Loving Again(29)

                Halfway home she thought about dropping by his house and leaving another message but realized she didn’t have his address with her and she didn’t have the energy to go back to her gallery to get it. She drove to her home in southwest Portland, put on a mix tape of her favorite golden oldies, poured a large Bombay Sapphire gin on the rocks, and stewed about her day. She wasn’t sure Mike would show up for work again but if he did, she was going to raise hell with him.





Chapter Six


                Sam and Amanda had quickly fallen into a regular pattern of seeing each other. When he was with his sons for the weekend, Sam picked her up at her studio during the week for dinner and they had take-out Sunday evening at his apartment after the boys went back to their mom. The weekends when he was kid-less, they spent as much time together as his job allowed. They went to the symphony. They rode horseback. They took Chihuly to the dog park and played Frisbee with him.

                Amanda loved being with him. He was constant in his attention and affection. He made her laugh. She found herself thinking of him often during the days she wasn’t with him. Her heart beat faster when she saw him. All the signs of falling for him.

                But she wasn’t sure she was ready to get more involved. Not until she was standing securely on her own two feet. As a result of this reluctance, she changed the subject every time the conversation got within two states of any comment that could lead to a discussion of where the relationship was going.

                It had been her bad judgment in getting involved with Tom Webster that had gotten her in trouble, trouble she couldn’t get out of without a lot of help. She was determined never to let that happen again. Not that Sam was another Tom Webster. She knew that wasn’t true. But she had to prove to herself that she could manage her life without help, even if that help came in the form of the sexy cowboy-turned-cop she was half in love with. So, she tried to keep their conversation light. Distracted him when it looked like it was getting too deep. Whistled for her dog who adored Sam to come play with them. Whatever worked to change the subject.

                It worked. Until the beef bourguignon evening.

                Amanda had spent the afternoon making the dish using Julia Childs’s recipe. It had been a long time since she cooked anything that complicated and she’d forgotten how much work it was. But when all the ingredients had blended together, it was sublime, rich and beefy with just the right amount of garlic and herbs. Well worth the effort.

                “What smells so great?” Sam asked when he arrived with a bottle of wine and a kiss for her and an ear scratch for Chihuly.

                “Boeuf a la bourguignon.”

                He circled her waist with an arm. “I saw that movie. So, Julia’s helping you cook this evening, is she?”

                Looking up at him with a smile, she said, “Not a movie I’d have thought you’d pick.”

                “I didn’t,” he admitted.

                “Ah-ha. A woman chose it for you.”

                “Yeah, my sister dragged me to it when she couldn’t get her husband to go.”

                “I didn’t know you had an older sister.”

                “How do you know she’s an older sister?”

                “I have a younger brother. I understand how us older sibs work.” She held up the bottle. “Shall I pour this for both of us or would you prefer something else?”

                “Wine’s good. But let me.”

                He went in the direction of a corkscrew and glasses; she disappeared into the kitchen where she added crackers and grapes to a plate of softened Brie.