11. Sammy
CHAPTER ELEVEN
sammy
Citrus Cove Cinemas had one of the last drive-ins left in the state. I made a mental note to bring the three of them when it warmed up some. I could always borrow Cam’s truck. A picnic under the stars while watching a movie sounded like fun.
The theater itself was a little old building that’d been here since well before I was born. It had low ceilings and permanent butter-scented air—just a whiff stirred up memories of high school dates.
I fulfilled my promise and bought all the candy Davy and Jake wanted, within reason. Sarah shot me worried looks, but I convinced her to pick out something too.
This made me happy.
In fact, for the first time in a long time, I felt alive.
Being a dad had never crossed my mind. Not really. But if there was a chance I might become important to these boys, I needed to step it up. I needed to earn their trust.
I popped a chocolate-covered cookie dough bite in my mouth as we slid into our seats. Sarah ended up on one side of the boys, and I ended up on the other.
She glanced over at me and my heart skipped a beat. God, she was gorgeous. Even in the shadows, I was lost in her gaze.
Colt’s words played back through my mind and I looked away, pretending to focus on the screen. The hurt in his eyes yesterday still hadn’t left me.
Sarah mentioned her wedding day and him trying to stop her. I’d never heard about that.
What else didn’t I know?
It didn’t bother me that she was interested in him. Maybe I should have felt jealous, but all I could think was if he could make her happy, then he should be a part of her life in whatever way she wanted.
I couldn’t deny that I wanted to know him more too.
I needed to talk to him again at some point. At the very least, to try to smooth things over. This was Colt . He’d been a staple in my life since I was born. Hell, some of my first memories were with him.
My stomach twisted as I tried to focus on the movie. It was some animated film about emotions, little characters running everything from happiness to anxiety.
A scene came on that made my eyes sting as the character dealt with an anxiety attack. I knew the feeling all too well. The helpless dread as ice spread through your chest, shattering in slow motion around you.
I glanced down at Davy and noticed his eyes were watering too. It’s okay to cry, I wanted to say. How many times had I wished someone would have told me that growing up?
I heard a sniffle and looked up at Sarah. She wiped away a couple of tears.
“Are you crying, Mom?” Jake whispered.
“Yeah,” she said.
“It’s okay.” He held out his hand and she took it.
Fuck, man. My heart.
I held my breath as the scene resolved, relaxing as we finally hit the happy ending. The movie ended and the other people got up to leave as the credits rolled.
I started to move, but Davy grabbed my arm. “Wait,” he said. “Sometimes there are bonus scenes.”
Like superhero movie style? I resettled and waited. He was right—there were two more scenes before the lights came up and I watched them with a stupid grin.
The four of us slowly made our way out of the theater. Jake chatted to Davy about the movie, and Sarah bumped me with her shoulder.
“Was that terrible?” she teased.
“It was great. I haven’t seen a movie in so long,” I said.
“Oh my god, are you that guy online?”
My head whipped around at the sound of the voice. A familiar woman stood a few feet away from us, her eyes widening as she approached me.
I recognized her as the woman who’d lost it at the cafe.
Fuck.
I immediately stepped in front of Sarah and the boys.
“Oh my god, it is you,” she said, pretending like we were meeting for the first time. She gestured to my arm. “I recognized your tattoo. You’re him, aren’t you? The sexy chef.” She smiled, her gaze flickering past me to Sarah.
Fuck. I’d never thought about that. I had a tattoo on my forearm of a swallowtail butterfly. Cam and Hunter had given me hell about it for years, but it was one of my favorites.
“Go to the car,” I said lightly.
Sarah made a noise. I glanced back at her and could see she was torn between going and staying.
“Can I get a picture with you?” the woman asked. “Is that your wife and kids?”
“No, and no,” I said. “I remember you. Get away from us.”
She pulled out her phone anyway, and I glanced behind me. Sarah frowned and pulled the boys close to her.
“He said he doesn’t want to take a picture,” Davy said, narrowing her eyes on the woman.
“Just a quick one,” she said quickly. “It’ll be fast!”
Sarah grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the way as the phone was lifted. “Come on, let’s go to the car.”
I ushered them toward the Honda. I wished I’d gone back to get my car because I didn’t like the idea of this psycho getting Sarah’s license plate. My ears burned as I opened the door for the boys and they slid into the backseat.
Hell, I didn’t like that she knew I lived in town either.
I glanced around the parking lot, looking for her husband. Was he creeping around somewhere?
Sarah got in the driver’s seat as I rushed to the passenger door. I glanced up, and sure enough, the woman was taking pictures of us.
What the fuck?
As soon as I got in the car, Sarah backed up and peeled out of the parking lot. I stared at the side mirror, watching the woman disappear in the distance as Sarah sped to get away.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
“Not your fault,” I said.
“She said she recognized you from online. Has that ever happened before?” Sarah asked.
“No. I mostly keep my face out of videos. It’s really a focus on my hands and forearms while I… cook.”
She glanced over at my hands, her cheeks turning red. We nearly swerved into the other lane.
“Eyes on the road, angel,” I said so quietly, only she would hear.
“I don’t like that lady,” Jake announced.
“Me neither, bud,” I said, twisting in my seat. “I’m sorry that happened. It was weird.”
Jake nodded, but Davy frowned. “Did you know who she was?”
“She was no one,” Sarah said.
Thoughts plagued my mind, even as I tried to force a smile for the kids. Was it just a weird coincidence, or were those people stalking us? Stalking Sarah? I glanced over at her, and her eyes met mine, a silent agreement passing between us to discuss it later.
I’d seen how angry the couple had been at the cafe.
“Will she do anything bad?” Davy asked.
“No,” I reassured. “I doubt it. It’s all good.”
He stared at me with a haunted expression, making it clear he didn’t believe me. I realized I had no way of knowing if everything would be fine at all.
“Okay, I take that back,” I said. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. I don’t think she can do anything. But we don’t know her and that was weird, and I’m sorry she was there.”
He nodded, his shoulders relaxing a fraction. “It’s okay.”
Dammit. I was going to win this kid over one way or another.
I pulled my phone out to text Cam and Hunter. They both knew about the cafe run-in, and we needed to find out who these people were.
Within a few minutes, Sarah pulled into the driveway next to Emma’s car. She glanced back in the rearview mirror. “Can you boys give us a minute? Maybe go get some hot chocolate started? I’m going to run Sammy to the mechanic for his car. ”
“Candy and hot cocoa?!” Jake asked. “This is the best day ever. Thanks Sammy.”
He got out, followed by Davy.
Sarah watched them go inside and looked over at me. Her face softened. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I breathed out. “I’m so sorry that happened. I tried to shield the kids with my body. If she got any pictures, they shouldn’t be in them.”
“Me too. I don’t understand why she would have come up to us. She acted like we were just meeting.”
“Probably because of Jake and Davy. But she knew that we knew. It was a scare tactic.”
One that really pissed me off. What would have happened if Sarah had been alone?
I took a deep breath and forced myself to relax. Her taking photos worried me. Partially because I didn’t like the idea of being fully known on the internet, but more so because Sarah and the boys might be in the pictures.
“Thanks for coming,” she whispered. “I know it wasn’t like… a date. But I still enjoyed being with you.”
“I enjoyed it too,” I said. “I’m going to win your kids over.”
She snorted. “You’ve already got Jake. Davy, I don’t know. He has a hard time with men who are older than him. David has hurt him more than any of us in ways I never caught. I hate myself for it.”
I slid my hand onto her thigh, giving her a gentle squeeze. “He’s strong like you. He’ll be okay.”
“I hope so,” she said. “Also… How dare you call me angel like that while I’m driving?!”
I gave her a smirk. “You were checking out my hands. Almost took us off the damn road.”
“Oh, don’t be dramatic,” she laughed. She shook her head as she backed out of the driveway. “You’ve got good hands. ”
“Yeah? Want to take them for a ride?”
“Oh my god. What am I going to do with you, Sammy Harlow?”
I grinned. “I hope many, many things.”