Some Day Somebody (21 page)

CHAPTER 11

“Hey Sam,”
the pretty, full figured woman told him. “Don’t get up,” she said, placing a hand familiarly on his shoulder. “I’m having supper with Deb and Margaret, and wanted to come over and say hello.”

Carrie watched as Sam clenched and released his jaw several times during her dialogue before he nodded then answered in a low growl.

“There’s a first time for everything, I guess,” he muttered, sending Carrie an apology-filled plea for patience. “Carrie, this is Linda.”

The woman reached over the table to extend her hand.

In Carrie’s mind, Linda’s bold act of walking over to their table in front of everyone in the dining room implied one of three things: First, Linda considered this to be
her
territory, and Carrie the interloper; second, Sam’s ex-wife was an extremely friendly person; or third, Linda was just nosey as hell.

Linda’s insincere smile hinted at a mixture of territorial and flat-out-nosiness. Carrie chose to stand as she clasped hands with the much shorter woman. She watched Linda’s smile falter, obviously shocked at the sight of her ex-husband’s date smiling
down
at her. “Carrie
Jeansonne
. Hello, Linda. It’s very nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Carrie. I didn’t realize Sam was seeing anyone...and so young, too.”

Carrie intercepted the smug look Linda directed at a tight-lipped Sam. The woman had nerve, for sure, but absolutely no idea who she was messing with
.
Carrie cocked her head slightly to the side. “People always tell me I look
much younger than my age, Linda, but thank you so much for the compliment.”

“How long have you two been dating?” Linda asked.

Sam rested his elbows on the table, his fingers interlaced tightly together. “Since when do you give a damn what I do?”

Carrie reseated herself, leaving Sam’s ex standing alone, and covered Sam’s tightly laced fingers with her own relaxed hand. He latched onto her fingers with both hands, as though he were a drowning man reaching for a buoy. She answered his questioning gaze with a warm smile. “This is only our first date, but Sam and I work together, and we’ve been friends for a few months.”

Linda blinked once and furrowed her brow. “I thought the company frowned upon co-workers dating.”

Carrie gave the woman a bright smile. “Oh, Sam’s not my boss. I’m a road designer, so it’s okay.”

“You must be new. Roxie’s been the only woman in that office for years.”

“I’ve been there for—has it been over four months already, Sam?”

“On the eleventh.”

“You remember the day?” she asked, her look of surprise more for the sake of his ex than anything else.

“Uh huh,” he murmured, never taking his eyes from her.

Under the circumstances, Carrie decided she could afford to be gracious. “I’ve seen pictures of your beautiful kids, Linda. Amanda and Nick look a lot like you.”

“Oh...uh...thank you. Well, I don’t want to keep the two of you from your meal.”

Carrie watched as Linda turned abruptly and walked back to her friends. Several other heads watched the woman’s hasty retreat back to her own corner of the ring.

Carrie raised her hand to ring an imaginary bell.  “Ding! Ding! First round goes to the contender.”

Sam grinned at her and nodded. “I believe it did.”

She settled back into her chair to slice a section of her tender rib eye. “Do you think she got what she was looking for?”

Sam’s chuckle rumbled deep in his chest.
“Yep, and so much more.”
He raised his fork to his mouth and paused. “You know, that’s the first time she’s initiated a conversation since we split. We normally repel each other like two magnets with the same pole.

Carrie smiled at him as she looked up from cutting her steak. “I figured as much. I guess that was the female version of a pissing contest.”

He snorted. “You definitely won.”

“You think?”

“I know.”

Carrie swallowed her bite of steak and leaned forward to speak. “To the victor
belongs the spoils
.”

Sam reached over and ran the back of his hand gently along the side of her face as his tone deepened. “This spoil is yours, if you want me.”

“I’m considering it,” she said, leaning back in her chair. “But first, are there any more exes or
wanta
-bees to contend with,
Saa-mmy
?”

Sam rubbed at his face. “You don’t have to contend with anyone.
Bertie’s
slept with every man in town,
except
for me. As for Linda—she was just being down-right nosey.”

Carrie sipped from her water glass. “She’s just curious.”

“
C’est
tout le meme chose
.”

“I guess it is the same, isn’t it?”

They finished their meal with no more drama, and got to the theater in plenty of time. Carrie laughed at the preview of George Clooney in the
Coen
brother’s movie, and again at Ben Stiller and
Deniro
, as a male nurse and his prospective father-in-law.

“Corey said the soundtrack to that George Clooney movie is outstanding,” she whispered. “I’d like to see it.”

Sam leaned close to her ear. “How about next weekend?”

“I’d love to go with you next weekend.”

He straightened in his seat, his face plastered with an ear splitting grin. “You’re so easy.”

“And cheap, too,” she added. The two of them faced each other and fell into helpless laughter.

“I meant you’re easy to be with, as in comfortable,” he explained as he reached his arm around and pulled her closer.

She smiled, settling into the cozy crook of his embrace.

Two hours later, Sam reached out from the driver’s seat and grabbed Carrie’s hand, entwining his fingers through hers. “Did you enjoy the movie?”

“I did. It was no Tombstone, though. I loved Val Kilmer in that one”.

“I’m your Huckleberry...” he drawled, imitating Val’s character, Doc Holiday. He studied Carrie’s profile while waiting for a signal light to turn green. “So, what day do you want to go next weekend?”

“I guess we’ll have to check the schedule again,” she said, turning to look out the window of his truck. “But, you don’t have to take me out, you know. I’d be just as happy with a home cooked meal and a rented movie.”

Sam nodded. “Whatever you want to do, we’ll do.” He smiled as she tried to hide a yawn from him. “I need to get you back so you can go home and get some rest. I bet you’re tired.”

“I am,” she agreed. “Mom and I got all the baking done for tomorrow and the next day.  I don’t want to see an electric mixer or mixing bowls for a while.”

“I guess you have big plans with your family and kids tomorrow night?” he asked.

Carrie played with the zipper of her purse. “Actually, the kids will be with me all day tomorrow but are going back to their dad’s tomorrow night. Christmas Eve night is a big thing at Ruby’s.” She turned to face him, her gaze filled with curiosity.
“How about you?”

“Lunch at my folks.
My kids all have places to be all day tomorrow and tomorrow night.” He turned to her, a hang-dog expression on his face. “My sisters invited me to their places, but I’d hoped to have other plans for that night.”

Carrie raised one brow, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “Poor baby, I’d invite you to my mom’s, but I doubt you’d survive it.”

He pulled at his collar uncomfortably. “Um, you may be right about that.”

“Besides,” she added. “Before anyone in my family could meet you, I’d have to broach the subject of my seeing other people with my kids.”

Sam stared straight ahead at the roadway and swallowed hard.
“Other
people
?”

“Well, just to see if they’d mind. I mean, this is only our first date.”

He swiveled his gaze around to face her. “But, you’ve already accepted a second date,” he added.

She stared ahead, avoiding eye contact with him. “Yes, I did.”

“I thought we’d be...that made us...um...that we were...” he stammered, then sighed in frustrated defeat.

Carrie’s voice held a hint of laughter. “Sam, are you asking me to go steady?”

He ducked his head, in embarrassment. “Go ahead. Laugh at a man who’s on his
first
‘first date’ in twenty-three years.”

Carrie gave a low whistle. “That’s nearly a quarter of a century.” 

“Oh, you’re funny.”

“So I’ve been told.” She smothered her laughter. “I’m sorry.”

“Like hell you are.” He grinned down at her. “You like making me squirm.”

“I love watching all men squirm, I admit it.”

“I keep telling you, we’re not all like Dave.”

Carrie studied him silently for several seconds before replying. “I’m beginning to accept that.”

Sam nodded as he pulled up under the carport next to her sedan. He threw his truck into park and turned off the engine. Dozens of strands of Christmas lights strung along his porch filled the pick-up’s cab with a multi-colored glow. He felt her staring at his profile, and resisted the urge to straighten, making himself look taller. His head already just cleared the liner of his truck’s cab.

Carrie reached out with her fingertip to trace the bridge of his nose.

“I know, it’s big,” he said, then puckered to kiss her fingers.

“I like it...I like your looks, and I love being with such a tall man. But, you know what I like best of all?”

He gathered her fingers in his hand and brought them to his lips for another kiss. “What?”

“Your character,” she said. “This is different for me Sam. This is mature, genuine admiration for a man I’ve worked with for a few months now. I like...
you
.”

He stared at her, as the wind whistled in from the north, audible over the soft clicks of the cooling engine. It buffeted the side of his truck and caused it to rock slightly. The Arctic cold front had moved through, accompanied by icy winds sure to dry up water left from two days of drenching rains.

He shook his head before tearing his gaze from hers. “I can’t help thinking you could do a lot better than me.”

“Sam,” she whispered, reaching out to him with the hand he didn’t hold. “There is no better.”

He caught her hand with his own and turned his face to place a gentle kiss on the inside of her palm. “Thank you,” he whispered. “Sixteen months of being alone has taught me a lot about myself, things I didn’t want to know. I made a lot of mistakes in my marriage.”

“It didn’t come with an owner’s manual, did it?”

“Nope, and neither did the kids.”

Carrie laughed softly. “Lord, I wish I could have a do over with my kids, especially Grant. I was so green when he was born. I’m sure I’ve scarred him for life.” She hugged her coat closer to her and checked her watch. “It’s a quarter to eleven, and I have a busy day ahead of me. This night flew by, didn’t it?”