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She knew? And had even placed a bet? On him?
“If you’re about to threaten me with bodily harm if I break your aunt’s heart, you’ll have to stand in line. I’ve already gotten this speech from Emmett and your mother, as well as from Willa’s entire workforce.”
She turned on her blinker and pulled down an even narrower lane to their right. “Don’t underestimate Emmett. He never makes idle threats.”
“Yeah, he told me that, too.”
“So, am I going to get a new uncle?” She gave him a quick inspection, then smiled out the windshield again. “You’d be a vast improvement over my last one. David Sommers looked like a troll and had the personality of a billy goat.”
“How old did you say you are?” Sam asked with a chuckle.
“Emmett claims I’m sixteen going on sixty. You still haven’t answered my question, Mr. Sinclair.”
“I might, if you call me Sam.”
“Okay, Sam,” she said, pulling into the parking lot of a small warehouse perched on the edge of a tiny cove. She shut off the engine and looked over at him. “Please tell me you’re as astute as your grandfather and can see how much my aunt deserves to have somebody love her.”
“There are no knights in shining armor in real life, Je
“But that’s just it. I remember how Auntie used to be. I was only eight, but when Gram and Gramps died and she lost her baby, the light inside her dimmed. Then five years ago, when we had the accident,”
she said, touching her right knee, “that light nearly went out completely. But a tiny spark’s still there; I know it is. I see hints of it every so often, like when she and I go sailing together.”
“Yeah. I saw it, too, on our trip here.”
“She just needs someone to toss fuel on that spark and coax it back to life.”
“And you think I’m that someone?”
“Yes.”
Sam leaned against his door and studied his emphatic chauffeur. “What makes you so sure?”
“Your grandfather talked about his ‘three boys’ all the time, so it wasn’t hard for me to figure out that of all of his grandsons, you’re the most like Abram. And whenever he and Aunt Willa were together, they were like baking soda and vinegar. In the six weeks your grandfather was here, I saw Auntie’s spark actually burst into flame a few times. Abram Sinclair was the first person I’ve seen her get that close to in years.”
“You don’t think she’s close to you? And Emmett? And your mother and brother?”
“Of course she is, but only by default, and only because she can’t very well stop loving us.” She dropped her gaze and shook her head. “I think it was okay for Abram to die, because she knew going in that it was going to happen. But God forbid anything should happen to any of us. I’m not sure she’d survive another tragedy.”
Completely forgetting that he was talking to a sixteen-year-old, Sam asked, “Then what makes you think adding a husband and child for her to worry about won’t send Willa over the edge?”
Je
She lifted her beautiful little chin in exact mimic of Willa. “I don’t intend to settle for anything less than that kind of love for myself. Nor will I let my aunt spend the rest of her life hiding from it. I may have lost my foot five years ago, but she’s the one who was crippled.” She reached out and touched his arm.
“You’re my only hope, Sam. Please, will you help me help her?”
Sam found himself staring into eyes as desperate as the ocean was deep and as old as the earth, and suddenly he couldn’t breathe, much less speak.
“Abram gave you the most powerful tool he had, Sam. His bequest is your trump card, if you decide to play it.”
“It’s also my greatest obstacle, Je
He stiffened as several pieces of the puzzle unexpectedly fell into place. “My God,” he whispered. “You helped Bram draft that damn will.”
She looked away. “I don’t know anything about that sort of legal stuff.”
“No, but you know Willa. You certainly knew she’d never let Tidewater fall into the hands of a man who wants to destroy it. You helped my grandfather write his last will and testament in a way that Willa’s conscience wouldn’t let her ignore.”
The teenager brought her gaze back to his, her expression mutinous. “She needed a swift kick in the butt! You have no idea what it’s been like for me these last five years. Guilt can be contagious, you know.” She thumped herself on the chest. “How in hell am I supposed to get on with my life when my aunt won’t get on with hers? I can never be free until she’s free.”
Sam had never considered what Willa’s self-reproach might be doing to those around her. Of course, anyone who loved her would share her pain—especially Je
“Is your aunt aware of how you feel?” he asked softly.
Je
“Where are we going?” he asked, opening his own door and getting out. She gave him a cheeky grin across the hood of her truck. “I thought you might want to buy some lobsters for your and Emmett’s supper tomorrow night. And since we’re here, I also thought I’d give you a few pointers on courting.” She motioned toward the warehouse, which was a fish co-op. “Steven works here. If I want him to take me to the homecoming dance, I suppose I should ask him to, shouldn’t I?”
Sam choked on a bark of laughter. He strode around the truck, slipped Je
“Deal!” she said with delight. She batted her eyelashes at him. “But I should warn you, I’ve been accused of having expensive tastes.”
“No problem,” Sam drawled. “I’ve managed to tuck away some of my paychecks over the years. And if that’s not enough, I’m sure my brothers won’t mind kicking in a few bucks.”
Sam sat at the small, battered table, in the exact same chair his grandfather had sat in to record his good-bye video. The cottage was dark except for the moonlight coming through the windows, it washalf past eleven , and he was waiting for Willa to get home from her date with Barry Cobb.
Tonight’s di
Sam still couldn’t believe that Barry Cobb had had the audacity to drive up to her home that afternoon and boldly ask her out to di
The enemy part didn’t worry Sam; he figured Willa had agreed to di