Just The Way You Are(84)

"Okay?" she asked.

"Just got to get my land legs."

"Lean on me."

He glanced down at her with a grateful smile. "Thanks for getting me here so fast."

"Just don't dare to criticize my driving again, or I'll have to remind you that I saved your life."

"Deal," he said with a warm, tender look that stole her breath right out of her chest.

He turned his head as Tessa cleared her throat.

"I'm glad you're all right, Sam," Tessa said.

"Thanks."

"Uh, folks, if we're done here, I think we've got some oysters baking out in the car," Jimmy interrupted.

"Where do you want me to take you, Sam—to our house or to your parents' house or…" Alli suddenly felt like a fool. Where did Sam belong anyway?

"I'll go to my parents' house," he said quietly. "I think I better pass on the shucking until my eyes are completely open. I might chop off my finger."

"And the last thing we need is another trip to the hospital," Alli said lightly.

"Daddy," Megan said, running over to join them. She threw her arms around Sam's waist. "Are you okay?"

"Better than okay, honey bun."

"Your eyes are all weird."

"They'll get better. You ready to go home?" Megan nodded and they all headed for the parking lot.

"I have an idea," Jimmy said as Alli opened the car door for Sam to get in.

"Uh-oh," Tessa replied.

"It's a good one," he said.

"I'll bet. What is it?"

"Sam lives right next door to your grandmother's house, right?"

"Right," Tessa said warily.

"He could probably use some company and someone to make sure he doesn't suddenly collapse or anything. So I'm volunteering."#p#分页标题#e#

"Jimmy, we have hundreds of oysters to shuck, remember?"

"Correction, you and Alli have hundreds of oysters to shuck. As I recall, you said your grandmother specifically asked that you two do it together. So why don't I keep an eye on Sam, and Megan and I can play some games while you two girls open up some oysters and make us some stew?"

"No," Tessa said.

"Absolutely not," Alli interjected, hating the idea as much as Tessa. "We're not doing this alone."

"You won't be alone. You'll be together," Jimmy said brightly. "What do you think, Megan? Want to play some games with me?"

"Okay," Megan replied.

"Sam?" Jimmy asked. "What do you think?"

"I think that's the best idea I've heard in weeks." Sam smiled over at Alli. "Just call us when dinner is ready."

* * *

Just call us when dinner is ready. The idiots, the jerks. Alli searched her mind for more appropriate adjectives, but she was too tired. The last thing she wanted was to spend time alone with Tessa. What on earth would they talk about?

"I can't believe they talked us into this," Tessa said, dumping a bag of oysters on their grandmother's kitchen table thirty minutes later.

"I can't either," Alli murmured, although it struck her that for the first time in a long time she and Tessa were actually in agreement. "Do you want to start shucking or get the stew going?"

Tessa looked at her like she was crazy. "Do you actually think I remember how to make oyster stew? If I ever knew?"

"Of course you knew. We made it with Grams all the time."

"I didn't, that was you."

"You were there, too."

"No, I dropped in for a while and left as soon as you and Grams got distracted. You never even noticed I was gone."

How could that be? Alli always noticed Tessa. Tessa took up lots of physical and emotional space. But come to think of it, she didn't recall Tessa being involved in the kitchen much. Then again, Tessa usually had a date—with Sam. Alli took a deep breath. She had to get through this; she couldn't start thinking about Sam and Tessa. It would only drive her crazy.

They were adults now. They could do this. They could be civilized and polite to each other.

Alli picked up the shucking knife and handed it over to Tessa. "Guess you're in charge of shucking the oysters, then."

"Thanks," Tessa said with a sigh, sitting down at the table. She stared at the heap in front of her with an air of hopelessness. "We're never going to find a pearl."

"Think positively," Alli instructed as she pulled a large pot out of the cupboard and set it on the stove.

"If any of us were thinking at all, we would have told Grams this was a ridiculous idea."

"And have her worrying about the necklace instead of getting well? I don't think so."

Alli opened the cupboard and began pulling out ingredients she would need for the stew. She'd picked up a few things at the store on the way in, but knew she could rely on Grams to have the staples on hand. It felt so familiar to be working in her grandmother's kitchen, but it also felt strange, because Grams was usually in the room with her. In fact, she kept thinking her grandmother would walk in at any second and give her some last-minute instruction. The thought was so strong, Alli couldn't stop herself from looking toward the doorway, but it was empty. The house was empty, waiting for its owner to return.