Chapter 9 Mattie
NINE
Mattie
“You have got to be kidding me,” Sam growled from his office.
High winds had been blowing through Sugar Pine all day wreaking havoc on the power, the internet, and anything not tied down.
Sam had taken to working furiously during the periods of functioning power and internet, however those two things hadn’t been cooperating over the last hour or so.
He stomped into the kitchen where I’d lit a couple candles to ward off the darkness as the afternoon winter sun sank lower on the horizon, and the winds continued to batter our little town.
“Is that coffee?” His words were a grumbled plea.
I grabbed two mugs and filled them with coffee.
“It is. I’m going to heat up some soup. Figure I’ll pop some bread in the oven and keep my fingers crossed the power holds at least until the bread is crusty and warm.
Hoping the power doesn’t go out completely, but having the oven on for a while will at least help keep the kitchen warm for a bit if it does. ”
Sam sighed. “I really can’t afford to keep losing time on this project.
I know Sugar Pine needs the grant, and I want us to get it, but at this point it’s turned into a personal challenge just to make sure I don’t fail at getting this submitted in time.
” He sipped his coffee. “Mmmm, that’s good.
Thank you.” Sam leaned in to kiss my cheek, but a shadow of something played around his eyes.
He’d been a bit strange since the day we took Rafe around town.
Off was probably the best word for it.
I’d chalked it up to the stress of the deadline, but something niggled at the back of my mind. Did Sam regret that we’d started something? Was having me here cramping his style?
The power flickered off.
Sam cursed.
I didn’t regret the two of us working on the grant project. It had given us the push we needed to explore things between us. But I did feel bad that Sam got stuck with the more stressful part of the job.
I took him in my arms and buried my face in his neck. “I know you need to work, I just wanted to let you know—”
He tensed in my arms. “I know—” he interrupted.
“You know what?”
“You’ve met someone,” Sam said, his words laced with stress and defeat.
Pulling back, I frowned and searched his face. “Huh?”
Sam extricated himself from my arms and ran his hands through his hair.
“I’ve been waiting for this, just wasn’t sure when you’d tell me.
I heard Rafe ask you out.” He huffed out a laugh and held his hands up.
“And I get it, I totally do. He’s gorgeous.
He probably goes all over to get the scoop on fascinating stories.
We haven’t made any commitments, so it’s an easy break—”
“Sam—”
“And we can just go back to—”
“Sam.” The tone of my voice caught him that time.
“Huh?”
“Shut. Up.” The tightness in my chest was a combination of emotions, but I breathed as evenly as possible as I crowded Sam against the kitchen counter.
“Just shut up,” I said, softer this time, cupping his face in my hands.
“Do you really think I’d be having sex with you and looking to go out with someone else? ”
I didn’t give Sam time to answer.
“And yes, Rafe was gorgeous. Yes, he asked me out. Did you happen to hear me tell him I was involved with someone?” I nuzzled my nose against his. “I don’t care if he travels the world, I’ve got all I need right here.”
“But—”
“No buts…” I paused. “Unless you’re not on the same page about us?”
“I am, I just thought—”
“No, that’s just it,” I said, brushing a kiss over his lips.
“You didn’t think. I’m going to blame the stress of the holidays and the deadline for making you dumb.
” I kissed the corner of his mouth where his lips quirked into a tiny smile.
“I’m not going out with Rafe. I have a hot single dad and his son to spend time with this holiday. ”
“This holiday?” Sam whispered.
I grinned. “And beyond.”
Sam pressed his forehead to mine. “Mattie?”
“Huh?”
“I love you,” he whispered.
My entire body froze.
“Sorry, that’s probably too soon and too much—”
“Shut. Up.” Blinking through stinging eyes, I swallowed thickly. “I love you too.”
Wrapping him in my arms, I brought our lips together and let the kiss carry us away until Toby came pounding up the stairs grumbling about being hungry.
Ice pelted the windows a few days before Christmas, and I breathed a sigh of relief that Toby was at Jasper’s house, so he didn’t have to witness Sam’s mental breakdown.
“No, no, no.” Sam’s words barely drowned out the meteorologist’s forecast on the television.
The weather forecast called for enough ice to shut everything down—and for those in the Midwest, it was common knowledge that the slightest bit of ice coating the entire town could do that.
“But the good news is,” the meteorologist yammered on, “in true Midwest weather fashion, tomorrow looks to be jingling in with above-average temperatures so the ice will melt quickly, and we’ll be looking at perfect Christmas weather.
” She beamed, white teeth glowing on the screen, and went on to talk about the chances of a white Christmas being very low this year.
“You’ve probably got a while before the ice causes problems,” I said, pressing a kiss to Sam’s head as he sat hunched over his desk. “Give me things to do if it helps, and work until you can’t. Maybe we’ll luck out and not even lose power.”
Sam huffed. “Did your time in California make you forget everything about winters here?”
“Where’s your Christmas spirit?” I teased and let him pull me onto his lap. “Let’s think positively. Maybe we can manifest internet and power that works throughout the ice storm.”
Sam chuckled and buried his face in my neck. “Pretty sure my manifestation skills are lacking. They definitely didn’t help me during nights of teething and ear infections.”
We made out for a long moment until a cheery little jingle sounded from the TV where Mayor Joseph preened and invited people to participate in Sugar Pine’s inaugural Gingerbread House Extravaganza.
Sam slapped my ass. “That’s a sign from the universe that I need to get back to work. I need you to get on the website and look for anything that doesn’t work. Links, tabs, images not loading, that kind of thing. Make specific note of what’s not working and any errors you get.”
Relieved to have something to do rather than sit around like a bum while Sam worked, I set to work as the ice continued to come down.
We fell into a productive rhythm spurred on by the looming deadline and when the internet went out about three hours later, I had a detailed list of errors. Luckily, there weren’t many, and Sam didn’t seem too stressed over what he needed to check on.
He ran a hand over his face. “I’ll be glad when the town can get an internet upgrade.”
“You needed a break anyway. Let’s shower and throw those pizzas in the oven before the power goes out.”
Two hours later, we’d both showered and stuffed ourselves on pizza when the power flickered out. I cleaned up the kitchen in candlelight while Sam made notes on my list as he paced the kitchen.
“Did you talk to Toby?” I asked.
“Yeah, he’s good. They’re all snug and cozy at Jasper’s. I told him he needed to stay put until the ice melted tomorrow at least.”
I caught Sam around the waist. “So, we’ve got the whole house to ourselves?”
Sam’s tense body relaxed into me, and he smiled. “We do. But we’ve also got a deadline.”
“Deadline, shmeadline,” I teased, nuzzling into his neck.
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. “I only need about four more hours to finish the site and then a little longer to fix these bugs.” He sighed into my hair. “Don’t know why I decided to scrap the website and start from nothing.”
“It needed it. You said from the beginning that the site needed to be completely rebuilt; it definitely wasn’t going to earn us any grants the way it was.”
“You’re right. Just want it done.”
“Mother Nature is throwing a hissy fit. I say we light a fire and get cozy on the couch. Nothing we can do about the power and internet for now.”
Sam hugged me close. “You’re a good influence on me. Without you, I’d be worrying myself sick over something I can’t control—beating myself up for not getting more done before this storm.”
“Well, I’m luring you away from work with very strong hints at sex on the couch while a fire blazes, so I’m not sure good influence is the right word.
But there’s nothing we can do about the weather or utilities, so we might as well have a good time while we wait.
” I wasn’t ashamed to admit how excited I was to have an empty house and Sam all to myself.
Having your love interest’s teen son around quickly made a person feel like they’d been transported back in time to when they were sneaking around under the watchful eyes of their parents.
Except Toby ate a lot more and vacillated between not wanting to shower and running out the hot water when he actually opted to take one.
Even the few times Sam and I had snuck over to my side of the duplex, we’d had to be on constant alert for Toby to come stomping up the steps or slamming through the door.
He was a great kid, and I’d never wish for him to be out of the picture, but there was a completely different vibe in the house when he was away.
And we’d agreed that even though Toby was happy Sam and I were together, we definitely didn’t need him traumatized by overhearing us having sex.
So, having a quiet, empty house with no teenager threatening to come pounding up the stairs was like a tiny gift from the sex-with-your-boyfriend gods.
I had every intention of savoring each moment of that gift.