Chapter 18
Ryan had a week of personal days due him, and he took three of them. It would put a burden on emergency room staff to have a doctor out, and he was sorry for that, but Matti’s and Sam’s safety was more important than his job. That was something he never expected to think, but there it was.
“I guess you need to go to work,” Matti said after breakfast.
“No, I called the administrator this morning. I’m off for three days. I’m staying here, but I need to pick up some clothes from my apartment.” Hopefully the police would have the men looking for Sam behind bars by the time he had to return to the hospital.
She put the last plate in the dishwasher, then turned and leaned back against the counter. “Are you sure? I don’t want us to interfere with your job.”
“You’re not. I had some time coming. What’s the plan for today?” Not sure what she wanted to do with it, he handed her the dishcloth he’d used to wipe down the counter.
“Sam and I are having lunch with my mother. She’s taken a liking to him. Said if none of us are going to give her a grandchild, she’ll just assign one to herself, and that appears to be Sam.”
His parents didn’t care either way if he had children or not.
He’d never given that much thought since he didn’t see children in his near future, but now, looking at Matti with her sexy, messy hair and that beautiful smile on her face, he was imagining what their child would look like…
If they had one. Which they weren’t, so it was ridiculous to be even picturing a little girl with blue eyes and messy hair.
“She was going to pick us up since that would be safer, but I’ll call her and tell her we’ll meet her at the restaurant. We can swing by your place either on the way to lunch or after.”
“Oh, so I’m invited?” he teased.
She rolled her eyes. “Of course, silly boy.”
“Boy?” He put his mouth next to her ear. “I’m going to enjoy showing you how much of a boy I am not.”
“Promises, promises,” she said, smirking as she left him standing in the kitchen, thinking of all the ways he could show her just how much of a man he was.
He shook his head to clear the erotic movie playing in it, then gathered up his clothes from yesterday, closed himself in the bathroom, and changed.
“I’d like to make the stop at my apartment first,” he said after they were in his car. “I’d rather not be wearing yesterday’s clothes when we meet your mom for lunch.”
“Do you need new clothes?” Sam asked. “I got new clothes.”
“I know, buddy, but I don’t need any new ones.” They’d moved Sam’s car seat from Matti’s SUV to his. Maybe he should buy a car seat so they wouldn’t have to keep switching it back and forth. Not that Sam would be with them long enough to need another one. And that thought ruined his mood.
Because they made the trip to his place first, they were a few minutes late meeting Matti’s mother.
Emily had chosen The Eatery for their lunch, a place he’d never been to.
Actually, he’d not been to many restaurants in Red Grove since his life was long hours at the hospital, eat, sleep, rinse, repeat.
He hadn’t thought he was missing out on anything, but the time he was spending with Matti and Sam had him reconsidering; maybe there was life outside the walls of the hospital and his apartment.
Maybe he wanted more. He didn’t have to spend as many hours as he did at the hospital; he just did it because he had nothing else to do.
Now that he’d met Matti, he wanted to spend more time with her.
The Eatery was a quaint, upscale diner. There were deep red leather barstools at a long counter, something you’d expect in a diner.
The booths were the same red leather. The floor was black-and-white marble, and the tabletops were some kind of shiny black metal.
One unique feature was all the hanging plants that made one feel like they’d walked into a greenhouse. It was a pretty cool place.
“Oooooh,” Sam breathed, his little feet taking him straight to the glass-enclosed dessert case. He pressed his nose against it. “Can we get some?”
Ryan eyed the oversize cakes and the assorted pies, some of them piled high with whipped cream. He wanted some, too.
“We’ll see,” Matti said, taking his hand. “Let’s go say hi to my mom.”
Emily was already seated at a booth, and Ryan followed Matti and Sam to the table. He was surprised to see the mayor sitting across from her. Was he joining them for lunch?
“Teddy,” Matti said, leaning down and giving him a kiss on the cheek. “This is a lovely surprise. Are you having lunch with us?”
“I invited him, but our Ted is a busy, busy man and doesn’t have time for us.” Emily smiled at Ryan. “It’s nice to see you again, Ryan.”
“Likewise.”
“Now, Emily,” Ted said, “you know that’s not true. I always have time for my favorite mama. Unfortunately, that’s not today. I’m due at a planning board meeting.” He stood and nodded at Ryan. “Dr. Palmer.”
“Mayor.” Ryan caught the question in the mayor’s eyes as his gaze darted between him and Matti.
Ted noticed Sam standing next to Matti and frowned. “Thought you’d have found the boy a foster family by now.”
Why would he say something like that in front of Sam? Matti appeared irritated with Ted, and Sam was taking in every word. At the worried look in Sam’s eyes, and not wanting him to hear anymore, Ryan picked him up. “Let’s go pick out which dessert we want.”
“Is Matti gonna give me away?” Sam asked, no longer caring about the cakes and pies in front of him.
Ryan hated the quaver in the boy’s voice and didn’t know how to answer his question. He didn’t want to lie to Sam, but it wasn’t his place to tell him he’d eventually be going to a foster family. Ryan glanced over at the table to see Matti and Ted in an animated conversation.
“Look at that chocolate cake,” he said, hoping Sam would forget the question. “I think that’s what I want, but that cream pie sure looks good, too. I have an idea. You pick out one and I’ll pick one, and we’ll share so we get to have two different desserts. Sound like a good plan, my man?”
“Yes! I want the chocolate cake. What do you want?” His gaze roamed over the choices in the case. “That one?” He pointed to a tall glass filled with layers of different-flavored puddings and whipped cream.
Ryan chuckled. “Sure, that one looks pretty awesome.”
“And I can have some?”
“Only if I can have some of your cake.” The mayor was heading their way to leave, and Ryan shifted his body so that he was blocking Sam from seeing him. Ted walked out without acknowledging them.
“How much of my cake do you want?”
Greedy little thing. “A few bites, but first, we need to have some lunch.” Still carrying Sam, he returned to the booth. Emily moved over, and Matti sat next to her. He lowered Sam to the seat, then settled next to him.
“Me and Doc’s gonna share dessert,” Sam announced. “We picked them out.”
“Did you, now?” Emily said.
“Yes, and we’re gonna share, so I get to eat two different ones.”
Emily grinned. “What a clever idea. Maybe we should get four different kinds and share them all.”
“Four?” Sam said, eyes wide.
Thankfully, he seemed to have forgotten his worry that Matti was going to give him away. Sam was the center of attention all through lunch, and he ate up the adults’ focus on him. Ryan couldn’t begin to imagine what Sam’s first six years had been like. The boy deserved being made to feel special.
After they finished their lunch, Emily told Sam he could pick all four desserts, and Ryan thought Sam might hyperventilate from excitement.
“Sam and I will choose our desserts,” Emily said. “Let me out, Matti.”
After Emily and Sam were at the dessert case, Ryan said, “What’s the mayor’s deal with Sam?”
Matti sighed. “Ted knows about Mikey and how depressed I was after I found out he’d been killed. I guess he’s afraid the same thing will happen if I get too attached to Sam.”
“He’s afraid Sam will be killed?” He supposed Wyatt or Cal had told Ted why the state had custody of Sam.
“I don’t know,” Matti said. “I guess he’s just worried that I’m getting too attached to Sam.”
“Are you?” Not that he blamed her if she was. Sam was easy to get attached to.
“How could I not be? It doesn’t matter, though. As soon as I know it’s safe, I’ll place him with a foster family.”
Ryan thought he should be good with that, but he wasn’t.
He was going to miss the little man once he was out of Matti’s care.
And what about him and Matti? Would she still want to see him once Sam was no longer in her care?
He thought maybe they had something between them.
He knew he felt something for her, but he didn’t know where she stood.
Sam ran ahead of Emily as they returned to the booth. “We got dessert. The lady said she’d bring them to us. I hope she comes soon.” He crawled up onto the seat.
“Hope you two are still hungry,” Emily said.
The waitress arrived with a loaded-down tray. She set the chocolate cake and the pudding on the table, along with a slice of coconut cream pie, cherry pie, and a slice of German chocolate cake.
“That’s five desserts,” Ryan said. “I thought we decided on four.”
Emily grinned. “We couldn’t decide between the two pies, so we got both.”
He didn’t know how but between the four of them, they managed to eat it all.
“Why don’t you let Sam come home with me tonight?” Emily said.
Matti glanced at him and raised her brows.
“Up to you,” Ryan said. He was all for having an adult evening with Matti.
She chewed on her bottom lip. “Do you think it’s safe?”