Before I could speak, though, Ali put her arm around my shoulders. “That is so exciting, Mrs. Abbott. Meghan’s leaving tomorrow to go spend a few weeks with her family in Florida, and I’m sure she’ll use that time to think it all over.”
Mrs. Abbott didn’t seem put off that Ali was answering for me. She beamed at us. “Why, that’s just fine. I’m sure Alison here has your contact information, and we’ll call you after your little vacation, just to see where everyone stands.”
When she had walked away, I turned on Ali with wide eyes. “Are your freaking crazy? Why would you say that to her?”
“What?” Ali was all innocence. “I just didn’t think you should say no right now. What if something happens and you decide you want to spend more time around here? Wouldn’t it be great to already have a job in place?”
“Nothing is going to happen. I’m leaving tomorrow morning, and that’s it. I’m not coming back here.” I kept my voice down and a pleasant expression on my face.
Ali rolled her eyes. “You’re being ridiculous.” She smiled at someone across the room, but I heard the frustration in her tone.
“No, I’m being realistic. We told you from the beginning that this thing between Sam and me is just temporary.”
“Then why wouldn’t you consider coming back here, if Sam doesn’t mean anything to you?”
“I never said that he doesn’t mean anything to me.” My voice rose and a few people near us turned to look at me. I closed my eyes. “Let’s talk about this later.”
“Fine. But don’t burn any bridges yet. Promise me that?”
I shook my head. “All right. I promise. Nothing hasty. I’ll wait until after I come back from Florida to tell them I’m not taking the job.”
I STOOD AT THE kitchen window, watching as Sam went through his ritual of washing up. I couldn’t go out to show my appreciation as I would have liked, since Ali and Bridge were both in the room with me. But no way was I missing this show tonight. Not when it was the final performance for me.
“Meghan, the lasagna is ready.” Bridge took my hand. “Just like the night you got here.”
I picked her up and gave her a smacking kiss on her cheek. “You are the best, Miss Bridget. I’m so excited to see how you do with your art lessons. You’ll send me pictures, right?”
“Yes.” She played with my necklace. “But why won’t you come back and see them yourself?”
“Honey, leave Meghan be and go wash your hands.”
I slid the little girl down and watched her dash out of the kitchen. Ali smiled apologetically. “Sorry about that. I swear I didn’t put her up to it. And I tried to get her to go upstairs so you could ogle my brother in peace.”
I flushed. “Ogling was accomplished. I might need you to video that and send it to me. You know, just to keep it fresh in my mind.”
Ali made a face. “I don’t think so. Making a B-grade porn of my own brother is not high on my to-do list.”
The screen door opened, and Sam stepped in. He nodded to both of us before getting a clean shirt from the laundry room. A lump rose in my throat. Another last. The day had been full of them.
Dinner was an odd affair, with Bridget chattering away while Ali, Sam and I made vain attempts to act as though nothing were wrong. I ate mechanically, and more than once I looked up to find Sam staring at me, his eyes unreadable.
When the food was eaten and the dishes were done, Ali took Bridget upstairs to get her ready for bed. She flashed me a sympathetic look before she left the room.
Sam stood up and went to the window. “Are you ready to go now? I thought maybe if we got an early start, you could get a decent night’s sleep. After we come back to the house, I mean.”
The last thing I wanted to do tonight was sleep, but I pushed back my chair. “Sure. That sounds like a good idea.”
He offered me a hand, and when I took it, he lifted mine to brush his lips across the knuckles before entwining our fingers. “Come on. The fish are waiting.”
We held hands all during the drive to the river, and when Sam stopped the truck, he pulled me closer to him. The kiss he gave me made my heart pound, and for a minute, I thought we might skip fishing altogether. But then Sam pulled back, smiled at me and let go of my hand.
We settled down to our fishing, both of us silent. Sam caught a catfish early on, but he threw him right back.
“I don’t feel like fussing with it tonight.” He glanced at me sideways. “Catfish is delicious, but sometimes it feels like too much work for just that one meal.”