Odd. And awkward. She turned to Ian. He didn’t seem the slightest bit concerned. “Wanna go in?”
“If you do.”
He touched the small of her back.
It happened so suddenly Sam wondered if she’d imagined it. However, his touch lingered there just a few seconds longer, verifying that it was not her imagination. A small act but something so intimate she felt as if he’d taken ownership of her. Strangely not an unpleasant feeling.
They climbed the three wooden steps that led inside the bar. Classic rock blared, making everyone shout their conversations. Sam had never been comfortable in crowds, or in bars, or around loud music, and she cautiously shrunk back against Ian. His body was lean and hard and somehow comforted her.
All too soon, Ian disappeared toward the bar and came back with two sodas. “I didn’t get you diet because you don’t need it.” He grinned.
“Thank you.” Sam smiled. She remembered him looking at her can of diet soda the night they’d shared pizza. The fact that he remembered was impressive. She doubted Ian had ever remembered anything about her back in high school.
Various people came up and started conversations with her. Sarah Parker spoke to her for a good half hour. Sam briefly told her about her life in New York City and about opening the diner. She’d brought a few flyers she’d made for the new business and passed those out to everyone who spoke to her. Ian stayed at the bar, not really saying anything to anyone.
Strange, the captain of the football team should be talking to everyone. Nerd girl shouldn’t be more outgoing than Ian Woods. But she was and it was weird. He sat at the bar gripping his drink, clearly uncomfortable. Ian was no longer popular in this town, and from the looks people were giving him, he certainly wasn’t wanted here.
Sam approached him. His smile was slow, gentle, and it seemed grateful for her presence. She felt a connection grow between them just then. It was unexpected and surprising, and Sam didn’t know what to make of it. “I’m ready to call it a night. How about you?”
“Are you sure?”
“Most definitely.”
They started to leave when two men blocked their path. The first one was huge, rock solid like a bull in a china shop. “Well, if it isn’t book girl and the jock turned murderer.”
It was Frank Rogers. Star football player. He and Ian had been inseparable in school.
“You into ex-cons, Sam?” Brad Smith looked her up and down, his gaze landing on her breasts.
Frank nudged Ian with the neck of his beer bottle. “You didn’t tell her, Woods?”
Ian took Sam’s hand and without speaking, pushed by them, all the while pulling Sam with him.
Frank was quick on their heels.
“I never knew you were so into trash, nerd girl.”
Sam would have stopped, but Ian kept pulling her.
This wasn’t high school anymore, but of course a small town like this bred immaturity, especially from people who never had the guts to leave.
Why did she even think coming here would be a good idea?
Ian had already made his way to the truck. “Get in.” He nearly shoved her inside.
The engine growled to life on the first try, and they didn’t say a word to each other the entire way home. She couldn’t help but wonder what it was like for him to be on the other end of the popularity spectrum, to start life in the perfect clique of people and then in the blink of an eye have friends and family hate you. Sam had often felt misunderstood by many but never despised.
He pulled into his secluded driveway, threw the truck in park and slammed the wheel with both fists, making her jump.
“I’m sorry.” He gave a long sigh. “Do you want to come in for a drink?”
Sam hadn’t expected this. She knew she should refuse, but she was curious. She wondered where he lived. Well, she knew where, but she had no idea how he lived. Neat freak or slob? Cat or dog? Pictures of children?
She had no idea if he had children.
“Have you ever had kids?”
“Excuse me?”
“I asked you if you have any children.”
“None that I’m aware of.”
Sam didn’t know why she felt relieved. Children were something Sam never considered in her life. Perhaps someday, should she meet the right person, but someday seemed so far off, so why even think about it? Besides, she was always too busy. Now she was busier than ever before.
So he had no baggage. Well…unless you counted prison.
Sam saw a light on in the ranch-style house on the property and could make out the form of Burt slumped over in one of the reclining chairs with a book open across his chest and the television playing across from him.
“I live out here.” Ian pulled his keys from the ignition and hopped out.
A flight of stairs led to the second story of the garage. There was a small wooden deck in the front which wrapped around the side. Flower boxes had been constructed along the top railing and contained bright orange marigolds, still untouched by frost.
Sam followed him to the side of the garage and up the stairs to the little apartment above. Ian slid a key in the door and switched on the light. He held the door for her to enter first. “Burt rents the place to me pretty cheap. I figure I’ll rent from him at least until I get back on my feet then find a real place so Burt can rent this out to someone who will pay him more.”
“I’m sure he wouldn’t allow you to pay more if you wanted to,” Sam said, knowing how highly Burt regarded Ian.
“I tried, believe me, but he wouldn’t hear of it.”
“I can imagine.”
Sam glanced around the place. It was a simple, one-room apartment with a door leading off to a small bathroom. His furniture was sparse, some looking secondhand and nothing matching, but it was cozy and comfortable, just the same.
Ian grabbed two sodas from the refrigerator and handed one to her.
“Thanks.”
Gesturing toward the sofa, he sat down. Sam sat at the other end. A kitten immediately greeted her by walking across her lap and settling in. He was the same orange color as Chance. “I see you couldn’t resist either.”
“Burt feeds every stray in the neighborhood then wonders why he’s overrun with kittens.”
The kitten batted her hands. Sam smiled, the stress of the evening gradually fading. Silence slowly filled the room. The evening was exceptionally warm for fall. Ian had left the door open, and frogs from the nearby pond sung in the distance. It was nice and lulling, definitely relaxing and something she needed after the shambles that the night turned out to be.
“I supposed you heard everything about my past tonight.”
She was surprised to hear him talk about it. “It’s none of my business.”
He took a long swig of soda. He hadn’t drunk alcohol. Some people never drank for various reasons, but Sam couldn’t help but wonder if Ian had a problem with it. “No, I think I should tell you. You gave me a chance hiring me after your mother warned you about me. Not many people would have done that, and I appreciate it.”
“I needed cheap labor.” She tried to make light of the situation, but Ian wasn’t laughing.
“Still, you didn’t have to do it.”
He was silent for a long while. Maybe he had changed his mind about telling her. It didn’t matter. Ian had his demons. Sam surmised he had a lot of them, and it simply was what it was, but it was definitely not her business. She didn’t feel in danger around him, and as long as he was not a threat, what was in his past didn’t matter.
“You know I have a sister, Roxanne.” He finally spoke.
Sam recalled a dark-haired girl from school. “She’s younger than you.”
Ian nodded. “By three years.”
“Mike, her boyfriend, beat her pretty bad. Knocked her up, even hit her while she was pregnant. She lost the kid but got pregnant again. She had this one, a little boy. They call him Theodore…Teddy. God, he’ll be a teenager pretty soon.”
“You haven’t gone to see him?”
Ian glanced at Sam. Blue eyes full of uncertainty. That uncertainty made him suddenly appear younger and vulnerable. Gone was the arrogant confidence of years past.
He shook his head. “I’d be the last person Roxy would want to see. Anyway, I had gone over to Roxy’s place. She was living with Mike in a trailer park. A real dump, but what else could you expect from that scumbag? I was in the back room at the time. Mike didn’t know I was there. He was drunk again and started in on my sister, beating on her. Mike started shoving her around, and I came out and hit him. I’d listened to Roxy brag this guy up for over six years. I’d seen the bruises, seen the way she’d lie to our parents about how she got them. It was ridiculous.”
Sam watched as Ian’s expression changed from one of hurt to sheer anger.
“Mike fell like a ton of bricks. I guess he had an aneurism explode in his brain or something. That’s what I was later told. The punch I threw wouldn’t have killed a normal person. Anyway, I went up for ten years on manslaughter charges but got parole for good behavior.”
“Couldn’t the police have listened to your side of things? You were defending your sister.”
“They tried to get second-degree murder because they said I’d intended to hurt him. I had, just didn’t intend on killing him.” Ian’s expression suddenly masked to somewhere very far away. The hands that he’d balled up into fists began trembling.
Sam reached for his hand and squeezed it. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For telling me what happened. I’m sorry.”
He pulled away and quickly stood. His expression turned hard, cold, turned to someone she didn’t know. “I don’t need pity.”
“I wasn’t—” She hadn’t meant to insult him. She stood, set her soda can on the kitchen counter. “I’d better go.”
“I’ll take you home.”
“It’s not far. I can walk.”
Sam couldn’t have expected the next moment. They were standing too close, and they bumped into each other. She looked at him, and he looked down at her. The evening had been too stressful. She should just back away, but she didn’t realize what he was doing until it was too late.
He bent toward her, and she stood up on her toes. His hand cradled her jaw, his calloused thumb gently brushing over her lips. The kiss was innocent enough, his lips barely brushing over hers. Her heart tripped and beat nearly out of her chest. She laid her palm on his cheek, feeling the stubble of his beard.
Ian broke the kiss and stepped back. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“You say that all the time.”
“No, really—” She didn’t know what else to say. She wondered about Ian’s life, wondered how many other times before he’d had to deal with rude comments and gossip about his past. Would he stay in Cold Springs?
The thought surprised her, but she really couldn’t imagine him being able to put up with small town minds and gossip for long. No one ever really was supposed to care what others thought of them, but how could one not? Especially when you were trying to build a new life. Starting over would be so much easier in a town that didn’t share his past.
Sam didn’t want him to go. They were both a part of Cold Springs, and they could get through it together. Couldn’t they? The thought both surprised and scared her. Sam had never thought about the two of them together, as a team. It fit. It didn’t make sense most of the time, but it fit.
Ian gently rested a hand on her shoulder. “C’mon. I’ll take you home.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Sam was a bundle of nerves. She told herself it was because tomorrow was opening day and today the health inspector was coming. It had nothing to do with what happened with Ian Woods last night.
Ian had kissed her, and her knees had gone weak. She had no right feeling anything toward him. He was an ex-convict who had murdered someone.
Murdered someone who had been harming his family. His crime didn’t seem as bad as everyone made it out to be. Everyone talked about how horrid he was, like he was this uncontrollable raging monster. They didn’t talk about how he was protecting his sister. No one spoke of how he was trying to defend her.
She drummed her fingers on the counter and tried to calm herself with deep breathing. If this inspection did not go well, she was finished.
“Are you going to just stand there or do I get a cup of coffee?”
Absentmindedly, Sam poured Burt his coffee.
“Ian used to be a lot more fun before he went to jail. Now he’s just a mess.”
Sam looked at him. Burt’s expression told her that he had ulterior motives. “Why are you telling me this?”
“I fixed his place up pretty nice, huh?”
Sam laughed. “You don’t miss a trick, do you?”
“Not really. All I’m saying is he has his problems. Life won’t be easy with him, but he’s loyal. He’ll stick by you.”
“I’m not marrying him.”
“Not now, but you never know.” Sam didn’t miss the look of longing in Burt’s expression. No doubt from missing Aunt Jean. She and Burt had been inseparable. Though they lived separately, they spent most days together.
She handed him one of the new menus. “I had these redone. What do you think?”
Burt reviewed it like he was reading War and Peace. After about thirty minutes, he blurted, “Where’s the eggs Benedict?”
“I took it out.”
“And the sausage gravy over biscuits?”
“Gone.”
“Why?”
“I wanted to keep things simple. At least for now.”
Burt pierced her with a critical glare. “Ian can cook, you know. He’s working every odd job he can find and none of it’s steady. You could hire him.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because…” Why not was a good question. Maybe…
Chrissy burst through the door. “Good morning, everyone!”
“Good morning, Chrissy.” Sam stepped toward her. She had asked Chrissy to start today, as a practice run to show her the ropes. She had a feeling Martha wouldn’t need any practice. “Welcome to your first day.”
“I’m really excited.”
“You look nice today, Chrissy.” Burt spun around in his seat.
Sam motioned her behind the counter. “I’ll show you where everything is and where you can put your purse. I have the inspector due here any minute.”
Sam had no more than shown Chrissy around when as if on cue, a tiny man came through the door that Chrissy had failed to shut. He was dressed in a navy blue workman’s uniform with the name “Tom” embroidered on the lapel.
Sam approached him. “Hello, I’m Samantha Stone.”
He pulled a clipboard from the briefcase that he carried and took her outstretched hand. “Tom Long, Jefferson County health inspector.”
“Nice to meet you. Well…this is the diner.”
“And the kitchen is…?”
“Back here.” She headed to the kitchen, the inspector following.
“Nervous?”
“A little.” She laughed. “Tomorrow’s opening day. This is my first attempt at running a business.”
Immediately, Sam regretted her big mouth. Now he would know she was a fraud. So stupid!
“You know about New York State’s point system, correct?”
“I don’t.”
The inspector sighed. “New York has a point system. Zero to thirteen is an A. Fourteen to twenty-five is a B, and twenty-eight or higher is a C.”
“C is bad?”
He looked at her as if she’d sprouted horns. “C is bad.”
Sam watched as he ran two fingers across the counter and wrote something down on his clip-boarded papers.
“Is something wrong?”
“This is a 5C.” He pointed to the wooden cutting board on the counter.
“A what?”
“Contact with a surface area
with unwashed material.”
“Well…” No, this was not happening. “What if I throw it out?”
“See that you do.”
He went to the cooler and took a thermometer out from his shirt pocket. He set it in the cooler, waited, then took it out and examined it. “Your temperature is off one degree. You need to have this forty-one degrees or below.” More writing on the clipboard.
Sam felt like she was going to throw up. “Will I still be able to open tomorrow?”
“Yes, but you’ll need to get that fixed right away.”
Sam breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe she’d get through this with no problems.
Second Chance (Cold Springs Series Book 1) Page 8
