5. Sammy
CHAPTER FIVE
sammy
Citrus Cove was a ghost town late at night. I eased straight through a red light after looking both ways and frowned as I passed the cafe.
“What’s going on here?” I muttered.
I pulled into the parking lot next to Sarah’s little Honda. The hood was open, blocking me from seeing whoever was there. I got out and walked around as Sarah jumped, wielding an oil dipstick like a knife.
“Whoa,” I said, holding up my hands. “It’s just me, Sarah.”
“Fucking Christ,” she said, her hand flying to her chest. “What the hell, Sammy? You scared me half to death. I was going to take your eye out with this.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, swallowing a laugh. “I saw your car and got worried.”
She sighed, though it was clear her heart was still pounding. I eyed her weapon warily. That, along with the open hood, was a bad sign.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
She wasn’t wearing a jacket. Wasn’t she cold? The temperature had dropped once the sun went down and she was in short sleeves. She looked really damn good too.
“My engine light was flashing this morning.”
Damn. That wasn’t good.
“And then I tried changing the oil. But it didn’t help. It won’t start.”
I winced. “Mind if I take a look?”
“Have at it.”
She chewed her bottom lip as I slid past her, pulling out my phone. I shined the flashlight on everything, checking all of the basics. “Can I have the dipstick?”
She stepped next to me, her hip brushing mine as she handed it to me.
Suddenly, I was painfully aware of her presence. Vanilla and labdanum hit me and I sucked in a breath, my mouth watering. My mind warned me she was off-limits, but every other part didn’t get the message.
Maybe I was overly horny tonight. Some of the glances from Colt had made me want to jump in a cold bath. It was all sorts of fucked up to be drinking a beer and thinking about what it would be like to be with him while sitting at my brother’s dinner table.
“See anything?” she asked.
“No,” I said. I put the dipstick back in its spot and gave it all another once over, but I wasn’t a car guy. “Can you take it in tomorrow?”
“I have to work,” she whispered. “Fuck. And tomorrow is Friday. The boys have school, and I told them I’d take them somewhere on Saturday since I haven’t had a weekend off in a while.”
Don’t do it. Don’t do it. “I have to run into Austin on Saturday. I wouldn’t mind the company and a detour.”
“I don’t want to burden you?— ”
“Seriously,” I said, looking up at her.
I’d always thought she was gorgeous, but I’d never been this close to her before. Maybe around the holidays, but we’d always been surrounded by people. Now that we were alone, I drank her in. Soft skin, dark lashes that cast shadows over her cheeks, the curve of her plush lips. Biteable lips.
Fuck, what am I thinking? This was Sarah .
“I can’t remember the last time I had some fun. I just need to go by a specialty market for some ingredients and sauces,” I said, ignoring every single alarm bell ringing in my head.
I wasn’t lying, either. I was chronically online and usually working, trying to keep up with social media trends and shit. Managing the horniness and hate in the comments, and reminding myself that none of it was representative of who I was as a person. Like the person who’d commented and told me to kill myself earlier, or the person that had asked if my mom knew about my channel.
Which she did. But I’d blocked her for my own sanity.
Sarah hesitated.
“Only if you want to,” I added. The last thing I wanted to do was pressure her into spending time with me.
“I want to,” she said. “Are you sure you’re up for dealing with the boys? They’re a handful.”
“They can’t beat growing up with Hunter and Cam.” Or the fact that I was the youngest. It didn’t matter that Hunter was seven years older than me, we’d had our fair share of scuffles.
Sarah chuckled. “Don’t know how your mom managed. Two is enough.”
“I don’t know how she did either. I think Davy and Jake are better behaved.”
The boys were wild but sweet, from what I’d seen and heard. Davy was a little more quiet and stoic, but he always took the brunt from his dad—according to Cam, anyway.
“Oh god,” she laughed.
As she smiled, everything slowed. Thump, thump, thump. My heart fluttered and I found myself smiling too.
“There’s no way they are better behaved. But okay. If you’re certain. If you change your mind, I won’t hold it against you.”
“I won’t. They’re good boys, Sarah. You’ve raised them right.”
Her expression sobered and she sucked in a breath. “Yeah. Yeah, they are.”
I’d struck a nerve of sorts. Fuck . “If you leave the car here, I’ll have someone pick it up,” I said. “I can drive you home.”
Sarah crossed her arms and stared at her car for a moment, brows creasing. God, she was fucking gorgeous. Where the hell had I been? Living under a rock?
I thought about Colt again for a moment. I knew he wanted Sarah, but he would have made a move already if that was still on the table—right? It was one thing to pine over someone for more than a decade, and another to actually ask them out.
“I can call Haley,” she said. “I don’t want to bother you.”
“You’re no bother to me,” I said. “Come on.”
I closed the hood and her door. She leaned down and grabbed her purse from the sidewalk, giving me a wary smile.
“You sure you don’t want me to call Haley?”
“Get in the car, Sarah,” I chuckled. I opened the passenger side, holding it open for her.
She wrinkled her nose as she slid into the seat. “Your car is so clean,” she muttered.
“Well, I’m a single guy with no pets or kids.”
“Okay, but you’re a single guy.”
I grinned as I shut the door gently and rushed around to the driver’s side. I slid in and started the car, turning up the heat for her. It bothered me that she didn’t have a jacket on.
Mentally, I made a note to text Keith, our local mechanic and buddy from school, about Sarah’s car before I went to bed.
I started down the street. Sarah folded her hands in her lap and looked out the window.
“Sorry if the heat takes a minute,” I said.
“Oh this is good,” she said. “I’m not used to it.”
I scowled. Did her car not have heat? Or air conditioning? In Texas ?
Was it too much to buy my brother’s wife’s sister a new car just because I could?
I mulled it over as I turned right down a quiet neighborhood street. A soft rumble echoed through the cabin and I frowned.
“Are you hungry?”
“Yeah, but I’ll eat when I get home.”
I’d already had dinner, but could always eat something. “You don’t want a burger? I could eat.”
“A burger from where?”
“There's Howdy Hank’s… I’m sure the boys will survive without you for another few minutes.” Howdy Hank’s was a Texas burger chain with good fries and shakes.
“Not if I come home smelling like Hank’s… Okay, fine. Yes.”
Victory . I turned onto another street and headed toward the restaurant. It was a five-minute detour, but it would give me a little longer with her.
“What do you like to do?” she asked.
“Do you mean in general or…?”
“I’m not sure. I’m just curious, I guess. We’ve never really talked much.”
“You’re too pretty to talk to. Makes me nervous. ”
She laughed again. “Stop. You can’t be serious.”
I grinned. “I am. But to answer your question, I like cooking. Reading. I go for a run every morning and usually help out where I can if I’m not making content.”
“Content? Like… porn?”
I barked out a laugh. “No. Not porn, although I wouldn’t be against it. Have you ever seen my videos online?”
“No,” she said. “Sorry. I don’t really use social media much. David always said it was bad… which sounds so stupid now. Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I said softly. “No need to be sorry.”
Fucking David. If I ever saw that son of a bitch, I was going to knock his ass out. His brother might have been the killer, but I didn’t think he was innocent at all. My hatred for him was already more than justified for what he’d done to Haley, but the things I’d heard about Sarah…
My knuckles turned white as I gripped the steering wheel. I pushed him out of my head, focusing on the beautiful woman sitting next to me. “What do you like to do?” I asked.
“ Me ?”
“Yeah.”
She was silent. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it in a long time.”
I stole a glance at her as I slowed to a red light. I fought the urge to roll through it even as we sat.
“What did you used to like to do?” I asked. “Before David?”
“That was so long ago. Track? Weren’t you like ten when I was in high school?”
The corner of my mouth tugged up. “You’re only five years older than me.”
I glanced at her, catching her smile.
“I like baking,” she finally said. “When I have time. It’s one of the only things David didn’t mind me doing when we were together.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. I thought about what I’d heard about him at dinner, and decided I wasn’t the right person to tell her he’d been acquitted. “The whole situation was really messed up. I’m glad you’re safe.”
“Me too.”
“What do you like to bake?” I asked. “Any good recipes?”
“Do you like baking?”
“Yeah,” I said. “That’s the content I make. Well… sort of.”
She raised a brow. “Light’s green.”
I eased down the road, passing a couple of cars.
“What the fuck?” I muttered.
Sarah burst out laughing as we slowed to turn into the parking lot of the Hank’s—and joined the long ass line of cars.
“Everyone in Citrus Cove is here,” she said. “I should see if anyone wants anything…”
“Call ‘em up.”
She pulled out her phone. I could hear Haley’s voice as she answered.
“Hey, I’m stopping by for some food. Y’all want anything?” Sarah let out a hum. “Oh, good. Okay, I’ll be home soon. Sammy is driving me home… Yeah, the car needs to be looked at. No, it’s okay. I’ll see you soon.” She hung up and looked at me. “They showed the boys how to make macaroni and nuggets.”
“A staple in every young man’s diet,” I said approvingly.
She laughed. “Yeah. Okay, so recipes. I have a few I can send you. There’s one for an apple spice cake Honey used to make, but I made some adjustments to it.”
“I’d love to try it. I like anything apple. That and pumpkin bread. It’s my weakness.”
“Pumpkin bread is your weakness? Really? ”
I nodded. “Yeah, I go through like fifteen loaves every season. I’m shocked you didn’t notice at Christmas. The stacks of pumpkin bread were from me.”
Sarah shook her head. “I thought your mom made those.”
“Nope.” The line inched forward. “I made all the desserts.”
“ What ? Oh my god, you really can bake.”
It stroked my pride to hear her say that. It was the first year we’d managed to keep Mom from cooking a damn thing. Dad and Hunter had cooked up the ham and turkey, Cam and Haley had handled the sides, Colt had funded the alcohol, and I’d taken care of desserts. It had been a good get together with everyone, including Emma, Sarah, Honey, and the boys.
“I’ll give you the apple spice cake recipe in exchange for whatever fucking magic you put in the pralines.”
“I made the buttermilk from scratch. I think that helped.” That video had made me a lot of money. Innuendo was a powerful tool. “But you’ve got a deal.”
We finally made it to the ordering window. I told them what I wanted and then glanced at Sarah.
“Cheeseburger all the way, fries, and honey mustard.”
“Drink?” I asked.
She bit her bottom lip. “Chocolate milkshake?”
“Yep. I’ll have one of those too.”
I rattled the rest off and pulled my card out before she could grab hers.
“Nope,” I said.
“I can pay you back?—”
“Nope.”
“But—”
I leaned my head on the headrest and looked at her. “I’ve got it. You’ve been on your feet all day.”
“I don’t want you to feel like you have to.”
“I don’t,” I said .
“I can pay for my own meal.”
Now she sounded irritated. I raised a brow. “Yeah? I can also pay for your meal.”
She pressed her lips together as I took my card back and pulled forward.
No one really knew how much I made from what I did, but it was a good amount. Enough for me not to worry, which was saying something in this economy.
“Can I be honest?” she asked.
“Of course.”
“I don’t like when people pay for me because lately it’s become a default. And I work really hard to make money so I can take care of myself and the boys. I’m not a charity case.”
“Understandable,” I said. I reached out and took our bags and milkshakes. I rolled up the window. “Can I be honest?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve never once looked at you and thought ‘charity case.’ I have looked at you and thought damn , that beautiful woman works really fucking hard. And maybe I could buy her a burger and a milkshake.”
Her cheeks turned red. The bags of food balanced on her thighs and I reached over, plucking a fry from one of them as I pulled out of the drive-thru.
This was the most the two of us had ever spoken and I really didn’t want it to end. Hell, I hadn’t even talked to one of my brothers this much in a long time.
“Alright,” she sighed. “I accept.”
“Thank you,” I chuckled.
Within a few minutes, I pulled to a stop in front of her house. The lights were on. Haley’s new sports car was parked next to Emma’s.
Sarah lingered for a moment. “Thanks for the ride. And dinner. ”
“Anytime.”
She started to reach for the door, but I was quick. I leaned past her, reaching for the handle before she could touch it. I pushed it open for her and leaned back.
Sarah looked at me, her lips parting.
I thought about kissing her.
And then I thought about my brother sending me to an early grave. And Colt. Colt would not be happy.
“I’ll see you Saturday,” I said with a smile.
“See you then.”
“Sleep well, angel.”