“I’m missing your father.” Her sigh carried on the breeze. “Sad thing is, you never really know how much you love someone until they’re gone.”

How very true, Savannah thought. “I miss him, too. But he’s at peace.”

“He is now,” Ruth said. “Those final days at the hospital were terrible. So many times I’d thought I’d lost him, but then he’d squeeze my hand.” She opened and closed her fist as if reliving the moments. “When he stopped doing that, I knew he was gone even though he hadn’t drawn his last breath.”

She inhaled deeply before continuing. “I’m not sure if he always heard me, but I kept telling him how much I loved him. How much he had meant to me through the years. I don’t think I told him enough when he was alive.”

Savannah’s heart began to ache as the tears began to form. “I wish you would have called me, Mom. I would have come.”

Ruth sent her a brief glance before turning her attention back to the panorama. “He asked me not to call you. He didn’t want you to see him that way.”

That was so like her dad—never wanting to be a
bother to anyone. Never wanting anyone to witness his weak moments, though they had been few. Yet Savannah had seen him that way once, and to this day, she’d never known why he’d been on the porch, crying. She’d probably never know. “I still hate that you were all alone when he died, Mom.”