Whispers Under A Southern Sky. Joanne Rock

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СКАЧАТЬ baby lay tucked into one of Sam’s arms and stared at Amy with wide blue eyes. The child had quit crying for the moment, making the sound of the silence all the more awkward.

      “I came up here to see you. Hello, Amy.” Sam reached past her to retrieve her shopping bags from the car, following her example. “Let me give you a hand.”

      He smelled good. Like spicy aftershave and wood smoke, as if he’d spent the afternoon near a campfire.

      “I can manage,” she assured him. “And you appear to have your hands full.” She wondered why her sisters hadn’t mentioned Sam had a kid. It struck her as highly relevant. “Congratulations.”

      She brushed past him to enter the cabin, needing to escape from a confrontation she wasn’t ready to have. In theory, she’d understood he lived close to the cabin. Her sister Heather, ever the family peacemaker, had warned Amy of his proximity in a letter. But she hadn’t counted on him seeking her out and trying to talk to her.

      Then again, he couldn’t know she’d lost the skill of idle chitchat. Since she’d left Heartache, she no longer bothered making small talk with strangers or pretending a level of social comfort she’d never developed. While waitressing, she’d taken orders, delivered food and kept coffee cups filled. Occasionally, a chatty trucker would remind her of her father and slide past her guard, roping her into conversation about something besides the weather and how he’d like his eggs cooked. But for the most part, she kept to herself.

      Besides, Sam was holding a baby.

      A healthy, beautiful swaddled bundle that only reminded her of the pregnancy she’d lost a year ago. She’d faced the miscarriage alone since she’d scared off the father within weeks of discovering they were going to be parents. Amy hadn’t mourned the loss of the stockbroker boyfriend. But the baby?

      The hurt of it yawned like a hole that would never close.

      She was opening the front door of the cabin with the key when Sam caught up with her. She sensed his movement behind her, heard the rustle of plastic shopping bags.

      “You’re in luck,” he said as she shoved open the thin pine front door. “Turns out I can carry a baby and a few bags, too.”

      He followed her inside, not waiting for an invitation—or maybe guessing she wouldn’t give one. As he dropped the bags on the floor beside the ones she’d deposited there, she was reminded of the first time he’d spoken to her.

      “Do you remember when we got paired to set up the archery stands in gym?” She shared the thought, protecting herself from having to ask him about the infant or himself just yet.

      “You told me you’d manage just fine on your own.” Sam leaned a hip against the tiny kitchen counter, making the cabin look smaller just by being inside it. “Surly then. Surly now.” He grinned. “It’s good to see you haven’t changed.”

      She felt herself smile before she realized how fast he’d put her at ease. But then, was there any point in putting up walls with this man who was her only neighbor for miles? This man who had a baby with another woman and couldn’t possibly disappoint her more than he already had?

      She forced herself to relax.

      “You, too. I didn’t recognize you on the porch, and I got rattled.” After reaching into one of the grocery bags, she tossed some soy milk and a bag of mixed greens into the refrigerator.

      “That’s a relief. I was afraid you’d gotten rattled because you recognized me.” He shuffled the baby from one arm to the other, using his free hand to empty the contents of one of the bags and set everything on the countertop while she tried not to stare at the child with a tuft of fluffy brown hair.

      Part of her longed to offer to hold the squirming bundle, but she didn’t know if she could keep it together. Her miscarriage had been traumatic—a turning point in her decision to reconnect with her family. After the worst of the initial grief faded, she had decided she wouldn’t ever have a family of her own now, but she did want to salvage some kind of relationship with her siblings.

      “So what’s his name?” She reached toward one of the baby’s small feet, guessing it must be a boy by the blue blanket and onesie. She tucked the blanket around the kicking leg.

      Then, realizing how close that had put her to Sam, she scuttled back a step and returned to loading the small cupboards with food supplies. She also shoved the police scanner she’d bought to the rear of the counter, not wanting to reveal the full depths of her personal paranoia.

      “Aiden.” Sam held the child at arm’s length and studied him. The baby stopped pedaling his legs long enough to stare at his dad as thoroughly as his father examined him.

      She noticed Sam’s ring finger remained bare.

      “Nice. Is that a family name?” She realized suddenly that he may not know much about his real family and kicked herself for asking. Sam had been in foster care when they’d dated.

      “I don’t know. I didn’t choose it.” He tucked the baby back against his chest and swiftly changed subjects. “I didn’t mean to intrude, and I can see you’re busy. But Heather told me you were here, and I wanted to make sure you were okay out here alone.”

      He was already heading for the door, which she told herself was probably just as well. The chapter of her life with Sam’s name on it was long over. Even if he hadn’t ditched her without a word, there was still the matter of that tiny boy nestled in the crook of one strong arm.

      “Yes, I’m fine, thanks. I’m up here for a couple of months to renovate this place into a year-round home so I can sell it and split the profits with my siblings.” Besides bringing her closer to her family, she needed the money to set up her accounting business. A business that would let her work from home and focus her energies on numbers and data as opposed to people. “I’m doing a lot of the work myself, but there will be a few contractors here, too, so don’t be surprised if there is more noise and trucks going in and out.”

      “Sure thing.” He nodded. Frowned. “Amy, you were friends with Gabriella Chance back in school, weren’t you?”

      “Gabriella?” The girl he’d left her for? Amy was floored by the bluntness of the question.

      Funny, she’d always thought of herself as the socially awkward one. Maybe Sam had her beat.

      “Zach’s sister,” he reminded her. “She was in your grade.”

      She gripped a box of pasta so tightly it started to cave in.

      “Right.” She shoved the box in the cabinet and closed the door with a satisfying bang. “Up until she left town, that is. But, yes, we were friends before that.”

      Before Gabriella took away the most important person in Amy’s world.

      “I’m building a case against a man I believe stalked Gabriella during high school, but I need more evidence to connect him to her.”

      She grabbed the kitchen counter, suddenly feeling like the floor was giving way beneath her. She couldn’t speak. How much did Sam know about that part of her past? About the night she’d followed him to Gabriella’s house? Her throat convulsed reflexively until she had to find a glass in the cupboard and pour herself a drink of water.

      Sam СКАЧАТЬ