The New Guy in Town

by Teresa Southwick

  “True.” But Faith had sold him a whole lot of first-date flowers. “I’m sorry that’s all I can tell you. Florist-client privilege prevents me from divulging details. I’ve already said too much.”

  “Wow, who knew his love life had a clandestine side.” Rose was teasing, but then turned serious. “I know very little about it really, but Linc says Sam helped him through a difficult personal time. Apparently he refused to accept the label stepbrother from Linc. He said there was no ‘step’ about it when you love someone.”

  Faith had seen his rock solid character for herself. Darn it. “I suppose he’s going to sprout wings pretty soon, to go along with that bright, shiny halo.”

  “You joke,” Rose said. “And he’s not perfect. But you’re in good hands.”

  Faith got an instant visual of Sam’s hands on her body in the best possible way. A shiver rolled through her and she tingled in places she had been sure would never tingle again. Any other woman would be thrilled to feel this way but Faith wasn’t any woman.

  She didn’t need a Sam Hart pep talk. She had no doubt that he was a good guy. If she needed proof all she had to do was look at the way Phoebe reacted to him. Kids didn’t suffer fools and she’d taken to him like a geek to the latest electronic device.

  The fact that he was a good guy was the problem. If he was a creep she could easily ignore him. But with a man like Sam, falling in love would be so easy and she didn’t want to, because it had always let her down. The emotion could make her heart write a check that her body would be only too willing to cash.

  Her cell phone rang and she checked the caller ID. “It’s the mayor. Do you mind?”

  “Take it,” Rose urged.

  She hit the talk button. “Loretta, what’s going on?”

  “The fire captain has given the okay for you to go home.”

  As badly as she’d wanted to hear those words and get away from Sam, Faith was really scared.

  Chapter Seven

  “I’m going with you.” Sam walked into Every Bloomin’ Thing and made the announcement just after his sister-in-law left.

  Faith slipped the strap of her purse over her shoulder. She’d just grabbed it from her office and was ready to go. “What are you talking about?”

  “The evacuation order has been lifted. You’re going to check out your house and I’m going with you.”

  Faith stared at him. “How did you find out?”

  “The mayor called to give me a heads-up.”

  “Did she tell you to come and hold my hand?”

  “No.” The corners of his mouth turned up slightly. “And I’m a little hurt that you think I wouldn’t come up with this idea on my own. Chivalry isn’t dead, in case you wondered.”

  “I didn’t.”

  “Now that I think about it, I’m miffed that you believe I don’t have the intestinal fortitude to tell Madam Mayor to take a flying leap if I felt it necessary.”

  “Wow, someone is feeling emotionally fragile today. What’s wrong? Did the stock market take a hit?”

  “Apparently not as big a ding as my ego.” He didn’t look hurt, just concerned.

  And she was behaving like a shrew. “Look, Sam, I’m not at my best. I guess the tension is getting to me. There’s a lot on my mind right now—”

  “I understand. It’s not necessary to say you’re sorry.”

  “I didn’t.” She stood a little straighter and looked him in the eyes. “That wasn’t an apology. Just giving you a frame of reference for my behavior.”

  “You mean being abrasive? I didn’t even notice.” But he nodded as if he’d already figured something out. “I’m still going with you.”

  “Wait. You think I was being ungracious to discourage you from coming along?”

  “Something like that.” He half turned toward the door. “You ready?”

  No, she wanted to say. Suddenly it was all too real and wondering about the condition of her house was a more attractive prospect than actually seeing it. That didn’t sweeten her disposition.

  She moved closer and looked up at him. “Don’t psychoanalyze me. A man who quivers with excitement over spreadsheets has no business trying to get into my head. Stick with numbers.”

  “Yes, statistics and figures are rational and easy to understand.” He slid his sunglasses to the top of his head, revealing the sympathetic expression in his eyes. “Anyone can see what’s going on—”

  “I can’t. Tell me,” she challenged.

  “You’re afraid. And you’re taking it out on me. I’m okay with that. I can handle whatever you’ve got. My shoulders are broad.”

  She’d noticed, although he obviously hadn’t meant that literally. But, of course, that made her look at his wide chest and muscular arms. All part of a very attractive package which aggravated her problem. “Surely you have better things to do.”

  “Let me be your friend. This isn’t something you should do by yourself.”

  Since she didn’t have the reserves to continue pushing back, she said, “Okay.” The truth was she didn’t want to do it by herself. “Phoebe’s going to want to see and she should. But I need to go first so I can prepare her.”

  “Of course. Let’s do this. I’ll drive.”

  As they went out the door he put his hand to the small of her back. It was probably no more than an automatic gesture to him, but to Faith it was so much more. Again she felt the sweetness of not being alone. She could have and would have done this by herself but was so relieved that she didn’t have to. He’d survived the shrew test.

  Sam handed her into the passenger seat then he climbed behind the wheel of the SUV, which was parked in front of her shop. Her place was about fifteen minutes from town and it was a full five minutes into the drive before Faith realized he wasn’t saying anything. No cheerful, meaningless words meant to make her feel better. Not even idle chitchat to distract her. She glanced over and saw that his jaw was clenched and there was a grim set to his profile.

  “You’re awfully quiet,” she said.

  “Hmm?” He glanced over. “Sorry.”

  “Aren’t you supposed to be perky, optimistic and say stuff to keep up my spirits?”

  “I would if I could think of anything inspirational to say that also happened to be true.”

  “Honesty from a guy is refreshing.” She found it much easier to slip into their usual banter than to speculate about what was ahead of her. “But then I’m talking to the man who sends flowers to let a girl down easy.”

  “Not all men are bastards.”

  “In case you didn’t recognize it, I was paying you a compliment. We’ve established that you’re a truthful man so obviously you believe that what you just said is true.”

  “I’m sensing you don’t.”

  “I can only judge by my data. Others have different experiences. In fact your sister-in-law, Rose, is deliriously happy now,” she said pointedly.

  “Every couple has bumps.” He slid her another look. “You saw Rose?”

  “She left the shop just before you walked in. We discussed flowers for her renewal of vows with your brother.”

  “Yeah. Those two are so sweet together it makes my teeth hurt.”

  Faith laughed. Who knew she could do that under the circumstances? “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Not wasting your breath trying to reassure me.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Conversation stopped as they drove closer and saw signs of the recent disaster. Trunks of leafless trees were black. Bushes and shrubs had been reduced to sticks poking up through scorched ground. Structures little more than ashes with the stone chimneys as silent witnesses of what had once stood there. They passed fire department vehicles on the winding road showing they still had a presence
in the area, for containment and mopping up operations.

  Faith’s heart squeezed painfully as her neighborhood grew closer. “All the street signs are gone.”

  “Yeah.” Any traces of humor had disappeared from his tone.

  Whole developments were wiped out. The only evidence that families had lived here were the metal remains of bicycles and cars. She knew her way without markers and gave him instructions. Sam turned onto her street and her breath caught. The houses on the side with the hill behind them were burned to the ground. But the ones on the other side were still standing, including Faith’s.

  But it looked like a war zone. Probably to the men and women beating back the flames it had felt that way.

  “It’s the one on the end.” She pointed and he drove into the driveway.

  When the car stopped, she jumped out and stared at what used to be her cute little house with the garden flag and pretty bushes. Sam stood beside her.

  “Oh, God—” She was in shock.

  There was soot and ashes everywhere, along with the overpowering stench of smoke. Trees around the property had black trunks and the bushes were trampled, but patches of grass looked salvageable. The front of the house made her stomach drop.

  “It looks like the roof caught fire,” Sam said.

  She could see burned places as it peaked and a gap where a chunk had fallen in. All she could say was, “There’s gunk all over the windows.”

  “My guess is that the firefighters took a stand here. The fire probably came up the hill across the street and it moved too fast to save those homes. So they lined up here and turned the hoses on the roofs.”

  She remembered how bad the wind had been. “In the thick of it sparks and burning pieces of whatever probably landed and took hold. So they had to water it down.”

  “Looks that way.”

  Faith walked up the sidewalk and tried to see through the windows but they were too filthy. She moved to the front door and started to turn the handle, then remembered it was locked. When she’d left, everything had been perfectly normal and now—it wasn’t.

  “I’m going to get my key.” Because it seemed wrong to do more damage and break a window she thought. How absurd.

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea to go in. The roof is unstable. And it should be inspected before anyone goes inside.”

  “I’ll just look—” Emotion choked off her words. She fished keys out of her purse and unlocked the door then pushed it wide.

  The smoky odor was even stronger and smelled like the remains of a campfire doused by water. She could see into the dining and family rooms and part of the kitchen. Not an inch of it was untouched. The furniture was dirty and waterlogged, the walls dingy with soot.

  She was too shocked even to cry. “Where do I start? How am I going to tell Phoebe? I don’t even know when we can come back.”

  “Okay. Now it’s time for reassuring words. And you know I’ll tell you the truth.” Sam put his arm around her shoulders. “It’s not a total loss, which is something. A building inspector can tell us for sure if the foundation and frame are sound, which I think they are. So that will speed up repairs. Plus I have connections in the construction business. My sister is an architect. More important, her husband is a contractor. And finally, the bank has resources in addition to the money that the state of Montana and the federal government will make available to victims since it was declared a disaster area.” He slid his sunglasses to the top of his head, letting her see the confidence in his expression. “And I meant what I said. You and Phoebe can stay with me as long as you need to.”

  “Oh, Sam—” She threw herself against him and hugged for all she was worth.

  When his arms came around her it was natural and right. She’d never felt so safe in her life. Not with her parents who were too wrapped up in their love for each other to pay much attention to her. And definitely not with her husband. The jerk. Sam Hart didn’t just talk the talk. He walked the walk.

  And again she was overwhelmed, this time by gratitude. He’d been discussing the situation in terms of “we” and “us,” as in being with her while she was going through the process of getting her life back. He was strong, reassuring her with words but mostly just by holding her. The desire to stay right where she was forever overwhelmed her, compelling enough that she forced herself to pull away. So much for avoiding hugging situations.

  But he only wanted to be her friend; she couldn’t let him see that she’d felt much more just now.

  “Don’t worry, Faith. I know it doesn’t look good at this moment, but everything will be okay.” There was a sheepish expression on his face. “Sorry. That was the best I could do for a perky, inspirational speech. Did it get your spirits up?”

  She smiled—it was wobbly but she managed. “Thank you for being such a good friend.”

  “You’re welcome.” But his eyes darkened with intensity that looked like much more than friendly.

  She didn’t know what to do with that information.

  * * *

  The day after seeing Faith’s house, Sam sweet-talked his sister, Ellie, into inviting the three of them to dinner. It didn’t take much arm-twisting when he explained about telling Phoebe she wouldn’t be going back to her house for a while. His sister picked up on the fact that the little girl could use a distraction and her daughter, Leah, could provide that.

  He knew Ellie and her husband, Alex, would want to pitch in and help with repairs however they could. So here they were, eating hamburgers and hot dogs in the McKnights’ backyard. They were sitting around a circular table with four small benches—Ellie and Alex on one, Phoebe and Leah side by side, and he and Faith. Every cloud had a silver lining, and his was that they were here to manage her crisis, but his shoulder constantly brushed up against hers. He liked it. So sue him.

  Ellie frowned at her daughter, who had flatly refused a booster chair because she wanted to sit like “Bebe.” Almost-three-year-olds didn’t always get words or names right but Phoebe wasn’t phased at all. She thought little Leah was the cutest thing ever. Sam agreed, although it was a toss-up when you put Phoebe in the mix. But his niece wasn’t eating and her mother wasn’t happy about it.

  “You know, Ellie,” Sam said, “this taking a stand about a clean plate is seriously cutting into my niece’s play time.”

  “Phoebe,” Faith said, “maybe you can make a game of it. You take a bite, then Leah can.”

  “Okay, Mom.” Phoebe smiled at the little dark-haired girl next to her on the picnic bench. “Leah, want to play a game?”

  “Yes!”

  “I had no idea she knew that word,” Ellie said drily. “All I hear is no.”

  “Let’s see who can finish their hot dog first,” Phoebe said. “Go.”

  “Wow.” Ellie watched the two girls chow down. “If only she was that cooperative with me. Especially at bedtime. I want Phoebe to live here.”

  “I’d miss her terribly.” Faith laughed. “How about I send her here when she’s being difficult?”

  “I’ll take that deal.” Ellie made a face when Leah shoved a piece of hot dog into her mouth. “Phoebe, will you please tell her to chew?”

  “Okay, Mrs. McKnight.” She looked at the child. “Chew like this, Leah.”

  The little girl perfectly imitated what she was shown and cleaned her plate, then held it up for her parents’ approval.

  Alex smiled proudly. “Way to go, baby girl.”

  “Not baby.” His daughter gave him a look.

  “And there it is,” Sam observed. “I didn’t realize it started so young.”

  Ellie looked at her child, then back to him. “What?”

  “The universal female expression that requires no translation. But let me attempt it. Without a word, she said you just don’t understand,” he told his sister. �
�You’re a dolt and possibly too stupid to live. You should be squished like a bug. I wonder if it started during caveman days and the women looked at Ug dragging home a woolly mammoth and he got the look. The one that said, ‘Really, that’s all you’ve got for dinner? We need berries and poison ivy to balance that into a meal.’”

  Ellie and Faith were laughing hysterically, but Alex was nodding, complete understanding.

  “How do I tell her she’ll always be my baby girl?” he asked.

  Sam happened to be looking sideways at Faith just then and saw her smile disappear. He could almost read her mind, see the regret that her little girl’s father hadn’t wanted her. Again, he felt the determination to show Faith that not all men walked out on their responsibilities. Most guys were reliable and Sam was one of them. She could come to him for anything and he would be there.

  “She doesn’t have to understand it, Alex,” he said. “She just needs to know her dad always has her back.”

  “Aww, Sam...” Ellie sniffled a little. “I had no idea you were so sweet and perceptive.”

  Basking in her praise, he took a sip of his beer then set the bottle down. “Don’t sound so surprised.”

  “Can’t help it. You were such a toad when we were growing up,” she teased.

  “My life would have been easier if he’d stayed a toad.” Alex looked ruefully at Sam. “When I wanted to marry your sister, I had to go through all of her siblings.”

  “What are big brothers for?” Sam would do it again. “It was a test and you passed.”

  “In all fairness, Alex, you were being kind of a toad yourself during that time. Don’t pout.” Ellie put her head on his shoulder. “You became my McKnight in shining armor.”

  “That’s so adorable,” Faith said.

  “Mommy, me play Bebe?”

  Ellie inspected her clean plate. “You may be excused.”

  Apparently Leah understood because she scrambled off the bench, her mother’s hand hovering close by in case she needed help.

  “Bye,” Leah said to the adults in general. “Bebe, go play?”