by Sara Shirley
I thought they would at least have joked about the silliness behind Sam’s version of fun. I have to bite my tongue and keep face since Sam’s parents are very nice people, and I don’t find fault with them wanting to make sure Sam stays safe. But, I’ve become irritable and mentally drained over the past few weeks just trying to be there for Sam. I’m fucking exhausted to say the least. It feels as though when I’m not working, I’m still working. I come home to either Sam’s place or my place to be with her and that’s great, but unless someone finds this jack-off ex-boyfriend of hers soon, I might seriously lose it.
After we leave the restaurant, I use the excuse I have to run back to the house for something, so it will be a little longer before we can meet everyone at Vines for drinks. Right now, I’m pretty sure Jeremy thinks I’ve completely lost my mind. He manages to keep my secret under wraps. After what he just pulled on Emily in Savannah, he knows better than to give me grief about my plan.
Everyone knows my plan, but only Jeremy, Nick and Cara know when it is going to happen. I need Cara in on the plan because she is going to have to cover at the bar in a few days when Courtney stops in to convince Sam to go to a cooking class with her. I did say it wasn’t a good plan.
Once we spot everyone in Vines, Jeremy heads over to take a seat next to Emily on the sofa. I head over to the end of the bar to make sure Cara is all set with everything. She goes through the strategy with me one more time as she pours me a beer. As she slides it across the bar to me, she asks, “So, can I see it?”
“See what, Cara?” I inquire.
“You know what, you dumb ass,” Cara states matter-of-factly as she huffs and crosses her arms in front of her chest.
“Cara, seriously, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I stand there, shaking my head at her and shrugging my shoulders as I grab my beer to head back to my family. Before turning to join in on their conversation, I look back at the scowling face staring back at me and wink at her.
I take my seat next to Jeremy as both sets of parents chat about each other’s plans for the summer. Jeremy nudges my shoulder, glancing up and lifting his chin to the bar. “Everything okay with her role in your big plan?” he whispers.
“Yeah, she’s just pissed ‘cuz I wouldn’t let her see it.” As I’m about to continue my conversation with Jeremy, I hear my mom tell Sam’s parents that Courtney will be spending the summer at a culinary arts school in Vermont. My eyes roam back to Jeremy. “Did you know about this?” I snap at him more than I probably should have. The look on Jeremy’s face tells me everyone knew except me.
Emily leans forward, clearly sensing my agitated state at being the last to know. “Josh, she didn’t want anyone to tell you. With everything going on with Sam, Court thought it would be better this way. She knew it would kill you to know she was leaving for the summer,” she says, trying to make me understand.
Jeremy grabs my shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze. “Yeah, man, we’ll all miss her, but face it, she’s spent way too long fixing things for us that it’s time she lives her own life.”
A gentle smile forms on Emily’s face, and I know Jeremy is right. It is finally time to let our little sister live her own life instead of fixing all of ours.
Everything is set up just as I have had planned for a week. Cara called about ten minutes ago and said Courtney and Sam are on their way, and Sam doesn’t suspect anything. Sam even called me to make sure I knew she was heading out with Court for a few hours. When I told her that was fine and I’d catch up with her tomorrow because I was heading out with Jeremy, she seemed a little saddened at the idea of not seeing me, but that will all change in a matter of minutes.
I look around at everything for perhaps the hundredth time, and it all appears in order. I grab the metal poker and stab the wood in the backyard fire pit, watching as the embers float into the dark night sky. Everyone else is inside, waiting for Court to get here with Sam.
Minutes pass until I see the headlights pull into the driveway of my parents’ house and hear the car doors shutting in the distance. Muffled voices get louder as I watch the lights turn on in the kitchen. Courtney and Sam make their way through the room until Courtney opens the back patio sliding door and pushes Sam through before shutting the door behind her.
My eyes stay glued to Sam’s as I continue to load marshmallows onto the twig in front of me. Her eyes finally adjust as she walks closer to where I’m sitting behind the fire. “Josh? What are you doing here? What’s going on? I thought you were going out with Jeremy,” she continues to question as she finally stops on the other side of the fire.
The flames cast a glow against her barely tanned skin. She’s dressed as though she were at work and not going to a cooking class with Court. Her brown hair is half pulled back away from her face, allowing her slim angled face to stand out. Sam walks over as my marshmallows begin to sizzle on the stick.
“Josh, what’s going on?” she asks as she sits next to me on the long bench. Grabbing another marshmallow from the bench next to me, I pull back the glowing marshmallows, blowing out the flame before turning to Sam again.
“You want a s’more?” I ask her with a straight face.
“Do I want a s’more?” She narrows her eyes at me. “Why are you making s’mores right now anyway?”
I shrug my shoulders and pull my lips into a straight line. “No idea. I just know you owe me a s’more coated body, so when I got here I thought I’d make a couple.”
“You are freaking me out and acting really weird. Fine, give me a freakin’ s’more if it will make you happy.” Sam sticks out her hand, waiting for me to hand her the supplies.
Reaching over to the opposite side of me and out of her sight, I grab the pre-made s’more and turn carefully with it in my hand. I stand to face her, taking a deep breath before dropping to one knee in front of her. Sam lets out a soft gasp before I pull out my flat open palm in front of her with the graham crackers, chocolate, and single marshmallow strategically placed. With enough of the fire light in front of me, the diamond placed in the middle of the marshmallow sparkles just right.
Sam’s fingers shake nervously as they hover over her parted lips. “Josh, what are you doing?” she quietly asks before reaching out to wrap her fingers around my free hand renting on her knee.
“Sam, for years I thought love wasn’t meant to be a part of my future, until you somehow crashed into my life when I needed someone the most. You made me realize people can change. That a future is attainable regardless of someone’s past. A person’s struggles and pain can make them stronger, even when they don’t realize it themselves. I don’t know when I fell in love with you, but I know from the moment I met you there was something about you that drew me to you. You might have been fighting me at the beginning, but I knew deep down inside this beautiful, strong, smart-mouthed woman was the loving, open and passionate person sitting before me right now. You might think I saved you, but the truth is you brought me back to life. I will go to the end of the Earth for you, Samantha Daley. I love you more than anything, and I want to spend the rest of my life doing that. I want to marry you, Sam. I want to have kids with you and grow old with you. I’m not asking you to marry me tomorrow, or next month, or even next year. I’m asking you to someday be my wife, because I cannot see spending another day in my life without you in it. So, Samantha Daley, will you be my wife?”
How did I never suspect this from him? Yes, on the lake we vowed to each other that we would make a commitment to this relationship, but I never thought he would propose. My mind must have been so hung up on dealing with Stone lurking or the never-ending barrage of security that it slipped right past me.
“…will you be my wife?” Josh kneels, continuing to hold out the most beautiful braided three-stone engagement ring I’ve ever seen, and he couldn’t have gotten it any more right. I have always said the way to my heart isn’t with flowers; it is with candy. Josh started this relationship with a bag of candy, and sure as hell, if he didn�
�t figure it out and stuff that ring inside the s’more.
“I guess you really are meant for me,” I say with a soft smile as Josh raises an eyebrow at me. I giggle just as I begin to lean down closer to his face because he has no idea he even does the little things. “What I said on the dock that day at the lake…you figured it out, and you have no idea you even did it with the s’more.”
Josh glances down at the s’more in his hand, his forehead wrinkling as he tries to put it all together. “Candy is the way to your heart.” His face creeps up to mine in a genuine smile. “Well, does that mean your answer is yes?”
I sit there, thinking for the briefest of moments, looking for any sign that he isn’t the right man to spend my life with. And, amidst all the troubles we’ve gone through, there isn’t an ounce of doubt or hesitation in my answer. “No, it’s not a yes.” I pause to see the look of dread on Josh’s face before continuing, “It’s a hell freakin’ yes!”
“Yes?” Josh questions while he stands. I nod in agreement. Josh pulls the ring from the marshmallow before sliding it onto my finger. I glance down at the simple, yet elegant diamond ring adorning my finger just as Josh’s loud voice breaks my admiring eyes. “She said ‘yes’!” he shouts before everyone storms the backyard, my family included. All of them had been watching the event from inside the house. Everyone rushes over around us, hugging and grabbing my hand to see the ring he kept secret from everyone.
Champagne is popped while the excitement of our engagement ensues. Surprisingly, the conversation between Grace and my mother about wedding planning doesn’t freak me out. I honestly thought it would, but having everyone around me with such loving personalities allows me to believe in my heart this is the correct path. Everyone here is my family, and I wouldn’t have them any other way.
Breaking from my hazy thoughts, as the champagne must already be affecting me a little, I turn to face Josh who continues to wrap his arm around my waist, keeping me close. “Did you tell any of the derby girls about this?” I question before taking another sip from my fluted glass. Josh proceeds to shake his head as he holds his glass at his side. “No, I knew I couldn’t trust Lucy with that info, and Rose and Kim left town for the road trip. I didn’t want to tell one and not all of them. Cara and Nick are the only other people who knew outside of Jeremy.”
“Josh! We have to go back to the house and get Lucy to come celebrate with us here. She’s like family, and I can’t have her not be a part of this,” I whine, hoping to get him to drive me home so Lucy and I can come back after I tell her the news.
“Fine, let me grab the keys to the Chevy, and I’ll drop you off and come back here quickly. We’ll hold off any further celebration until you girls get back,” Josh says as he unwraps his arms from my waist and begins walking to his parents to explain where we are heading.
Sitting in the car, Josh continues holding my hand while twisting my slightly sticky ring around my finger. I still can’t believe we’re engaged. I don’t know when that knowledge will finally sink in and hit me, but I know when it does, it’s going to be amazing.
As Josh pulls into the driveway, we see Lucy’s bedroom light on and her car parked in the driveway. I go to open the door to the car before getting out, but quickly turn back to Josh, who’s ready to go inside with me. “I’ll be quick. You should head back with everyone. Lucy and I will be five minutes behind you, tops.” I try to convince him that there is nothing to worry about. The look he gives me tells me he’s unsure about letting me go in alone and instead wants to check the house like he always does. “Look, if Lucy is up there, nothing is wrong. Stop worrying so much. I’ll be fine.” I lean in and kiss him on the lips before opening the door.
“I’m still coming in to see for myself,” Josh insists as he follows behind me up the walk to the front door. Once I unlock the front door, I begin to make my way up the stairs to the second floor, jingling my keys in my hand as I approach Lucy’s bedroom door. Josh continues past me, walking into my bedroom.
I knock on Lucy’s door, but don’t get any response. I knock again. “Luce, are you in there?” I ask loudly this time. Still no response.
Josh reappears beside me, as I am about to enter into the room. “It looks all clear to me,” he says.
“Am I safe to stay here now?” My tone is slightly sarcastic.
“If I don’t hear from you in ten minutes, I’m coming right back.”
“Yes, sir.” I stand at attention, giving him a salute.
“All right, be quick. I love you.”
“Love you too, Josh,” I say as I hear him walking down the stairs and out the front door.
With my hand on the doorknob, I turn the handle and push open the door. Only the nightstand light filters through the area. I walk in and slowly look around. A chill makes its way up my spine. As I stand in the middle of her room, something feels off, and that’s when the door slams behind me. My head turns, and I see Lucy standing before me. Her mouth is duct taped, and her arms are bound with rope, but it’s his eyes that focus on me before he pushes Lucy to the floor, knocking her head against the wall and making her seemingly unconscious.
“Hello, Sam.” My eyes shoot from Lucy’s lifeless body on the floor to narrow in on Stone. “It’s been a long time, babe. I bet you thought I’d never come for you,” he growls as he stalks toward me. I have two options. Either I fight like I’ve never fought before, or I flee to the only door and hope to hell he isn’t faster than me this time.
Something doesn’t sit right in my stomach as I leave Sam at the house. Even after I checked her room and closet, I had an eerie feeling overwhelm me, but I left regardless.
A smile creeps across my face as I’m heading back to my parents’ house, thinking about Sam’s shocked face as I proposed to her. Everything was timed right, and if ever there was a time to get it right, it was that moment.
My cell phone ringing from my passenger seat has me reaching across to grab it, since it’s probably Sam leaving now. Keeping my eyes on the road, I instinctively slide my finger across the screen without looking at the caller ID. I bring it up to my ear as I continue to make the drive back to my parents. “Hey, Sam. Miss me already?” I chuckle, knowing I’m the one who told her to call me or I’d turn straight around.
“Josh, it’s Nick.” I hear though the phone.
“Dude! Hey, she said ‘yes,’ man. Can you believe it?!” I say, turning the wheel onto another street.
“That’s great, Josh. Congrats. But, hey, is Sam with you right now?” Nick asks as I hear the cruiser radio in the background, letting me know he’s working.
“No, I just dropped her off with Lucy at the derby house. They are supposed to be coming back to my parents’ house. Why do you ask?” My forehead starts to sweat as I think of all the possible reasons for Nick to be calling me about Sam.
I hear him sigh through the phone before calling something in over the police radio. “Josh, man, their security company just called. Something malfunctioned on the alarm system, which is odd, because we just had it checked a few weeks ago.”
“I’m heading back now. Nick, if you’re working the area, get over there right now. I don’t even care what the sergeants say. I’ll handle any backlash from this afterward. I gotta go.” I hit the End button and then immediately call Sam’s cell phone.
I hear the dial tone through the earpiece. C’mon, Sam. Pick up the fuckin’ phone.
Hi, you’ve reached Samantha Daley. I can’t come…
“Mother fucker!”
I speed dial Sam’s number again, only to get the same result. I immediately call Lucy’s phone. Once I hear her voicemail pick up, I throw my phone onto the passenger seat in a fit of rage. I punch the Chevy into gear and gun her through the streets as fast as she can turn.
What the hell did I miss when I searched the house before? I hit the steering wheel with my closed fist as a million scenarios run through my mind. I can only hope Sam and Lucy are perfectly fine, except I have an unsettling
feeling running through me that I need to expect the worse.
The unfortunate part of this whole thing is if Stone does make his move tonight, my work issued gun is in my storage locker I have at my house. In one last-ditch effort, I reach for my phone next to me as I keep my eyes on the road. When I feel it between my fingers, I quickly unlock the screen and tap Sam’s name on my screen, hoping upon hope that she picks up.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Hi, you’ve reached Samantha Daley. I can’t come…
“Fuck!”
Tears pool in my eyes as I screech my way around the final corner to her house. I reach the front of the house after making a typical thirty-minute drive in twenty minutes and park the car on the street away from view. Popping open the glove box, I reach around for the pocketknife I know I’ve kept in there all these years. Sure as hell, my unsteady hands finally touch it, and I pull it out quickly.
When I see Lucy’s car sill parked in the driveway, I know things aren’t right. I slowly open my car door to avoid the loud, old, squeaky sounds in which it normally alerts the world. I stuff the knife into my pocket as I approach the door. I turn the handle, assuming to find it locked from when I left, but it opens right up.
Steadily and cautiously, I step through the front foyer and into the pitch black of the living area. I can’t see a soul move in front of me, even if I wanted to, it’s so dark. My heart starts beating at a rapid pace at the thought of where Sam could possibly be at the moment and if Stone does in fact have her, like I assume he does. I listen for any sign of a struggle or something, anything, to let me know Sam is okay, but silence is all that filters through the stale air in the house. My feet finally find the stairway down the hall, and a sound startles me from behind.
A light flickers on in the living room as I turn to see him standing over the lamp. “Tsk…tsk…tsk. I thought you were supposed to be a smart cop. You’re not so good at searching out houses, that’s for sure. Otherwise, you would have searched all the rooms in the house. It’s too bad you fuckers haven’t been able to track me down before today, too. I really did enjoy watching those girls screaming just moments before you pulled up.” Stone sneers with a cold- hearted smile curving at his lips.
