Just The Way You Are(52)

"That girl pushed me in the back," Megan said with a sense of her own importance.

"I know she did. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I can take care of myself, Mommy."

"Yes, you can," Sam said, sweeping Megan into his arms. "You're a big girl now."

"That's right," she said, somewhat appeased. "So what have we learned today?" she asked, repeating her parents' favorite question.

Sam laughed. "Not to let your mother watch your soccer games?"

"Hey, you got thrown out, too," Alli protested.

"Defending you."

"Same thing."

"I think we need something," Megan said pointedly.

Alli looked at her daughter, then at Sam, and saw the twinkle in his eye. "The Triple Decker—" she started.

"Hot Fudge Sunday," Sam continued. "No nuts."

"Extra whipped cream."

"And two cherries," Megan said.

Alli laughed along with Sam, and in that moment she remembered all the good times between them, the simple pleasures of ice cream and shared jokes and late nights by the fire.

Sam set Megan down on her feet. "Do us proud, honey. We'll wait here until you're done."#p#分页标题#e#

"Okay." Megan started to go, then stopped. "Are you going to kiss again?"

"No," Alli said. "We're not going to kiss again."

"You shouldn't lie to our daughter," Sam murmured in her ear.

"I didn't."

"Yes, you did."





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Chapter 14



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The entire left side of Phoebe's body felt too heavy to move. She closed her eyes, feeling weary. She hadn't slept well the night before. Maybe because she'd been sleeping during the day. Her body seemed to have the days and nights mixed up.

"I'm going to get some coffee," William muttered.

She blinked up at him. "I'm sorry I can't seem to stay awake."

"Then you should sleep. You've had a busy morning."

He was referring to the CT scan she'd undergone as well as other tests she couldn't begin to remember. Dr. Price had been vague about her discharge date. She hoped it was soon. She didn't like the sounds or the smells of the hospital; they reminded her of the endless trips she'd made to the convalescent home to visit her mother. It was the only year in the past fifty that she'd left Tucker's Landing for more than a few months at a time. Maybe that was why she felt so resistant to leaving again. Vacations were fine, but moves were different. And William didn't just want to take her on a trip, he wanted to move her back to Philadelphia, to the kind of life she'd left a very long time ago.

She'd said no a dozen times, but he hadn't given up. A part of her was immensely flattered by his attention. Another part felt guilty for allowing it to continue. She wished she could return his love the way he wanted, for hurting him had never been part of the plan.

Phoebe felt William's lips brush her forehead and she struggled to stay awake long enough to say good-bye to him. But when she finally got her eyes open he was gone, and the room was empty.

It was also scary, the bright lights overhead making her dizzy. She closed her eyes again, feeling more comfortable in her head, in the dreams she could create, rather than in the reality that faced her. She was getting old; her body was aging. But mentally she still felt like a young woman on the verge of life.

She smiled as she saw images of herself in her wedding gown walking down the aisle behind a trail of pink rose petals. Her father's arm had been strong and secure, but when he'd given her to John, she hadn't felt even a momentary loss, because she'd known so absolutely that John MacGuire was her soul mate. It was supposed to be a marriage of mutual convenience, two families uniting, but it had turned into so much more.

Phoebe could hear John's deep voice repeating the vows, see the twinkle in his eyes as he lifted her wedding veil and kissed her on the lips. It was so real, so vivid, she could almost taste him.

"I love you, John," she whispered, not knowing if she was really speaking or simply dreaming, because he was there again, dressed in his shorts, standing at the edge of the sea, the water pulling at the nearby sand in the age-old relentless movement of the tide.

"I love you, too," he said. "Sometimes I can almost touch you."

"Like now?"

"Yes." He smiled at her, but his expression seemed more sad than happy. "The weather is getting warmer," he continued. "Wouldn't you like to go for a sail with me? We can wade out to the boat; it's very shallow, and the water will feel good against your skin."

He beckoned to her, and she took a step forward, feeling the heat of the sand beneath her bare feet. She looked down at herself, realizing she was wearing a sundress from forty years ago. She felt something on her head and reached up to touch a crown of flowers. She remembered John putting them there during a long-ago picnic by the sea.#p#分页标题#e#