Sweeter Than Wine

by Hestand, Rita

"Sound as a rock…"

  ***

  "I have to admit, I didn't expect to." Sam smiled. He certainly hadn't expected to. It was a new experience sleeping beside a woman and not touching her.

  Sam felt like taking her hand and holding it, telling her what a fine lady she was, but he knew he couldn't touch her. She'd set the rules and he'd abide. Besides, she might think he was trying to come on to her when really he wanted to thank her for helping him see the importance of getting over his own grief and going on with his life.

  Funny but when he first hooked up with her it was to help her. Now he felt as though the tables were turned, and he couldn't even tell her. Well, he could see she had a good time of it though. And he would.

  "I guess we can see the redwoods later…"

  "Oh yes, I don't want to miss them either." She smiled her eyes full of things to come.

  Sam looked at Lacey long and hard and for the first time he felt he was seeing her for what she was, and intriguing lady. What a complicated lady she was. So innocent and naïve, and yet, full of trust and easy to talk to. Perhaps she wasn't the one with the troubles. Perhaps it was he.

  As it happened they did have room for more fishermen and so Lacey and Sam registered for a one-day event. They were told that the trophies would be passed out on Sunday. Encouraged to stop off and pick up theirs.

  "I seriously doubt there will be anything for me to stop off for," she chuckled. "But it is kind of exciting."

  "Come on, we need to go rent some gear and see what section of the lake we will be on." Sam encouraged her as he struggled to carry all the gear himself.

  "Hey, I can help with that, if you like."

  "That's okay; I think I've got it situated now. But when we get the waders, you can carry them, if you like."

  "Deal," she laughed.

  "What size waders?" he asked a few moments later as they gathered around the crowd renting gear.

  "Do you think I'll really need them?" she asked.

  He glanced at her white carpi's and nodded, "Oh yeah, I think you will. I'd say small since they only come to here," He smiled as he motioned to his stomach.

  He gathered all the stuff they would need, including a map. He quickly located the site where they would be fishing.

  Lacey helped carry the rods, reels, and fishing bucket after they had put on their waders. They had to make one more stop for bait.

  At the bait house Lacey found a fringed hat that would shade her eyes and some sunglasses. She bought them and put them on. Sam approved. "What about you?"

  "I think I'll forgo the hat, and I have some shades." He informed her as they rode the cycle about the lake.

  "Oh it's beautiful out here, and the weather couldn't be better." Lacey murmured against his ear, sending shock waves of awareness through him. Didn't the woman know better than to whisper in his ear like that? Didn't she have any idea, how she was affecting him?

  Yet, how could she? He wasn't reacting to her, at least not on the outside.

  It dawned on Sam that being a gentleman was not as easy as it looked.

  Sam frowned and tried not to let it get to him. After all, she didn't know what she was doing to him. Did she?

  Of course not. She's the one who didn’t want an affair. He could keep it light; he'd just stay away from her as best he could.

  She had no idea what she did to him, and he'd keep it that way or things would get way out of hand. And in the long run she was right. He would go back to his world soon and she to hers, so why get involved. All these things made the best of sense to him, but telling his libido that was another thing.

  As they reached their destination, they carried their supplies to the shore of the lake. Birds chirped in the tall pines, as squirrels bustled about the trees and calmness settled over them.

  He halved all the supplies with her and showed her where she was to fish, took some pictures of her in her gear and then he left her and moved a ways down the shoreline. She looked and waved at him.

  He wondered if she could bait her own hook. He wondered if she would squeal when she slid the worm on the line, or put the minnow on the hook.

  Nevertheless, he heard nothing, she seemed to be doing just fine without him, and it frustrated him a bit to know she could get along without him. After all her inabilities, he figured she would need help with everything, but not once did she ask for anything, and before long she had maneuvered a old log close enough to the shore that she could sit and fish.

  He turned his back on her several times and just as he did again, he heard her yelp, he was about to go running down to see what was going on, when another man ran to her aid, the same man that had flirted with her in the lobby as a matter of fact.

  Sam stood a ways a way in the shade and watched the man, he waited to see if she reeled the fish in, then when she did and she showed it to him he smiled and patted her on the arm.

  They stood there talking for some time. Sam was so mesmerized; he couldn't continue his own fishing. She was chuckling and talking up a storm and the man seemed to enjoy every minute of it.

  He patted her on the arm once more and left.

  The old geezer was after more than her arm, and Sam knew it. He probably had a wife sitting at home, alone. Sam grumbled to himself, but Lacey wasn't a fool; she'd catch on to him sooner or later.

  Sam started to go over, but she hadn't so much as looked his way, so he did his best to ignore her.

  She caught a fish, a good size too. She'd reeled it in herself with no help from the man. He'd give her that much. The fact that she stood there and talked to the man for so long irritated Sam. After all, it was he, that had brought her here, to enjoy herself, and she practically shunned him.

  Maybe he was over reacting. Maybe he shouldn't care that she smiled back at the man and encouraged him.

  It was absolutely none of his business.

  He determined to not worry about her till the end of the day.

  He'd bought snacks and drinks and they needed nothing.

  He had to admit, he missed talking to her. He missed her laughter.

  Bent on not missing her, he turned his full attention to fishing. He was a good fisherman and he knew it. He cast his line out and waited, leaning against a large rock. The weather was beautiful, not too hot or cold and just enough breeze to be comfortable.

  He heard her laughter several times during the day, but he had made sure he didn't watch any longer. It didn't matter if she flirted with all of California. He didn't care. Did he? Of course not. She was nothing to him. In fact, he wasn't sure why he had hooked up with her in the first place.

  Come to think of it, what was he doing? They'd end up spending another night together and she probably already wanted to be with someone else. From the sound of it!

  He should let her know that if she wanted to have dinner with the other man she was free to do so. Yeah, he'd let her know that, even if it didn't sit well with him.

  Suddenly his line jerked and he reeled in a big one, he examined it, knowing it was bigger than the one Lacey had caught. He suddenly thought about that. Why should he care if she didn't get a trophy? It wasn't his problem. He'd shown her a good time, he was still planning on showing her the redwoods close up. Wasn't he?

  He looked at the fish, the fish wiggled; he cut his hand on the fin. It stung him. With a huge sigh, he threw the fish back in.

  What was he doing? He could take a trophy home. Couldn't he? However, he wasn't the trophy type. He knew he was good at these kinds of skills; he needed no trophies to announce it.

  Still, the woman wanted a trophy to take home. Okay, so he would let her win. Winning wasn't why he'd brought her here. In fact, he realized that he'd brought her here with the best of intentions. And he'd be the gentleman if it killed him.

  It was the incident on the bridge that had him off kilter. Why had he let it go so far? That wasn't like him. However, he had to admit, he'd never enjoyed kissing a woman so much. Yet he enjoyed kissing Lacey and he had wanted to
go on kissing her, and wondered where it would have led them. Everything about this vacation was totally out of character. No wonder he was acting weird.

  He stopped what he was doing for a moment to reflect on his own actions. He had somehow become attracted to Lacey. How had that happened? She wasn't like the women he was used to dating. That in itself could have attracted him to her.

  Maybe he should cut his trip short and go home!

  That would be the coward's way out. No, he needed this time away to get his mind focused on the things that were important to him. And the most important thing to him right now was finding out who he was.

  About noon he started to take over his crackers and cheese and join her, but thought that maybe she'd rather be alone. He opened his and ate them. He kept glancing over his shoulder, but he couldn't see her all the time, she wandered out a little into the water, and he'd keep an eye on her so she didn't get hurt, but he wouldn't bother her.

  The sun was getting low when he heard her approach.

  "Sam, I got one," she said triumphantly.

  "You did…well, let's see?" he turned with a smile.

  She held it up, her face beaming.

  Sam looked at her and something inside him melted into a million pieces of chocolate. Good grief, he was losing it.

  "That's a fine catch, well, it's getting late, I'll pack up my gear and we'll go weigh in." he said.

  "Okay, do you think it has a chance?" she asked.

  "I'd say you are definitely in the running." He smiled.

  "So where's yours?" she asked when she didn't see his stringer.

  "I didn't catch much of any size. I threw them back. No use keeping something that could grow into a king-size fish."

  "I guess your right. But…now I feel silly. Catching the biggest fish isn't really anything but luck…like poker."

  "Lacey, enjoy it. Okay."

  "Okay."

  She helped him gather his gear and they returned to the hotel where everyone was weighing in. He'd been right; hers was the biggest catch of the day. She was beaming.

  The man that had talked to her earlier approached her, "That was some fish…you will probably get a trophy out of it."

  "You think so?" she raised her voice in glee.

  "Most definitely." He smiled.

  "Well, then this day has been very much worth it," she smiled.

  "I'd love to take you to dinner…" The man grasp her hand.

  Lacey glanced over at Sam, who pretended disinterest…again.

  "Well, actually, I'm with someone," she began.

  "Oh…well, lucky man…" the man grinned. "Another time…maybe?" he smiled.

  "Maybe…" she smiled back and returned to Sam's side.

  Sam noticed she was silent as they went to their room. As he let her in, he watched her. Then he sank onto the edge of the bed. He couldn't gauge her reactions. He wasn't sure if she had wanted to go to dinner with the man or not, but he figured he'd better find out.

  "You want to shower before dinner?" he asked.

  "That would be great." She nodded. "I'm pretty exhausted."

  Sam nodded.

  He looked down at his jeans and shirt and realized he smelled like fish. "Ya know…I heard that guy ask you out for dinner."

  She shrugged.

  "If you want to go…go ahead."

  Lacey paused for a moment by the bathroom door, and then turned to look at him. He saw her eyes going over him slowly. Almost as though she were hungry for the site of him, but that was just wishful thinking on his part. Her smile was shy, "Yes, well, I didn't bring anything really nice to wear. And I really don't know the man."

  "I can give you enough money for a dress…if you want to go find something. They have a nice shop here in the hotel…," he offered.

  "We agreed we'd go Dutch, right," she insisted.

  "Fine, whatever…"

  "You seem angry that I'm not going out with him…" she began coming closer. " Do you want me to?"

  He shrugged, "It's not that…" he assured her. "I just I thought you might want to…"

  "Oh did you…you're forming a lot of opinions about me, not to know me any better than you do. Just because I came with you doesn't mean I'd go out with the first strange man I met. I’m not some cheap pickup lady."

  "Lacey, I didn't mean anything, okay, I certainly know a lady when I see one." his voice was low, seductive and close to breaking into a rage he didn't quite understand. His libido was doing overtime, and he didn't understand that either.

  "Let's forget it and go to dinner, okay…" she bargained.

  She turned and went to shower. He slumped and then fell back against the bed. He was so tired, so keyed up and he didn't understand why.

  Chapter Seven

  The lights were low in the restaurant, there was a piano bar, and everything was set for romance. Sam wished it wasn't. He'd done good not to touch Lacey any more. He'd kept his hands off. She had let her hair down and it draped over her shoulders in curls, and his fingers itched to run through the strands as it glittered red and gold in the lights. He wasn't sure how any woman could go from a fishing mongrel one moment to a completely sexy lady the next, but Lacey had managed it, and with very little makeup and help with her wardrobe, too.

  Although she wore the capri's and t-shirt, she looked lovely. She'd relaxed today despite the tension between them. Sam was determined to try that himself. There was no need being so uptight about keeping his hands off. He had disciplined himself long ago where women were concerned not to grab, but to invite a woman into his arms and heart.

  However, it was a blow to his ego that she seemed to prefer every man around, rather than him. And he had been nice today.

  They ordered fried catfish and as they waited she seemed to avoid eye contact with him, looking about at everyone in the restaurant.

  However, that could only last a short while, as there were only a handful of guest eating here. The prices were astronomical and most people opted for something much cheaper down the road.

  "Sam, exactly how are you going to explain to these people who you are? Your new folks, I mean." Lacey asked, suddenly turning her attention on him full blast.

  Sam twirled his fingers around his wine glass, as he contemplated her question. They had ordered a light white wine with their meal and he was hoping it would settle his nerves some.

  "I don't know. How do you introduce yourself to people, when you are kin to them and they don't know it?" Sam frowned. "Or is there any need to do so? Perhaps just seeing them will be enough…"

  "I'll do everything to make things easier for you; you've certainly been a good sport and shown me around the area. The least I can do is help you with this." Lacey said and reached for his hand.

  She was merely trying to make him feel better, but the touch of her hand was warm and he glanced up into her face and realized how serious she was.

  "Do you think it's wrong to tell them? They have no idea about me. Maybe we should just go up to them and tell them we had car trouble on the road and need to use the phone or something like that. Kind of get the feel for who they are and what they are."

  Lacey smiled sadly, "It's very hard to believe a man could live his entire life and then tell you something like that. After caring for you, loving you, and then to lay something that astounding in your lap."

  "I've gone over all the reasons he might have had. I understand his reluctance to change his life, and his fear of my not loving him any longer. However, had he told me when he was healthy we could have sat down talked it out and found out things much easier. Now things are different. My real father isn't alive any longer. Neither is my mother. And the sister I spoke of, is married and settled down. I hate to burst in on them with this kind of thing. You wonder if you should tell them at all. After all, if they are happy and you can resume your life the way it was, perhaps it's better to not disturb things." Sam admitted.

  "Can you go back to your life, Sam? I mean now that you know."

&n
bsp; "I don't know. I really don't. I think that's what bothers me the most. I know I shouldn't let it change me. I know I shouldn't be on such a mission, but there is a need to know more about myself."

  "What did you do for a living?" Lacey asked, squeezing his hand.

  Her palms were sweating just a bit, and Sam glanced at the two hands on the table as he turned them over and ran his fingers over hers.

  "Ironically enough, I left home, when dad died, and told my brother I needed some time. He understood. I moved up this way, and became a forest ranger. It's something totally out of character for me before. I'd been an accountant all my life. I'll have to admit, I hated it. I've enjoyed the work working with the forestry. But things got to me still. So I'm on a sabbatical, to sort of find myself, I guess." Sam snickered.

  "Ironically?" Lacey questioned.

  "The people I'm related to, they astound me. I mean my half sister's mom became an actress. My real father gave so much to others that I can barely believe I am part of that." Sam explained.

  "Wow that is incredible. Have you looked them up on line or something?"

  Sam nodded. "As a matter of fact, I have. We had different mothers. My mother was very young when she was pregnant with me. My father was filthy rich and after she lost the baby, or thought she did. Something happened between them. I don't know what. I'm not sure why they split up or what was wrong, but I'd love to know."

  "And your half-sister?'

  "She's married now, has a child and lives in the mountains."

  "What is it you want to find here, Sam?"

  "I don't know. I guess I just want to put the pieces together." Sam admitted.

  "Yeah, I can understand that. But it means you are going to have to tell her who you are."

  "Yeah, I guess it does." He looked her in the eyes, through the flickering firelight and saw such a wonderful woman. He smiled. "I'm glad you didn't go to dinner with that fella…."

  "Me too," her voice sounded husky.

  All through their dinner they talked about themselves, and things were back to a good start again. However, that left the sleeping arrangements in turmoil, as far as he was concerned because by now, he'd decided he wouldn't mind seducing her. But would she let him?