Finally.
After weeks of hard work and crossed fingers, Henderson Field was ready for the first game. And not a moment too soon, as far as Chase was concerned. Holly had barely pried her eyes open when he bounced into her room, his new cleats clunking on the hardwood floor.
“Morning, Mom!” he sang, bounding onto her bed with the kind of energy she would’ve paid almost anything to have for herself. “It’s a great day for baseball.”
Squinting at the weak sunshine streaming into her windows, she couldn’t help laughing. “I can’t argue with that. What time is it?”
“Seven.” Holly knew him pretty well, and she gave him a long look that made him grin. “Okay, it’s almost seven.”
“Meaning more like six?”
“In between,” he hedged, well aware that she knew he could tell time. “I don’t wanna be late for warm-ups.”
The game started at nine, so there wasn’t much danger of him missing anything. But she didn’t want to squash his enthusiasm, so she flung the covers aside and got up. “Good point. I’ll get breakfast going while you wake up D. She wants to come with us, and it’ll take her a while to get ready.”
“Okay.”
He zoomed off on his errand, and she followed him downstairs, feeling a bit more energetic with each step. He stopped just long enough to let Holly fill a tray with his usual breakfast and Daphne’s morning tea. To Holly’s surprise, when she knocked on the parlor door, Daphne called out, “Come in!”
She wasn’t what you’d call a morning person, so Holly was amazed to find her sitting on her love seat, hair done and makeup on. Pleased but concerned, Holly set down the tray and said, “You know you’re not supposed to be in the shower by yourself.”
“Then why did Sam install those grab bars for me?” Daphne countered in a maddeningly logical tone. Smiling proudly, she patted Holly’s arm. “You’re sweet to worry, but I managed just fine on my own. I had my phone with me in case I needed you.”
Despite the difficulty she’d had adjusting to their new relationship, Holly couldn’t help feeling proud of her mother for taking back some of the independence she’d always cherished. Being pampered was one thing, Holly knew. Being a step short of helpless was something else entirely, and she was glad to see that Daphne had finally had enough of that. “Well, that was smart. When you’re done eating, let me know if you want a hand getting dressed.”
“Will do,” her patient promised, the spark in those famous eyes making it clear that she had no intention of giving up so easily.
Chase found one of his favorite cartoons, and when Holly left, the two of them were already imitating the goofy main character, laughing more at each other than at the ridiculous scene on the TV.
Apparently, their attitude was contagious because Holly was singing along with the kitchen radio when she heard a quiet knock on the wooden frame of the screen door. Glancing over, she saw Sam silhouetted there, thermos in one hand and a large white bag in the other.
“Breakfast delivery,” he said, holding up what he’d brought.
“Anyone who brings me food can come right on in,” she told him, taking a long sniff as he stepped inside. “That smells amazing.”
“Fresh outta the oven. Don’t worry—Gran made the coffee,” he joked with a grin.
The lighthearted reference to their first meeting, when she nearly choked on his turbo-charged brew, caught her by surprise. It had happened weeks ago, but she never would have suspected that the somber former Ranger she met that day would be capable of poking fun at himself. She didn’t want to make him feel awkward by mentioning that, so instead she smiled back. “Please thank her for us.”
“You can tell her yourself,” he replied as he poured them each a cup of steaming caffeine. “She’ll be there today.”
“At the game? Why?”
“To cheer the kids on. It’s the first one, and she knows most of them, so she wants to be there.”
Holly had never heard of such a thing. In Boston, people had been so busy with their own hectic lives, they often couldn’t make it to their own kids’ games. It was drop off, run errands or go back to the office, then pick them up. And carpooling was part of the parents’ survival kit, so no one had to drive back and forth every time.
“You look like I just told you she’s going to the moon for lunch,” Sam teased, handing Holly’s cup to her.
“It’s just that I wouldn’t expect someone to come this morning when they don’t have a child or grandchild involved.”
“Well, she’s gotten attached to Chase,” Sam explained, taking a seat at the table. Glancing down the short hallway toward Daphne’s closed door, in a lower voice he said, “She thinks it’s a shame his own grandma’s in Georgia so she can’t be here to see him play. Gran thought it’d be nice if she was there instead.”
“You’re not going to shame me into telling him about Daphne,” Holly shot back in a furious whisper. “I’ll do it when I think the time’s right.”
Sitting back, Sam studied her for several long, uncomfortable moments, his eyes shifting through several shades of blue to almost gray, then back again. It was the most incredible thing she’d ever seen, and if she hadn’t known him as well as she did, the eerie shifts would have made her skin crawl.
“You’re gonna wait till you’re gone, aren’t you?”
There was no anger in his tone, only a quiet resignation that suggested he understood what she was thinking. Holly had never met anyone who followed her thoughts so easily, and while it made explaining herself easier, she wasn’t sure she liked it. “I may. I haven’t decided yet.”
Apparently convinced that he was getting precisely nowhere, he didn’t say anything more on the subject. Smart man.
“So,” he went on as if they hadn’t just had a tangle of opinions, “what’s next for you two?”
“Now that I’ve gotten away, I’m definitely not going back to the same area of Boston. I don’t want to uproot Chase once he’s settled in a school and making friends, so this move has to be it for a long time. Savannah was a possibility before—y’know,” she replied, sighing as she sat down next to him. “Now I’m not sure.”
“Are you considering staying here?”
“No,” she answered reflexively. “That’s not an option right now. Maybe not ever.” The frustration she’d been keeping at bay ever since she learned her family’s secret bubbled to the surface, and she waved her hands in an attempt to keep it under wraps. “I just don’t know.”
“You don’t have to know,” he told her in a gentle tone that told her he truly sympathized with how she was feeling. “Just do whatever’s best for you and Chase, and you’ll be fine.”
“You sound a lot more confident than I feel.”
“You’ve been following your gut since he was born,” Sam reminded her with a smile. “He’s a terrific kid, so from where I sit, it’s working well so far. No reason to think that won’t continue.”
Gratitude flooded her heart, and she gave him her brightest smile. “Thank you for saying that.”
“You’re welcome.” Looking down, he fiddled with the handle on his cup before meeting her eyes again. “So Chase is headed into third grade, but how ’bout you? When school starts next month, you’ll have a lot of time to fill. Any thoughts on what kind of job you’re looking for when you get settled?”
Holly opened her mouth to answer, then quickly changed her mind. When he gave her a nudging look, she stalled. “It’s silly.”
“Try me.”
The sketches she’d done for the living room were stacked on the table, and she fingered the pile while she debated confiding her insane idea to him. Why not? she wondered. The worst he could do was laugh and tell her to get real. The moment that possibility entered her mind, she dismissed it. That was how Brady would have reacted, forcing her to backpedal and be more pragmatic.
But Sam would never cut her down that way, even if he thought she was nuts. As he’d done with the Japanese garden out back, she was certain that he’d listen and do his best to support her. Even if what she wanted made no sense to him. Because that was the kind of guy he was.
Whether it was signing on to Brian’s plans for the ironworks or working long hours to make sure local kids had a place to play baseball and softball, she’d learned that while the reserved contractor was as practical as they came, he did all he could to help others make their dreams come true.
After a deep breath, she decided there was no harm in entrusting her wild notion to the stalwart man she’d come to admire so much. “Okay, but you can’t tell anyone else.”
“Promise.”
“I’ve really enjoyed working on this house,” she began, fanning the drawings out with her fingertip. “I know D isn’t a real client, but she’s always liked my ideas, and working with you has been fun.”
That got her a quick smile. “Thanks. I feel the same about working with you.”
Really? After all their rehab debates and outright arguments, Holly figured he’d view her as demanding and impossible to please. Just another way he differed from—well, any other man she’d ever known. Putting that aside, she refocused on what she’d been saying. Another deep breath, and she blurted out, “So I was thinking maybe I could take some classes and become a bona fide interior designer.”
Nothing.
Sam regarded her with a pensive expression, as if he was trying to decide how to let her down easily. Then, to her amazement, he nodded. “Sounds perfect for you. If you need a portfolio of work you’ve done, I’ve got plenty of before and after pictures of this place.”
Holly hadn’t gotten past the breathless wishing phase of her evolving plan, and his pragmatic suggestion made her heart skip. “I never even thought of that. What a fabulous suggestion.”
“Yeah, I get ’em once in a while. You can use me as a reference, and I can’t imagine anyone else in the program will have a movie star as their first client. That should impress your professors.”
“On-campus classes would be the same time that Chase is in school,” she said, her enthusiasm growing with each word, “and maybe they have some online, too.”
“I’d imagine so.”
Wary of letting her imagination take off with her common sense, Holly tried to calm her racing heart. “Do you really think I could make it work?”
“Is it what you want?”
“Yes,” she replied without hesitation. She was so accustomed to examining every decision she made in excruciating detail, and the delay often left her not deciding anything at all. Which, of course, meant that nothing ever changed.
Until the day when Daphne called and asked for her help while recovering from her back injury. Holly had instantly agreed because there was nothing she wouldn’t do for the woman who’d been such a bright, exciting influence on her since she was a child. Even now, Holly knew that adjusting to her new role as Daphne Mills’s daughter was only a matter of time. Because when all was said and done, she loved Daphne to pieces and would find a way past the jarring revelation that had changed so much in an instant.
“You sounded like your mom just now,” Sam told her, adding that slightly crooked grin she’d come to appreciate more and more. “I think there’s a lot of dreamer in you, whether you want to see it or not.”
“I think you’re right,” she agreed, tapping empty cups with him. “But for now, I’m hungry. What did Ellie send us?”
“One of everything that was ready,” he replied, motioning to the bag. “Ladies first.”
“Meaning you snagged one on your way here,” she accused, pulling out a huge sample that appeared to be the size of an actual bear’s paw.
He chuckled while he refilled their cups from the thermos. “Busted. But in my defense, they smelled too good to resist, and I was starving.”
“You’re forgiven. This time,” she added, sending him a threatening look that only made him grin.
As they finished off their meal, they talked through the logistics of college classes for Holly, what she was looking for in a school for Chase, and the extra touches the league wanted to put on the fields for next season. Everything, she noticed, but one topic that had suddenly become very sensitive.
Where would Holly be starting this new life of hers? She knew from experience that summers in New England zipped by and turned into fall before she could blink. With Chase starting school in September, they had to be settled soon to give them time to acclimate to a new place and get her registered for the design classes she was so excited about.
All that meant leaving Liberty Creek and the friends they’d both made here. And while Holly was confident that Daphne would support whatever choice she made, she suspected that leaving the mother she’d just discovered wouldn’t be easy for her to do. And then, she was stunned to hear a tiny voice whispering in the back of her mind.
What about Sam?
He’d come to mean so much to Chase, and Holly didn’t know how her son would react to leaving his tall buddy behind. Then in her next thought, she realized that she was going to miss him, too. Apparently, despite her best efforts to maintain a healthy distance from the former soldier, he’d come to mean more to her than she’d realized.
That was going to make leaving Liberty Creek a lot tougher than she’d anticipated.
* * *
These kids were awesome.
Sam had great memories of playing baseball when he was young, but nothing compared to watching Chase, Cody and their teammates in their very first organized game. For the kids with no prior experience, a coach set the ball on a pitching machine for them so they’d have a chance at getting a hit. But when his turn came around, Chase stepped to the plate and boldly asked for a live pitcher. And not just any of the dads standing along the sideline, either.
“Sam can do it. He pitches to me all the time at home,” he announced as if it had never occurred to him to request anyone else.
“I really just came to watch,” Sam hedged, wishing he was small enough to fade into the crowd. The fact that Holly was smothering a laugh didn’t escape him, and he wondered if this had been her idea.
Before he could ask her about it, Chase turned hopeful eyes on him. “Please?”
There was no vetoing that kind of plea, so Sam took the low mound and threw a few practice pitches before grooving one down the center of the plate. Chase hit a double into the outfield and then Cody cracked one over the center fielder’s head, driving them both around to score. After that, everyone on both teams decided to give live pitching a try.
Unfortunately, most of them couldn’t hit a watermelon with their light metal bats, which left Sam piling up a lot of full counts and endless foul balls. Tiring as it was, though, he was surprised to discover that he was having a blast. The teams were coed, and he registered the fact that the girls sprinkled throughout the rosters were better at defense, while the boys excelled at offense.
When he mentioned that to Holly, she tilted her head in a curious pose. “You’re right. I wonder why that is.”
“Girls are smarter?” he suggested, getting a bright laugh in reply.
“Are you trying to butter me up for something? Because I have to warn you, Chase has perfected that approach, so I’m pretty much immune.”
“Nah, that’s Brian’s gig. If I want something, I’ll just tell you straight out.”
It wasn’t like him to be so direct with a woman, and he cringed when he considered how that might sound to her. To his immense relief, she just smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
The smile reached into her eyes, making them sparkle like gems in the sunlight. Was it his imagination, or was there a warmth in them he hadn’t seen there before? Could it be that he’d finally found a woman who could accept him as he was, scars and all? While he had to admit that was possible, the idea prompted another question that was harder for him to answer.
What was he going to do about it?
With Daphne nearly back at full strength and the school year they’d discussed earlier fast approaching, Holly and Chase would be leaving town sooner rather than later. While Sam would love for them to stay longer, he’d never ask the young widow to put aside her dream of a fresh start to be with him. She’d sacrificed enough of her life to someone else, putting off what she wanted to take care of Brady.
Then again, there were perfectly good elementary and high schools right here in Liberty Creek, and while he didn’t know much about interior design, he suspected that she could take those classes at the small college over in Waterford.
Did he dare suggest that to her? What if he did, and she shot down the notion? Even more troubling, what if she decided it sounded good to her? If she put off her leaving and things didn’t work out between them, she and Chase would have to switch schools partway through the year, which was always more problematic for students compared to those who started at a school in the beginning of the year. The other alternative of her staying and things going great between them was appealing to him but didn’t seem all that likely. Like Brian resurrecting the family business, a successful relationship between Sam and Holly was dicey, at best.
Sam was a hands-on kind of guy, and he took pride in building things to last. He wasn’t keen on taking that leap with Holly, only to have it all fall apart in a few months. And he was fairly certain she felt the same way. Not only for herself, but for Chase, who deserved a real father, not one who faded from his life because the guy wasn’t ready for that kind of responsibility.
Looking around at the families gathered for the game, Sam couldn’t help noticing how happy they seemed. Parents wore the T-shirts of their children’s teams, shouting encouragement and pointing to where the current play was. Younger kids were playing along the sidelines, picking flowers and rolling in the grass while they munched on snacks.
It looked nice to him, but he was standing at a distance from it all. He’d only just begun to feel comfortable in his own skin again, and he wasn’t sure about taking on anything more than he already had. For the first time, it dawned on him that in allowing himself to get so close to the Andrewses, he was on the verge of doing something he tried very hard never to do: make a commitment he wasn’t sure he could keep.
“Sam?”
Holly’s voice dragged him from his brooding, and he gladly focused on her. “Yeah?”
“The coach asked if you want to pitch another inning.” Worry dimmed those beautiful eyes, and she rubbed his arm in the comforting motion she’d used with him more times than he could recall. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.”
Stepping closer, she said, “Are you sure? You looked like you were somewhere else just now.”
This woman could read him so well, it scared him sometimes. Knowing that she’d come by that skill nursing someone who’d finally given up made him sick inside. Worry had been an element of Holly’s life for so long, it seemed to have become part of who she was. She deserved better than that.
And Sam wanted her to have it. So he plastered a smile on his face and forced a positive tone. “Never better.”
He ignored her suspicious look and picked up his glove, waving it toward Chase’s coach. As he trotted toward the mound, Holly called out his name. Turning, he saw her holding up his vintage Red Sox cap. Apparently, he’d left it on the bench, and she came onto the field to return it to him.
Standing on tiptoe so she could reach, she settled it on his head, smiling as she tapped the brim. “I thought you might want this to keep the sun out of your eyes.”
“Thanks.”
It was a simple thing, no big deal, he told himself as she went back to her spot on the sidelines and he continued to the mound. But the fact that she’d thought of what he wanted touched him in a way he’d never felt before, deep down in a place no other woman had ever found her way into. And that was when he knew.
He’d gone and fallen in love with Holly Andrews.
The kicker was that he couldn’t even tell her how he felt because knowing her she’d put aside her plans and stay in town so they could be together.
Much as he wished things could be different, they weren’t. And in spite of how far he’d come, there was nothing he could do about it.
* * *
Sunday morning, Daphne was feeling so much better that Holly served their breakfast in the freshly painted dining room. The huge oval table felt odd with just the three of them, its deep cherry color polished to a mirror finish that would have passed muster in any mansion in the country. But once she added place settings and Oliver Chesterton’s most recent vase of flowers, it felt like any other meal she’d shared with her famous relative.
“This is just beautiful, Holly,” her mother said, adding a warm smile while she poured real maple syrup onto her Belgian waffle. “And it smells wonderful, too.”
“Good pancakes, Mom,” Chase chimed in, plopping a fresh one onto his plate. “Papa was right—this is the best syrup ever.”
“Papa?” Daphne echoed curiously. “Who’s that?”
“Cody’s grandpa. He said everyone calls him Papa, so I could, too. He’s really nice.”
“Yes, he is. You’ve made a lot of friends here in Liberty Creek this summer. What are their plans for the fall?”
While they chatted about his collection of new buddies, several expressions crossed Daphne’s face, alerting Holly to the fact that something important was going on behind those famed violet eyes. She couldn’t imagine what it might be, but she wasn’t surprised when her mom said, “Chase, I’d like some grown-up talk with your mother. Could you give us a few minutes?”
She spoke to him as if he was an adult himself instead of eight, and Holly smothered a grin when he blinked in response. Clearly confused, he stared across the table at her, waiting for her to interpret. “It looks like you’re done, so why don’t you take your dishes into the kitchen and go get ready for church?”
“Ohhh. Okay.” Standing, he carefully picked up his dishes and left the canyon of a dining room.
Once she heard him banging around in the bathroom upstairs, she turned to her mother expectantly. “That should buy us about ten minutes. What’s up?”
“I know you have to make your plans soon,” she started in immediately, telling Holly she’d been thinking about whatever she wanted to say for a while now. “I just want you to know that if you and Chase would enjoy staying here in Liberty Creek, you’re more than welcome to stay here. With me,” she added, as if she worried that the detail was necessary.
Hesitating, Holly took a sip of her coffee before saying, “That’s very generous of you. Thank you for the offer.”
“Oh, that’s just nonsense,” the diva spat, obviously offended. “We’ve known each other your entire life. There’s no need to be so polite with me, Peaches. If you want to stay, there’s plenty of space here for you both. If not, you’re just as welcome to leave. I know you’re anxious to be away from your old neighborhood, and I just wanted you to know you have an option other than moving to a strange place where you don’t know anyone.”
There was more to it, Holly knew, but the stubborn woman was too proud to do anything even remotely like begging. Leaning closer, she murmured, “I’m sorry to make you angry, D. I haven’t made any decisions yet, even though I really should’ve by now.” Reaching out, she patted a manicured hand in the same gesture she’d received many times herself. “Maybe it’s because if we go, we’ll miss you, too.”
In a heartbeat, tears flooded her mercurial mother’s eyes, accompanied by a hopeful look that would have broken a heart much softer than Holly’s. “Do you mean that?”
“Absolutely. It was tough for me at first, finding out you’re my mother, wondering why things went the way they did. I hated not having a say in it, and being kept in the dark so long made me furious.” Hearing the edge on her tone, Holly took a moment to regain her composure to make sure she kept her voice down. “But once I got over the shock, I believed you when you said you did it out of love. You’ve never been anything but wonderful to me, and I love you to pieces. I still wish you could’ve been honest about everything sooner, but there’s no changing the past. All we can do is move forward the way we are and hope for the best.”
“Does that mean you forgive me?”
Did it? Holly wondered, rolling the question around in her mind. She didn’t want to knee-jerk something this important and discover later that she’d just been caught up in the dramatic moment and said something she couldn’t reverse later. Because her brain was useless in situations like this, she took a chance and let her heart speak for her. “Yes, I forgive you.”
“Oh, I love the sound of that,” she said in a voice filled with genuine emotion. Covering Holly’s hand with hers, she added a grateful smile. “Thank you. I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but you have no idea how much it means to me to have it. I was beginning to wonder if my decision to keep the truth from you would haunt me forever.”
The words struck a chord with Holly, and she frowned. “I don’t want that to happen with Chase.”
“Then tell him, sooner rather than later. Trust me—it only gets harder the longer you wait.”
Her advice echoed what Sam had advised her to do more than once, and Holly figured that if two people she admired felt the same way, she’d do well to listen. “I guess there’s no time like the present. Chase, come down here, please!”
A few moments later, he came thundering down the front stairway, his white button-down shirt untucked and only one good shoe on. When she saw him, she couldn’t help laughing. “I could’ve waited until you were done getting dressed.”
“You don’t yell much, so I thought it was important.”
“It is.” Exchanging nervous looks with her mom, Holly focused back on him. “We have something to tell you. About our family.”
Fear flooded his eyes, and he dropped into a chair. “Is someone sick?”
“No,” Holly reassured him instantly, feeling awful for bringing up the specter of Brady’s illness. Summoning all her patience, she knelt beside her son’s chair and tried to keep it simple. “A long time ago, Auntie D was planning to marry someone in England. His name was Ian, and you’ve seen pictures of him with his race car.”
“Sure. What about him?”
There was no easy way to explain it, so Holly opted for the direct approach. “Not long ago, I learned that he was my father. And Auntie D is my mother.”
Understandably, Chase’s features twisted in confusion as his young mind attempted to wrap itself around a secret that had flustered her for weeks. Clearly seeking answers, he swung his gaze to the anxious woman at the head of the table. “So you’re my grandma?”
“Yes, honey.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Holly understood that reaction all too well, but she thought it best to let Daphne answer in her own way. This was between her and Chase.
“As your mother said,” she began hesitantly, “it was a long time ago. Ian and I were planning to get married, but he was killed in a racing accident before our wedding. I wanted my baby to have a real family, with a mother and father, and siblings to grow up with. I couldn’t give her those things, so my sister and I agreed that it was best if she and her husband adopt your mom and raise her.” Giving Holly a proud smile, she added, “I think they did a marvelous job.”
Chase seemed totally lost, and he shook his head as if trying to sort out the puzzle she’d presented him. “Who are Gramma and Grampa?”
“Your great-aunt and uncle,” Holly explained. “Aunt Cara and Aunt Julie are actually my cousins, so they’re your cousins, too.”
While he chewed on that, he studied Daphne with an expression way too somber for someone his age. “You lied to Mom because you loved her?”
She blinked in surprise, then let out a short laugh. “I never thought of it that way, but I guess that’s about the size of it.”
His baffled gaze swung to Holly. “And you told me the truth because you love me.”
Uh-oh, Holly thought. This was a sticky one. “Well, yes.”
“Grown-ups are weird.”
“Yes, they are.” Laughing, she hugged him, immensely relieved to discover that her son seemed to be taking the life-altering news much better than she’d anticipated. Maybe Sam was right and Chase had inherited her resilience rather than his father’s surrendering nature.
“Mom?”
Holding him at arm’s length, she said, “Yes?”
He held out the uneven hem of his new shirt. “There’s a lot of buttons on this, and I missed one. Can you help me?”
“I sure can.”
As she unbuttoned them and redid them, his innocent question echoed in her mind, making her smile.
Can you help me?
Those few simple words reminded her of the time not long ago when Sam had asked her the same thing. The situation had been very different, but knowing that the former soldier trusted her enough to ask had made her feel the way she did right now.
Content.
* * *
Sunday morning, Sam woke up before his usual time. He’d set his alarm a little earlier for today because he had an important errand to run. After dressing in his nicest clothes, he slipped off Nate’s dog tags and studied the dulled metal pieces that had hung around his neck—and his heart—for more than a year.
Glancing at the photo of Nate and him that he still kept on his dresser, for the first time in recent memory, Sam smiled when he recalled that day. Seniors in high school, they’d just won the league championship, and they were still grimy from a hard-fought victory but grinning like they’d taken game seven of the World Series.
“That was a great day,” Sam said out loud, just in case Nate could hear him. “I’ll always miss you and wish you were here. But I’ve gotta get on with my life, and I think this will help me do it. I hope you understand.”
As he settled the tags into the cotton-lined box he’d gotten from Emma’s jewelry studio, a peaceful sensation swept through him. Crazy as it seemed, Sam felt as if his message had been received in Heaven and Nate was letting him know he approved. Ever since he’d visited the cemetery with Holly, thoughts of his friend had crept in more and more often. Not the tormenting kind, but bright images of happy times they’d shared. There had been a lot of those, but when he’d been bogged down in the quagmire of his own guilt, those good memories had faded into the background of his mind. Now that they were front and center, he was hopeful that the worst of his ordeal was finally over.
But he had one more thing to do to set himself on the right path forward. It seemed so obvious to him now, he couldn’t believe it hadn’t occurred to him before. Before he could second-guess himself, he grabbed the box and hurried downstairs. In the driveway, the two trucks were parked side by side, as if offering him a choice: stay in the past or move into the future.
Suddenly doubting his plans, Sam toyed with his sturdy fob, staring down at each key in turn. While he’d kept up with the maintenance on his work truck, he hadn’t cared much about it being clean, so it was a mess, inside and out. Nate’s was much more presentable, and being practical, Sam angled his steps toward it. As he got closer, though, he noticed something.
The right front tire was flat.
He wasn’t the fanciful type, but he could easily picture his old buddy giving him a shove away from the pain he’d been carting around for so long. Shooting a look into the sky, he laughed. “Okay, okay, I get it. You can stop now.”
As a last-minute addition, he reached in for the box he’d used to haul favors for the parade and quickly filled it with all of Nate’s things from the cab of the truck. It looked starkly empty without them, but he ignored the prick of doubt and checked to make sure he had everything. Satisfied, he set the small box on top and shut the door.
A run through the new automated car wash took care of the worst of the grime on his own pickup, and Sam headed for Waterford. He parked at the curb next to a caboose-shaped mailbox that read Henderson. Determined to follow through on his task, he didn’t hesitate but climbed out and went up the brick walkway to the front door.
He rang the bell, and almost immediately a woman’s face appeared in one of the sidelights. When she saw him, her eyes widened in surprise and she flung open the door with a joyful look.
“Sam! It’s so good to see you.”
“Hi, Mrs. Henderson. I hope this isn’t a bad time.”
“Of course not,” she assured him, stepping aside. “You just come right on in, and I’ll let Peter know you’re here.”
Sam thanked her and stood in the foyer, unsure of what to do next. Through the archway that led into the living room, he saw Nate’s formal Rangers portrait over the fireplace, a triangular framed flag sitting in the place of honor on the mantel. He’d been their only child, Sam recalled sadly, and now he was gone. He couldn’t imagine how difficult it must be for parents to endure that kind of heartache.
Quick footsteps pulled him from his brooding, and he turned as a middle-aged man approached him, both hands held out for a warm handshake. “It’s good to see you, son. How have you been?”
Normally, Sam would tell people he was fine and leave it at that, well aware that they knew it was far from the truth. But Holly had taught him that it was important to be honest, and that there was no shame in struggling, only in refusing to continue fighting. So he took a deep breath and said, “Better, thanks. Your new house is beautiful.”
“That’s Teresa’s doing,” the older man informed him, sending his wife a fond smile. “She’s the decorator. I just sign the invoices.”
“Do you want to come and sit?” she asked, motioning toward the living room.
The view in there was the last thing Sam needed when he was just beginning to regain his emotional balance. “No, thanks. I really just came by to give you these.”
He held out what he’d brought, and by the look on Peter’s face, he knew without looking what was inside the smaller one. Nate’s father gave him a long, assessing look and finally nodded before taking the box from him. Teresa opened the jewelry box lid and dangled the tags the way Sam had done so often. Bringing them to rest over her heart, she gave Sam a grateful smile. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t mean to keep them so long,” he explained. “I thought about bringing them back a hundred times, but I just couldn’t do it.”
“What’s different now?” she asked.
“I’m not sure,” he confided, shrugging. “It just seemed like it was time.”
Peter nodded, as if he’d heard something in Sam’s response that made sense to him. Sam found himself wishing he understood it, too. Something more to work on, he supposed.
Catching himself, he halted the negative train of thought and forced himself to smile. “Well, I’ve got an appointment, so I need to get going. It was good to see you both again.”
“Anytime, Sam,” Teresa assured him, adding a warm hug. “You’re always welcome here.”
“Give our best to your family,” Peter said as the three of them walked to the door.
“I will. Have a good day.”
He went down the stairs, and this time the walkway didn’t look half as long as it had when he first arrived. He even noticed what a beautiful morning it was. Sunny and warm, he mused as he started the engine and pulled away. A perfect day for new beginnings.
And he knew just where he was going to start.
The choir was warming up their voices when he slid into the conveniently vacant seat next to Holly. Clearly startled, she pulled away with a disgruntled look, ready to deliver a scolding. When she saw it was him, though, the glare mellowed into one of her beautiful smiles. “Good morning.”
No comment about his rude exit a few weeks ago, Sam noticed, grinning as he returned the greeting. While he leaned over to read the news in the church bulletin she held, he pulled his collar aside to show her that he was missing something. She immediately grasped his meaning and whispered, “Where are they?”
“I drove over to Waterford and gave them back to Nate’s parents, along with the stuff out of his truck. That’s where they belong, anyway.”
“Good for you.” As if that wasn’t enough, she reached around his back and cuddled him into a near-hug that was all the proof he needed that he’d done the right thing.
“And tomorrow, I’m dropping the truck off with Oliver’s mechanic to get it repainted. I’m thinking burgundy would look nice.”
“Not to mention it’s more of a Red Sox color.”
She really did get him, he thought with a grin as Chase snuck up the aisle and wedged himself into the corner next to Sam. “Cody and me think it’s a good day for fishing.”
“It always is,” Sam agreed. “You wanna get through here?”
“Nah, this works for me.”
Holly chuckled. “He sounded exactly like you just then.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“Very good.”
She punctuated her reply with a bright smile that made him wish for more of them. A lot more.
While the three of them sang along with the rest of the congregation, Sam glanced around and noticed that they looked like any other family there. Spending Sunday morning in God’s house, surrounded by people who loved them, giving thanks for the blessings He’d brought into their lives. Sam couldn’t recall ever feeling more peaceful than he did right this minute, and he sent up a silent prayer of thanks to the Almighty for having patience with him. Sam had tried everything he knew to shed his faith, but no matter how far away he drifted, God simply wouldn’t let him go. The tragic nature of Nate’s death hadn’t changed, and neither had the fact that Sam would miss him every day until they put him in the ground.
But in the past, he hadn’t been sure that he could live with the sorrow of losing his best friend. Now, he knew he could. Because a plucky military widow from Savannah had shown him how. Staring at the portrait that hung behind the choir, he wondered if God had brought Holly to his very out-of-the-way hometown to rescue Sam from himself. Knowing that he needed a woman who saw him for who he was and understood, but who also wouldn’t let him continue to drown in his grief.
He was still mulling that over when the song ended and everyone sat down. This sermon was a fitting metaphor about how life was like baseball, obviously aimed at the kids. Chase had been fidgeting while trying not to fidget, but at the mention of his favorite game, his leg-swinging stopped and he fixed his attention on the pastor.
Holly kept darting looks at him, and when those gorgeous blue eyes connected with Sam’s, she rolled them in the kind of long-suffering look he’d seen so many times from his own mother.
“Boys,” she muttered, shaking her head with a fond smile that made it clear she actually didn’t mind all that much.
When the smile deepened for him, Sam felt the same lurching sensation in his chest that he had at Chase’s first game. This time, he recognized it for what it was, and he barely managed to swallow a groan of frustration. Ironically, it occurred to Sam that not long ago, he’d considered her intention to leave at the end of the summer to be the best thing for all of them.
But now, all he wanted was for her to stay.