Tymber Dalton (34 page)

He shook his head. “Not right now. Maybe later. Sami told me the exterminator said my desk had termites?”

Matt nodded. “I took it to the Dumpster already.”

“I’m surprised the rest of the house wasn’t infested.”

“Like I said,” Sami interjected, “they found a little minor damage, but it was old.”

“Oh, well, it was an ugly desk anyway, not very practical,” Steve admitted. “But what are you going to do for a desk?”

“I’ll use the dining room table. Next time I go to town, I’ll get another.”

“Maybe Matt can go, too? Help you get it home,” Steve suggested.

Matt nodded. “Sure. I don’t mind.”

“Have you had a tour of the park yet?” Steve asked him.

“Haven’t had time. Sam said it’s a neat place.”

“Hey, Sami, why don’t you take him riding today?”

Sami tried to read Steve’s gaze. It was difficult to remember her perceptions had shifted, not Steve’s. He most likely had no clue anything had changed between her and Matt, but now she searched every nuance of Steve’s voice and manner to discover hints regarding his intentions.

“Steve, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Matt might not like to ride.”

That was a lie. Matt had taught her how to ride. And the first time they made love was after an evening ride…

No, I won’t think about that!

“Besides, I don’t want to leave you alone,” she said. “I’d rather wait until you’re feeling better.”
And keep you out of the booze
.

Steve waved her objections away. “I’ll be fine. Once this pill kicks in, I’ll be out like a light for a couple of hours. And you can take your cell phone. If I have any problems, I’ll call. Go on, I’ll be okay.”

Sami wasn’t so sure. “It can wait until tomorrow.”

“They said on TV we might get heavy rain off the Gulf. If you wait, you might not have good weather until the weekend, and you know what that’s like. Seriously, go.”

She knew from the set of his jaw he was determined she have a good time whether she liked it or not.

“I won’t win, will I?”

Steve grinned and shook his head. “Nope.”

The phone rang, and she answered it, handed it to Steve. “It’s the real estate agent.”

She made Steve and herself lunch. She wasn’t hungry. It was something to do to appear normal. Matt started to follow her with his empty plate, but when Steve motioned for him to stay, Matt returned to his chair.

Steve talked to the agent, then said, “Hold on a minute,” and covered the receiver with his hand. To Matt, “How’s your real estate law?”

Matt’s convoluted path to becoming a literary agent started with his law degree and first job with a firm specializing in copyright law.

Matt shrugged. “If it’s a standard real estate contract, it shouldn’t be difficult.”

Steve flashed him a thumbs-up. “Can you have it sent over today?…Great! I’ll call my bank as soon as I get off the phone…Yes, tomorrow at three will be fantastic. Just put a map in with the paperwork…Wonderful, see you then.” He hung up and clapped his hands. “Sami!”

She stuck her head out of the kitchen, alarmed. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!” He laughed. “Tomorrow at three we sign the papers. They’ll send them over today so Matt can look at them. Can you get me my address book? I need to call the bank and arrange for the money to be wired.”

She retrieved it, wondering if buying the property would make the situation better—or worse.

“What clause were you trying to get them to drop?” Matt asked.

“They changed their mind when I offered them more money. The agent isn’t stupid—that meant a larger commission.” Steve took the address book from Sami. “Thank you.”

He looked at Matt. “Apparently, the owner wanted to keep the right of first refusal to get the property back. They said the owner usually insists on owner financing instead of purchasing outright. I offered them extra to take the clause out. If Sami ever wants to sell, I want her to be able to do it without any restrictions.” Steve located the number and dialed, leaving Matt to chew on his friend’s peculiar wording.

If
Sami
ever wants to sell.
Not
we
—Sami. As if Steve somehow already sensed he was losing her.

Steve finished his calls and relaxed on the couch, the medicine taking effect. Sami set his sandwich on the coffee table and pulled it close enough he could reach it. Pog eyed it, drooling, until she ordered the dog back to the kitchen.

“Thanks, babe.” Steve caught her hand, squeezing it.

Matt swallowed a wave of jealously and thought Sami winced. She obviously didn’t want Steve touching her.

Steve missed it entirely. “A courier will bring the contract by this afternoon. You can go through it, and we’ll all go to their office tomorrow for the signing. This is great!”

Matt thought Sami looked like it was anything but great.

“That’s good they can do it so quickly.” She was a good actor. That almost sounded normal.

Steve picked at his sandwich. “If you guys don’t go soon, the afternoon rains might start. Better get going.”

Matt changed into jeans. Sami was grooming Jeff when he reached the barn. “What the hell was that about?” he asked. “Wanting us to take a ride? How is that supposed to help us act normal?” He took the brush from her and finished while she caught Mutt.

“I don’t know. It wasn’t my idea. He seems bound and determined to send us on errands alone together.” She tied Mutt and started grooming him.

Matt saddled Jeff and adjusted the stirrups. “I feel like I’m going to jump out of my skin around him. Maybe I should take off after you sign the papers tomorrow. I can get a room in Tampa—”

“No!” Her ferocity startled him. He looked at her over the horse’s back. “You are not leaving!”

“Sweetheart, I can’t stay here forever. And I do have business in Tampa.”

She shook her head violently. “I will
not
stay here alone in this house with him, do you hear me?”

“Calm down.” Matt worried about her, concerned she couldn’t pull off the charade. “Give everything a few days to settle. You’ll feel better.”

“I won’t feel better until the divorce is final.”

“Sam, you said you could do this.”

“I didn’t know how hard it would be.” Her eyes glistened, and she angrily brushed the back of her hand across them, throwing the curry comb into the box, spooking both horses.

“Sam!” The force of his voice startled her. “Sam,” he said again, gently, “you can do it. I have faith in you.”

She studied him for a moment before reaching for another brush. “I hope you have enough faith for both of us.”

* * * *

She led the way to the main road before turning north toward the campground. They let the horses race, and in a few minutes it was easy to forget Steve dozing on the couch at home. She showed him the lake. Matt charged ahead down the hills and up again.

“That’s fun!” He laughed, patting Jeff on the neck. “God, these are great trails!”

She led the way to the top of the ridge where they enjoyed the view. “Be careful of the cable,” she said, pointing it out.

“That would be nasty to get tangled in. I’m surprised they haven’t removed it.”

“Bikes probably don’t have any problems with it.”

The surface of the lake lay still below them. With few bikes in the park, the sounds of birds and the breeze stirring the trees provided a soothing soundtrack.

“Why did you let me go?” she quietly asked.

“What?”

She turned in the saddle to face him. “Why didn’t you fight for me to stay?”

Matt looked away. He’d asked himself the same question on too many sleepless nights. “You wanted me to promise you something I couldn’t at the time. I didn’t want you to leave, but I wasn’t going to lie and tell you what you wanted to hear just to keep you. If you wanted me to fight for you…I’m sorry, but I’m not a mind reader.”

She was silent for a few minutes. “I almost walked out of the church before the wedding,” she admitted.

He met her gaze. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“Steve needed me. I didn’t think you needed me.”

“I didn’t need you. I
wanted
you.” She said nothing. “Sam, I’ve always loved you, I told you that. I didn’t want anyone but you. You’ll never know how hard it was for me not to speak up when the preacher asked if anyone had objections.”

They sat there for a few minutes. Sami broke the silence. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For wasting so many years.”

He touched her hand. “It’s what you needed.” He gently turned her face to his. Leaning in the saddle, he kissed her. “I am a complete person. I don’t need someone else to make me whole. Steve did. I won’t deny you probably saved his life. But I
want
you by my side. I want you to be my wife. I think that’s more important, to be wanted,
not
needed. If you want me to fight for you I will, but you have to tell me that’s what you want.”

She nodded. “That’s what I want.”

* * * *

An hour into the ride, they turned west and followed the park’s outer fence south. She pointed. “That’s the back road to our house.” They continued south.

“Where did you hear the voices?”

She stiffened, her whole body tense. “We’d have to go back to the cemetery and start from there.”

“Let’s do it.”

“I don’t want Steve to see us.”

“Steve’s probably zonked out on the couch.”

“Yeah, but if Pog sees us, he’ll bark.”

“Good point. Is there another way?”

“Let’s backtrack from the day-use area. I need to pick up the mail anyway.” She urged Mutt into a canter. Matt followed. At the gatehouse, Matt held her reins while she dismounted and went inside.

It took Sami a few minutes to find the trail. Once she did, she remembered the way. They located the clearing.

“I don’t see anything,” Matt said.

“Neither did I. It’s what I
heard
.”

They dismounted and stood there listening while the horses grazed.

Nothing.

From the distance, they heard traffic sounds on the interstate, and one of the few bikes in the park. No screams, no crying.

“I guess it’s too much to expect it to happen when we want,” Matt said, swinging up on Jeff’s back. “Can you show me the cemetery?”

She led the way.

* * * *

Steve watched them ride off. Hopefully he’d have at least an hour.

It looked like they tried to arrange the desk close to the way he’d had it. He appreciated it, but he had a mission.

He logged into his computer and found the file he had open when he passed out. He wanted to know if he’d truly gone crazy or if it had been a fever-induced delirium. The file was as he remembered it, except without references to Sami and Matt.

He let out a huge sigh of relief and closed the document. Then, he started to delete it, and noticed the last save time in the details.

That morning.

His finger paused in midair. The time was early, before Sami arrived at the hospital. It could have been her.

Or Matt.

The familiar rage buzzed. He closed his eyes against it. No, he wouldn’t do this. He would not give in to it.

Out of the darkness, he heard the voice.

Poisonous whore!

“No!”

Gonna teach you and those kids a lesson!

Steve slammed the laptop shut and backed away, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. God, he needed a drink! He tasted the whiskey…

No!

He closed his eyes and shook his head to clear it. No. He never drank whiskey before.

No
.

But it tasted so good all the way down.

“No!”

The desk—but it wasn’t there. What was it about the desk? There was something…

He tried to put his finger on it, bring it into focus, and couldn’t. So many hours shut up in here, so many lost hours. Time he couldn’t account for.

Like when he’d been drinking.

The basement!

The thought gave him hope. He started down the hall, then hesitated.

What
was in the basement?

He thought long and hard. Something in the basement…

Jesus, I’m so confused!

He turned back to the stairway to the second floor. He put a steadying hand on the banister and looked up the stairs. Well aware of the pain it would cause, he slowly mounted the steps, one at a time. Midway up he paused, expecting something…but nothing happened.

In the master bedroom he stood in the doorway and studied the room. The bed was made, missing the pillows on his side, the iron frame looking as it normally did. The third dresser drawer was minus the knob. He spotted it on top of the dresser and picked it up, thinking he might fix it.