Her mother took a moment to soak in the information and was about to ask another question when Sam spoke.

“Before you say anything more or ask any other questions, there’s something you should know. I care about your daughter a great deal, Mrs. Prudhomme. I’m sorry if you disapprove of me, but that isn’t going to change the way I feel about Beth.”

“Nor is it going to change the way I feel about Sam,” Beth said, in order to make sure her mother knew where she stood.

“I’m beginning to get the picture here,” her mother said slowly, thoughtfully.

“I hope you do, Mom.”

Ellie nodded and sighed as her shoulders sagged forward. “I was afraid something like this would happen.”

“Something like what?” Beth challenged.

Her mother shook her head. “Never mind.”

And that was exactly what Beth intended to do.

Chapter 13

Sam

Early on, Rocco had warned Sam to treat Beth with care. It took kissing her and meeting her mother to convince him that he might well be in over his head with this woman. He’d met her mother only the one time, and frankly that was enough to last him a lifetime. He loved the fierce way Beth stood up to the woman, defending him at every turn. She made sure Ellie Prudhomme knew she wasn’t backing down in any way, shape, or form when it came to living her own life. Sam couldn’t have been more proud of her.

As the days progressed, Sam discovered he wanted to kiss her more than he wanted to breathe. Every time she was in his arms and his lips were on hers was better than the time before, better than he could have ever imagined. His feelings for her intensified each day until she was all he thought about. He’d heard about besotted men who walked around with their heads in the clouds. He remembered Rocco when he’d first met Nichole acting that way. He never thought it would happen to him, and yet here he was, every bit as dopey as his friend had been.

Sam remembered a half-drunk Rocco telling him about Nichole. It wasn’t a good time in their relationship. It looked like the two of them were about to split and in fact might have. Rocco had been drowning his sorrows in beer and started mumbling under his breath. Sam had the feeling his friend had forgotten he was even there. Rocco muttered something about kissing Nichole and feeling the earth move like a friggin earthquake. At the time, Sam had grinned, amused. That sounded like lyrics to a Carole King song. He wasn’t smiling now. That was exactly how he felt when he kissed Beth. There’d been a quake, all right. One that registered high on the Richter scale. It felt like the floor beneath his feet had started to heave and buckle and all they’d done was kiss. He couldn’t begin to imagine what would happen if things had gone any further.

Nichole was right to be concerned. She might have introduced Beth to him, but apparently now she had doubts, and frankly, Sam didn’t blame her. Getting emotionally involved with him wasn’t the best option for Beth. She was refinement and innocence, educated and smart. He was none of that.

And yet … Sam found he was addicted to her the way a heroin addict needed a fix. He couldn’t go twenty-four hours without seeing her. At the end of the workday, he rushed out of the garage and was home only long enough to shower and change clothes. The one exception was his poker night, and even then Sam was eager to leave as soon as he could, needing his Beth fix.

Thankfully, Beth’s recovery was coming along nicely. Walking remained difficult for her. Within a short amount of time she’d advanced from the walker to a cane. They often ate dinner together, and then it was off to the piano. He loved their jam sessions. Sam could easily play for hours with Beth. It’d gotten so the staff and half the residents of the rehab center came to listen in.

She chatted with the crowd and took requests. If he didn’t know the tune, like Beth, he was able to pick it up easily enough. Several times a few brave souls would sing along. Beth’s talent moved him and she’d managed to convince him that he wasn’t half bad. They entertained the facility for a couple hours every night and would have played longer if Beth had more stamina.

She was regaining her strength little by little. He could see an improvement even if she couldn’t. He understood her frustration and knew she was eager to get back to teaching and her life. The thought worried him some. Once she was released, their relationship was sure to shift. It was inevitable. He just didn’t know how or what it would mean.

He wasn’t sure what it would look like once she was back to the schedule she’d kept before the accident. Their nightly jam sessions were sure to end. It did no good to worry about it now, although Sam had a fatalistic attitude. He had to be willing to let her go, and while it would gut him, it would probably be for the best. Sam, however, refused to let his thoughts wander down that unwelcome path.

Saturday morning, three weeks after the accident, Rocco needed Sam’s help getting a new dryer installed onto the small back porch that served as their laundry room. As always, Sam was happy to lend a hand. It’d been a week or longer since Sam had connected with Rocco and Nichole. As soon as they were finished, he’d head off to the rehab center to see Beth. It never felt right to be away from her for long periods of time. When he left her, his thoughts would automatically calculate how long it would be before he could see her again.

Getting the dryer through the narrow doorway was going to be tight. There was only a couple inches of room, and Sam had already bitten off a few swear words as the two men struggled to get the dryer on the porch. As they lifted the appliance up the steps and eased it through the opening, Owen was at the ready, his money jar in hand. Sam scraped the back of his hand as they moved the dryer through the narrow doorway, lifting away several layers of skin. He swallowed a cuss word, thinking that later he’d let Beth kiss it and make it better. He was sure to get a healthy dose of sympathy from her. Thinking about her sweet lips kissing his hand produced a smile. He might be able to convince her his lips ached, too. At that thought he chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Rocco groaned, bent over, as they lifted the heavy machine.

Sam hit his hand again and this time it really hurt. “Son of a …” He bit off the last word and could almost feel Owen’s disappointment.

Once they manipulated the dryer through the door, Rocco and Sam stepped back and exhaled. Thankfully, it took only a few minutes to hook it up.

Disappointed, Owen returned to the house to deposit the money jar in his room. When his stepson was out of earshot, Rocco said, “Got a bit of news about Nichole’s ex.”

“What’s going on?” Sam had never met the other man, but over the years he’d heard plenty. Before Nichole and Rocco were married, Jake had basically blackmailed Nichole into breaking up with Rocco, threatening to take her to court for custody of their son if she continued the relationship.

“He’s going through his second divorce. Wife number two caught him cheating. Seems he didn’t learn his lesson with Nichole.”

“Doesn’t look like he can keep his zipper closed,” Sam muttered. Jake had been a lucky man with Nichole and blew it. Some guys never learn. Although Rocco didn’t mention it, Jake wasn’t much of a father figure, either. The parenting plan called for him to have Owen every other weekend, but the majority of the time Jake was busy. Owen saw his father once a month if that. To the best of his knowledge, Jake hadn’t attended a single one of Owen’s T-ball games. Rocco was more of a father to the six-year-old than Jake would ever be.

“It hurts Nichole that Jake is mostly absent for Owen.”

Sam knew what he was saying. “That choice is his.” But Nichole wasn’t the only one who felt bad for Owen. Rocco did, too, and worked hard to be a positive role model and stepfather to the boy.

“It’s a good thing Owen’s got Leanne and Nicolai.”

Sam knew that the older couple spent a lot of time with Owen and with the baby as well, showering the newborn with love and attention.

The door off the kitchen opened and Nichole appeared, wearing one of the apparatuses that carried the baby in the front, pressed against her chest. Matthew was sound asleep, his head resting against his mother’s breast. Sam reached out and cupped the baby’s small head. He enjoyed seeing Rocco with a young family, and his heart ached for all the might-have-beens in his own life.