“Well, I was just checking to see how things are going on the island. I hope you’re not working too hard.” Before slinking away from Bluffton, he’d committed to maintaining the yards of their island customers. Far be it from him to let down his dad and cousin.
“It’s okay. I prefer to stay busy.”
“I know you do. But I worry about you, honey.”
“I’m fine, Mom. I just needed to... get away for a while. I haven’t had a vacation in four years.”
“This is hardly a vacation. And you can’t tell me the invitation didn’t have something to do with your sudden departure.”
His eyes cut over to the drawer where he’d shoved the unopened envelope. “They sent it through the mail.” Even though he saw Tag every darn day at work.
“I’m sorry, honey. I know this is hard. I’m not excusing what he and Amanda did, but what’s done is done, and we have to figure out a way to make this work. He’s family.”
Sam wished his cousin had remembered that last year whenhe was busy moving in on Sam’s girlfriend—practically his fiancée at the time. But Tag was his mom’s sister’s son, practically his parents’ surrogate child. Tag, a year younger than Sam, had attended the same school, played on the same baseball team. Both had started working for Sam’s dad at Ford Landscaping in the summers. Both had become full-time employees upon graduation.
“I hate what happened, honey. I hate that you’re hurting. But he feels just terrible, and so does Amanda.”
Not bad enough to stop their wedding though.
“Are you planning to go?”
There was the question of the hour. He didn’t even know the wedding date as he hadn’t opened the invitation—and his family hadn’t exactly included him in the planning. “I don’t know, Mom. I don’t really want to think about that right now.”
A brief pause followed. “I understand. Is there anything I can do? You know I love you and I just hate this for you.” Sadness tinged her voice. This debacle had splintered the family—but that wasn’t his fault.
“I love you too, Mom. I’m fine. I just needed a breather.” From that remorseful look Tag wore like a naughty puppy. From the sudden halt of conversation every time Sam walked into a room.
“All right, honey. But maybe we can meet up for lunch next week, just you and me. I could come to the island...”
He’d gone out of his way to refrain from mentioning exactly where he was staying. But he could meet her at a restaurant. “Sure. I’ll text you.”
He wrapped up the call, but the conversation was still heavy on his mind. He’d managed to go most of the day without thinking about this mess, but the call brought everything back.
He grabbed his plate where the two burgers sat cooling. His appetite was long gone, but he grabbed one of the sandwiches anyway and opened his mouth to take a big bite.
The doorbell rang. Glancing that direction, he glimpsed Sadie through the sidelight. She saw him, too, darn it. Grimacing, he set aside his cold burger and went to the door.
“Hi, sorry to bother you,” she said when he opened the door. “This is for you.” She shoved a huge domed container at him. “It’s a Bundt cake. I couldn’t believe the kitchen was equipped with a Bundt pan, but there it was. I have a thermometer too—I just checked, so I guess a grilled steak is in my future. I hope you like chocolate.”
She sure did have a wide smile. And eyes that matched the cake. “Thank you.”
The dog yapped through the wall.
“I should get back to Rio, but just send the container back when you’re done. And thank you again for your help last night. Do you have a favorite kind of cookie? I should’ve asked before I went to the store, but I think I have plenty of ingredients no matter what your preference.”
“I don’t—you don’t have to do that.”
She waved him off. “Oh, I don’t mind. I’ll give you a few days though—the cake’s kind of big for one person.”
Was she hinting at an invitation? He was not inviting her in.
“Well...” She shrugged her bare shoulders.
His eyes caught on a faint smattering of freckles there.
“I’ll let you get to it. See you around—’cause we do share a deck and all.”
“Yes, we do.” He tried for a smile but she was already bounding off his stoop.
