The One She Left Behind. KRISTI GOLD

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СКАЧАТЬ together on a blanket, experimenting and exploring each other eagerly, but not quite going “all the way” for a solid two years. Then came the night of her seventeenth birthday when, alone in her bedroom, he’d said “Please” and she’d said “Yes.”

      After she heard the rustle of leaves followed by footsteps, Savannah turned her attention to her left to discover Sam emerging from behind the curtain of trees, as if she’d somehow psychically summoned him. Yet he wasn’t the lanky boy of yesterday. He’d matured in body with a broader chest and more bulk. Instead of T-shirt and jeans, he wore black dress slacks and a white tailored shirt. He carried a brown paper bag, not the age-worn guitar he’d oftentimes brought with him in their youth. But those cobalt blue eyes still held the power to reel her in like a hummingbird to sugar water.

      As Sam approached with a self-assured gait, a sudden, sharp sense of awareness caught Savannah off guard. Her frame went rigid, as if she needed to physically brace against the impact of his presence. She had imagined this moment, dreaded it in some ways. Hoped for it. For years she’d avoided it.

      He paused at the end of the bridge and sized her up, much the same as he had the day before in the diner, his expression unreadable. And as he continued on, Savannah struggled for words. Maybe she should offer an apology for being so abrupt yesterday, in spite of the fact he still owed her one for the way he’d treated her years ago. Then again, maybe not. She would be adult, coolly polite, but she wouldn’t grovel.

      “Hello,” she said as soon as he stood a few feet from her.

      Sam offered her the sack but no greeting. “I’ve been instructed to give you this.”

      She took the bag and asked, “What is it?”

      “Gracie’s pecan pie.”

      Savannah fondly remembered the housekeeper who’d treated her like one of the family. “I can’t believe you still have Gracie.”

      “Yeah, I still have Gracie,” he said without even a hint of a smile.

      Now what? Bid him goodbye and leave? If she had any sense at all, that’s exactly what she would do. Yet curiosity overcame common sense. “Aunt May told me you had a daughter. What’s her name?”

      He streaked a palm over the back of his neck. “Jamie.”

      “Congratulations.” If only she could sound more sincere, but the shock over Sam choosing the name they’d planned to give their own child reflected in her tone.

      “Still practicing law?”

      “Yes,” she said, ignoring the obvious disdain in his tone. “It’s hard work but it has its rewards.”

      “I can’t imagine keeping corporate CEOs out of hot water would be all that damn rewarding, so it must be the money.”

      Clearly he’d learned she’d chosen corporate law, and apparently he didn’t approve. Not that she cared what he thought about her career choice. “I’ve represented struggling small businesses as well, sometimes pro bono, so it’s not all about the money.”

      “If you say so.”

      His overt sarcasm drove her need to get away from the bitterness that was almost palpable. “I better go. Mother’s probably wondering where I am.” Then again, probably not. “Give Jim and Gracie my love and let them know I miss them. I didn’t have an opportunity to speak with them at length after the funeral.”

      His expression turned stoic as stone. “You could tell them before you run back to Chicago.”

      Obviously he wasn’t going to do her any favors or cut her any slack. “I’ll try to stop by for a visit before I leave.” In spite of the possible emotional upheaval, she also wanted to see Sam’s daughter.

      “Fine.” Without further hesitation, he turned and headed away, as if he had nothing else to say to her. As if he had no use for her.

      She shouldn’t be surprised, nor should she feel anything but relief. But as she started across the bridge toward home, Savannah experienced an overwhelming sense of emptiness, just as she had that day in the diner when they’d ended a close-knit relationship with hurtful words neither could ever take back. She hated the feelings. Hated that he could still strip her emotions bare. Hated him for acting as if nothing had ever existed between them. Hated herself for still caring.

      Just as Savannah stepped off the last wooden plank, Sam called her name, stopping her progress. She faced him again and simply answered, “Yes?”

      He kept perfectly still while he kept his gaze locked into hers. “Do you regret it now?”

      She frowned. “Regret what?”

      “Leaving town to get what you wanted, and staying away from your family when they needed you most.”

      They meaning her father. She couldn’t disregard the dagger he’d thrust right into the heart of her guilt. Obviously he wanted to hurt her again, and he was doing a fairly good job. “I did what I had to do to make a life for myself, Sam. Maybe you never understood it, but my dad always did.”

      “You’re probably right about that,” he said. “But you might want to ask yourself if it was really worth it.”

      With that, Sam spun around and strode away, leaving Savannah alone to ponder his words and the questions whirling around in her mind. Questions she didn’t dare ask him…or herself.

      HE’D NEVER SEEN A SWEETER sight—except for maybe the one he’d seen earlier on the bridge. Sam immediately pushed thoughts of Savannah from his mind to concentrate on his daughter dressed in a pink polka-dot gown curled up in his dad’s lap, her thumb stuck in her mouth, her eyes closed against the overhead light. Her hair was as dark as his dad’s was gray.

      Sam raked the baseball cap off his head and dropped down in the chair across from his dad. “How long has she been asleep?” he asked in a near-whisper.

      Jamie’s eyes popped open and she raised her head. “I’m not asleep, Daddy. I’m just restin’ my eyes.”

      Exactly what he’d told her several times when he’d drifted off in front of the TV during one of her favorite cartoons. “You looked pretty asleep to me, Joe. If you didn’t have your thumb in your mouth, you would’ve been snoring like your grandpa.”

      She looked more than a little perturbed. “I don’t snore, Daddy.”

      “Neither do I,” his dad added.

      “Oh, yes, you do, Jamison McBriar,” came from the direction of the kitchen. “Like a steam engine about to blow.”

      Sam chuckled. “Guess Gracie would know.”

      Jamie worked her way off Jim’s lap and climbed into Sam’s. “Did you see Ruthie?” she asked.

      Lying was out of the question, but he’d have hell to pay if he told the truth. Vague would probably work best. “No, sweetheart,” he said as he pushed a curl from her forehead. “I just dropped off the pie and left.”

      “Did you see Ruthie’s daughter, Daddy?”

      So much for avoiding the truth. “Yeah, СКАЧАТЬ