Just The Way You Are(30)

He laughed. "And every time a contraction hit, you grabbed my hand and squeezed it so tight I thought you were going to break my fingers. But you never gave in to the pain, never cried, never stopped pushing even when you were exhausted. You were amazing."

She looked at him in surprise. "You never told me that before."

"Didn't I?"

"No."

"It was all those sleepless nights in the beginning. I didn't know if we were coming or going half the time."

"That's true." She thought back to those early days with both affection and sadness for the dream of family she'd had then, a dream that had ended three months ago.

"Don't," he said, tweaking her chin with his finger. "Don't go there now." He put her head back down on his chest. "Just relax and let everything else slide. In fact, I've got a joke for you."

She groaned. "Not another knock-knock joke, please."

"This is a good one. Knock-knock."

"Who's there?" she asked with a sigh.#p#分页标题#e#

"Boo!"

"Boo who?"

"Don't cry, it's only a joke."

"And a really bad one," she said with a smile that he couldn't see.

"Megan laughed for five minutes. Okay, I've got another one."

"Sam!"

"Knock-knock."

"I'm not playing."

"Who's there," he said, ignoring her.

"Who's there?" she asked.

"Atch."

"Atch who?"

"I didn't know you had a cold."

She raised her head again to see him smiling. "That was even worse." She grinned back at him. "But thanks for trying to make me feel better."

"Did it work?"

"You've always been able to make me laugh, especially when I'm trying to be mad at you."

"Maybe you should stop trying," he said more somberly.

"We can't make this go away with knock-knock jokes."

"You take everything so seriously, Alli."

"Someone has to."

She rolled over onto her back next to him and stared at the ceiling. "You have to go home."

He turned on his side to face her. "Are you sure you want to be alone tonight?"

"No, I'm not sure at all. But…"

"There's always a but."

"It will confuse Megan. She'll think we're getting back together."

"I'll leave before she wakes up."

She looked at him. "You will?"

"Yes." He put his arm across her waist and curled up to her, resting his head on the pillow next to hers. "Sleep, Alli."

She closed her eyes and felt the comfort of his body and his words seep into her soul. "Sam, I said something I shouldn't have," she whispered.

"Tell me tomorrow," he said.

She hesitated, but he tightened his hold on her, and she felt so warm and secure that she couldn't bear to let go of him, and she knew he would leave if she told him what she'd said to Tessa.

"Good night, Sam."

"Good night, Alli."

* * *

True to his promise, Sam was gone by the time Alli awoke the next morning. After taking Megan to summer school, she made her way to the shop, where she pretended to work. But in truth she spent most of her time worrying about Phoebe and thinking about Sam. Restless and too distracted to be of much use, she slipped out of the store just before noon and sat down on a bench outside.

The pier was alive with summer tourists, and the smells of fresh fish, baked bread, and chocolate chip cookies mixed in with the breezy salt air made Alli take a deep breath of appreciation. She loved the wharf, the sea, the town. Unlike Tessa, she had never wanted to leave. Tucker's Landing had been her safe place after her parents died, a warm blanket she wrapped herself in whenever the outside world got too close.

Only now, the outside world and Tessa were intruding on her safe place. Alli looked down the road toward Sam's boat dock. She could see his morning fishing boat transferring piles of fresh salmon to the truck for Petrie's restaurant, waiting to haul the salmon a few blocks down the road, where it would be seasoned and broiled for dinner that night.

It had been her idea to use the mid-size of their three boats for commercial fishing purposes. They used the large fifty-footer for deep-sea charters and whale watching and the smaller boat for friends and family looking for some sportfishing a few miles off shore.

Alli wondered if Sam had taken the morning charter out or left it to one of the other captains. Lately, he'd been more office bound than he liked, taking care of paperwork and bookings. She knew he felt more comfortable on the water. For Sam it was all about what he could touch, what he could feel. Which brought up a disturbing memory of his touch the night before.#p#分页标题#e#