Mr. January

by Ann Roth

  Samantha had begun to dread that sound. “There’s Jeff.” She stood and carried her plate to the sink.

  “Can I stay in here?” William asked, hugging his firefighter hat.

  “For now, but when I call you, you have to come. All right?”

  He nodded.

  Adam accompanied her to the door, making her feel safe. “Come in,” she said.

  He gave Adam a wary look. “Don’t believe I will. Here.” He thrust the envelope at her. “It’s signed and notarized.”

  She didn’t have to force a pleased smile. “Thank you.”

  “Where’s William?”

  “In the kitchen. If you’re not going to come in, he’ll need his coat. I’ll be right back.”

  Minutes later, she led her son onto the porch, where Adam waited with Jeff. Neither man looked happy.

  Jeff waved at William, then glared at Adam. “Give us some space, man.”

  “I’ll stay up here on the porch and keep an eye on things,” he replied, his mild tone edged in steel.

  Jeff gestured at William. “Let’s go down to the yard.”

  Unwilling to leave her son with her ex, Samantha grasped his small hand. “I’ll come with you.”

  In the wintry brown grass beside the driveway, Jeff hunkered down to William’s level. “I’m sorry for the pain I’ve caused you, William. You’re a nice boy, and you don’t deserve that.” At the moment, he sounded like a normal guy. “Will you forgive me?”

  William looked to Samantha and frowned. “What does he mean, Mom?”

  “He’s apologizing for hurting you.”

  “I’m not hurt. I don’t have any owies or Band-Aids.”

  “For hurting your feelings,” she clarified.

  His little brow wrinkled while he considered that. “Like when I say something mean and you get mad at me? And then I say I’m sorry, and you forgive me?”

  “Yes, like that.”

  “Okay, Bhodi. I forgive you.”

  Her ex closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he straightened and faced Samantha. “Now you.”

  “I’m going to leave the past in the past and move on.”

  “Why can’t you say that you forgive me?”

  She couldn’t lie. “Because it wouldn’t be true.”

  The sudden dark flash in Jeff’s eyes scared her. With an ominous scowl, Adam started down the steps.

  Her ex-husband blinked, then once again became calm and rational. “I guess that’ll have to be good enough.”

  He climbed into his car and backed out of the driveway.

  Samantha sagged in relief. It was over.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  ‡

  As Jeff’s car disappeared down the street, Adam glanced at Samantha with a concerned expression. “You okay?”

  “Now that I have the signed papers and he’s gone, I am.”

  “I thought the meeting went real well. Now that it’s behind us, I could use a cup of coffee. We should talk. Privately.”

  He pinned her with a look that left little doubt what was on his mind. Their early morning conversation.

  Given her strong feelings for him, that was probably a bad idea. But he’d stood by her today, and she owed him. Reluctantly, she agreed.

  “William, I need to speak with Adam. It’s such a pretty afternoon. Why don’t you play outside for a while?”

  “Do I have to? It’s cold.”

  In a down jacket, hat and mittens, he’d stay toasty warm. “Would you rather take a nap instead?” she asked.

  “No nap!” He scrunched up his face, reminding her of when she made him eat his vegetables. “Can I play in the backyard?”

  “Of course. Adam and I will be in the kitchen. When you’re ready to come in, use the back door.”

  “In case I don’t see you later, bye, sport.” Adam squeezed the boy’s shoulder.

  “Bye, Adam.”

  William broke into a run, laughing before he even rounded the house.

  “He doesn’t seem one bit confused or upset about Jeff,” she commented as she started a pot of coffee in the kitchen.

  Adam got out the mugs. “I noticed. Your ex mellowed out quite a bit this afternoon. I’m sure that made the whole scene easier on William.”

  “Because you were there. I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”

  “No thanks needed. You were strong and tough, and didn’t lose your cool. I’m impressed.”

  The admiration in his eyes warmed her. Feeling brave and proud of herself, she stood a little taller and smiled.

  “There’s the pretty smile I’ve been waiting for,” he said. “The one I wanted to see before I left early this morning. I don’t like the way we left things.”

  He cared about her, really cared. Was there a chance he loved her? Samantha’s heart swelled with the possibility.

  Until she reminded herself not to get her hopes up. Adam didn’t want love.

  Two months ago, neither had she. But now…. Afraid of betraying her feelings, she lowered her gaze.

  “Hey.” He tipped up her chin, forcing her to look at him. “I’m no good at reading minds. Talk to me.”

  The tenderness in his clear-blue eyes made anything but honesty impossible. She would tell him the truth—even if it meant never seeing him again.

  “The coffee’s ready,” she managed around her suddenly dry throat. “Let’s fill our cups and sit down. Then I’ll explain.”

  *

  Sam perched stiffly across from Adam, her hands in a death grip around her mug, and Adam figured he wasn’t going to like what he heard.

  “The last two months have been….” She hesitated and started over. “I really appreciate everything you’ve done for William and me. Especially today.”

  Her words sounded an awful lot like good-bye. She was dumping him. Hell. His chest constricted. “Just say what you need to say.”

  She nodded. “I don’t believe you’re a bad bet, Adam Healey. I think you’re a great guy.”

  Strangest breakup words ever. He eyed her warily. “There are plenty who would disagree.”

  “Such as?”

  “My ex-wife, ex-girlfriends. My father.”

  “They’re all mistaken. Every day, you risk your own safety to help others. That makes you a real-life hero. You’re also one of the most thoughtful men I know. Besides standing by me today, which no one has ever done for me, you’re kind to William. You make us both laugh, which isn’t always easy to do.”

  Her lips flirted with a smile, before her eyes went soft with feeling. “You’re also a wonderful lover.”

  “Okay,” he said, confused.

  “I’m trying to tell you that I love you.”

  Stunned, he sat back. “But this morning you said—”

  “That I didn’t? I lied.”

  What was he supposed to do with that?

  After a long silence, Sam gave him a sideways look. “I knew I shouldn’t tell you.”

  “Look, I really like you, Sam.” More than he’d ever liked any woman, including his ex. He wasn’t about to delve any deeper into his feelings than that.

  “But you don’t love me. You’ve always been honest about that. It’s okay.”

  Her bright smile didn’t fool him. He’d hurt her, which proved what a bad bet he was. “What do we do now?” he asked.

  “Go our separate ways.”

  Adam wasn’t sure he wanted that, but for her sake, it seemed the best route to take.

  At the door, he shrugged into his jacket and tried to summon up something fitting to say. Nothing came to mind, and he settled for a bland good-bye. “Take care, Sam.”

  As he crossed the porch, the deadbolt clicked loudly behind him.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  ‡

  “If you don’t get your head on straight, you’ll blow your interview,” Rafe advised as Adam and the rest of the crew laid out their turnout gear for the evening ahead.

  Adam all but snarled. It had been four days sin
ce Sam had dropped the “L” bomb and put him out to pasture. Since then, he’d learned that he’d passed the written part of his promotion requirement. Then he’d taken and passed the physical test. The final hurdle, the interview, was scheduled for mid-morning tomorrow, after his shift ended.

  Despite the good news, he couldn’t seem to shake off his foul mood. Couldn’t even fake a smile.

  “She dumped your sorry ass, didn’t she? And after you helped her give the boot to her ex. Women.” Rafe shook his head.

  “You have it all wrong,” Adam said.

  “Her kid still too attached?”

  As important as William was, his name hadn’t come up in that particular discussion. “It’s simple,” Adam explained. “Her feelings for me are stronger than mine are for her.” Or so he assured himself. “You know how that goes.”

  His buddy looked skeptical. “You sure about that? In the nine-plus years I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you like this. Man, you are so whipped.”

  Adam gave him the evil eye but didn’t argue.

  “I knew it.” Rafe shook his head. “You’d better figure out what you want, or I just might have to take you out back and put you out of your misery.”

  *

  Samantha had just pulled up the driveway after dropping William at school Wednesday, when Betty’s sedan rolled to a stop in front of the house. She’d returned from Portland the day before.

  Eager to see her friend, Samantha quickly exited her own car and hurried toward Betty’s. “Welcome back,” she called out as Betty put her window down. “William and I missed you a lot.”

  “I missed you, too. I wish I could visit for a while and tell you about my trip, but I’m meeting friends for breakfast. These are for you.”

  She handed Samantha a cellophane-wrapped bouquet of flowers. “I thought they might cheer you up.”

  The entire town seemed to know Samantha and Adam had parted ways for good.

  “Aren’t you sweet. These are lovely. I’m doing okay, though.” Samantha forced a happy expression to underline the words. Be sure to broadcast how well I’m doing.

  “Of course you are. When are you and William coming over? I’d invite you this afternoon, only I’ll be out, playing bridge.”

  “You sure are busy. How about Saturday afternoon?”

  “It’s a date.” Betty smiled. “I’ll have the cocoa and coffee ready. Adam’s having his interview this morning.”

  Samantha hadn’t heard but tried to look as if she had.

  “I’m sure he’ll be relieved to have that behind him. Betty rubbed her arms. Now that it was early March, the weather had turned, carrying a hint of spring. But it was still too chilly to leave the car window down for long. “I need to scoot. Oh, before I forget, what kind of car does your ex-husband drive?”

  Samantha couldn’t recall. “An older gray four-door, but I’m not sure about the make and model. Why?”

  “When I took my morning walk earlier, I thought I saw him drive past your house.”

  A shiver that had nothing to do with the temperature ran down Samantha’s spine. “As far as I know, Jeff left town last Friday.”

  “Five days ago? Then it couldn’t have been his car. Forget I mentioned it.”

  Certain her ex was long gone, Samantha did exactly that.

  *

  “Why are you sad, Mom?” William asked early that afternoon.

  Perceptive little guy. “I’m tired.” That was true.

  “You need a nap.”

  “Now you sound like me.” She summoned up a smile. “I’ll have another cup of coffee instead. I’ve noticed you yawning several times. Maybe you need the nap.”

  “No! I want to go outside and work on my fort.”

  After school the day before, Douglas and Harper had come over to play. The boys had spent several hours constructing the fort using branches and an old blue tarp Samantha had found in the basement.

  “That sounds fun. Put on your coat and hat.”

  By the time William raced through the door, she’d set a mug of this morning’s leftover coffee in the microwave. While she waited, she watched her son out the kitchen window. Soldier-like, he marched into the fort. He seemed to be doing well.

  She, on the other hand suffered from a bad case of the broken-heart blues. Never mind, sooner or later, she’d get past this.

  The microwave beeped. Coffee and a magazine in hand, she sat down at the kitchen table. When her cell phone rang sometime later, the coffee had grown cold and the magazine remained unopened.

  Jana. Samantha almost didn’t answer. She was so close to tears these days, and she didn’t want William to see her break down. But the was busy with his fort, and she needed to talk to her friend. She picked up.

  “All ready for knitting class tomorrow?” Jana asked.

  “So ready. Now that I finished the sweater, I need a new project. Any suggestions?”

  “How about a purse? By the way, everyone missed you last week.”

  So much had happened since then that a week seemed a lifetime ago.

  “How are you doing?” Jana asked.

  Samantha hated her friend’s solicitous tone. “You don’t have to tiptoe around me. I’m strong and I’ll bounce back.” And darn it, no more pity party. She sat up tall. “You’ll see.”

  “Atta girl. Why don’t I drive tomorrow?”

  “Great. I’m going to hang up now and phone my mother. I haven’t filled her in yet about Jeff.”

  “That sounds real fun. See you in the morning.”

  Samantha caught her mother during a lull at the store, a perfect time to talk. She briefed her about Jeff’s new name and his strange beliefs, and explained about the legal document he’d signed. She didn’t mention Adam. She didn’t want her mother getting ideas or quizzing her. What was the point, when the relationship had ended?

  Her mother reacted as expected. “I’m shocked, Samantha. I really thought Jeff, or should I say, Bhodi, wanted you and William back.”

  “Nope. He didn’t want us, and we didn’t want him.”

  Her mother updated her on the goings on in Enterprise. When they finally disconnected, nearly an hour had passed.

  William had been outside the whole time. Samantha peeked out the window, but didn’t see him. Probably crawling around in his fort. She opened the back door and bracketed her mouth with her hands. “William!”

  No answer. Maybe he’d fallen asleep in there. Not bothering with a coat, she tromped outside, hugging her arms against the chill.

  He wasn’t in the fort. Or anywhere else in the front or back yards. She even checked her car. Odd. No longer aware of the cold, she stalked around the neighborhood, calling his name.

  Nothing.

  With a growing sense of alarm, she recalled Betty’s comment about the car she’d noticed this morning. And mulled over Jeff’s easy conciliatory behavior when he’d said goodbye, and the unnerving darkness that had flickered in his eyes.

  He’d signed away his parental rights, but he’d also stated he didn’t believe legal documents.

  What if he’d never left town? What if Betty had seen his car earlier? He could have taken William right under Samantha’s nose, while she chatted away on the phone.

  Oh, dear God, no. Her legs almost buckled under her. Running now, she raced into the house, grabbed her cell phone and called Adam.

  Never mind that he didn’t want her love. She needed him.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  ‡

  After a grueling three-hour meeting with four members of the division’s upper echelons, Adam was brain dead, but also proud of himself for being relaxed and confident during the interview. He felt sure he’d aced the thing.

  Then again, you never knew. Next step—wait to hear back. Whenever that would be. No one had said.

  His empty belly reminded him that he’d missed lunch. Needing food, he drove to Lucky Joe’s. There he slid onto a barstool at the counter. This time of day, business was slow, and in no time
, the server placed a burger with the works in front of him. Adam dug in and thought about Sam. She’d want to know about the interview, but the way they’d left things, she wouldn’t hear it from him.

  His appetite dampened, he set the burger down. He missed her the way he’d miss his right hand.

  Rafe had told him to figure out what he wanted. Adam didn’t even have to think about that. He wanted to explore the relationship, find out where it took them.

  Would Sam be open to that?

  Only one way to find out—head over to her place and talk about it. The problem was, by now William was home from school.

  Yeah, but he was a part of this.

  Adam returned to his meal. In record time, he finished, paid, and headed out.

  He’d just buckled up when his cell phone buzzed.

  Sam, the screen showed. “Hey,” he said. “I’m on my way over to talk to you.”

  She didn’t seem to hear him. “William’s missing. I think Jeff took him.”

  Adam frowned. “But he left town almost a week ago.”

  “That’s what I thought, but Betty saw his car drive past the house this morning. And now….” Her voice broke.

  “Call the cops.” The 4Runner roared to life. “I’ll contact my guys, and we’ll be right there.”

  *

  Alert to every sound and any movement or activity, Adam prowled the neighborhood in search of William. Equally vigilant, Rafe accompanied him.

  If Jeff had abducted that innocent little kid….

  Adam was so incensed, and yeah, scared at the thought, that his hands cramped from fisting them hard. He would personally deck the a-hole.

  He cared a hell of a lot about William. And Sam, waiting on pins and needles at home, where the police had instructed her to stay in case her son showed up.

  Betty had interrupted a bridge game and rushed over, along with Jana and the kitting group. While they offered support at home, Adam, Rafe, and a bunch of their crewmates combed the area.

  The police were out looking, too. They didn’t usually search for a missing adult this soon, but kids were different. They’d looked up Jeff’s license plate number, and were searching both here and on the roads.