“You met Sampson Cooper, hit it off and he’s in Crete with you,” Mom stated.
“Yeah.”
“You met Sampson Cooper, hit it off and he’s in Crete with you,” Mom repeated and I grinned.
“Uh… yeah.”
“I don’t… I can’t… this is…” Mom stammered and through her stammer I heard Sam call from the other room, “Baby?” and I knew Mom heard it too because she instantly stopped stammering.
Sam didn’t stop speaking.
“It’s lunchtime. I’m starved. I’ll order. Have a… fuck, sorry.”
He’d been walking in looking down at an open binder but then he looked at me and saw I was on the phone.
“Mom,” I told him then bugged my eyes out at him.
He smiled and muttered, “Right.”
Then he threw the binder at the foot of the bed, skirted it, came to me, wrapped his hand around the back of my head, leaned in to touch his lips to mine and then said right there so I knew Mom would hear and I also knew that was exactly his intention, “Tell her I look forward to meetin’ her.”
“Ohmigod,” Mom breathed in my ear as Sam grinned again, let me go and straightened.
“I’ll let you get back to it. Have a look,” he tipped his head to the binder. “Or you want me to order for you?”
“If you’re hungry, just order for me,” I answered.
“All right, baby,” he replied then strode out of the room.
I watched his ass in his jeans while he did it, somewhat mesmerized.
“He calls you baby?” Mom whispered to me and I jerked my attention back to her.
“Yeah,” I answered.
“Coop calls my baby, baby?” her voice was rising both in octave and in volume.
“Mom –”
“Ford!” she screeched and I took the phone from my ear but had no problem hearing her because she was still shrieking, “Ford, get in here! Get in here right this instant!”
I put the phone back to my ear, “Mom –” I started but it was Mom’s turn to have a conversation with her man that I was not a part of except hers was about me.
“Woman, Jesus, what the hell?” I heard Dad ask.
“I’m talking to Kia,” I heard Mom answer.
“Oh shit,” I heard Dad mutter and my heart flipped.
Damn. He’d lived through hell too.
Mom didn’t delay. “She’s met someone.”
“Oh shit,” Dad repeated and my heart flipped again.
“Sampson Cooper!” Mom screamed and I had to take the phone away then put it back when I heard her going on. “I just heard him, right on the phone, he calls her baby!”
Silence from Dad.
Not from Mom.
“And he said he’s looking forward to meeting me!”
Suddenly I heard the phone jostle then Dad’s, “Kia?”
“Hey, Dad,” I said softly.
“You doin’ okay?” he asked.
“Great, Dad,” I answered, deciding to focus on the fact that I was, indeed, doing great outside of being scared silly that there was a hit on me.
“Havin’ a good time?” Dad asked.
“Fantastic.”
“This shit your mother’s sayin’, it true?”
I paused then, quietly, “Yeah, Dad.”
Silence then a quietly returned, “No shit?”
I drew in breath.
Then I whispered, “No shit.”
Silence again.
I knew my father liked Sampson Cooper. He said over and over again he was a good ballplayer even when Sam was playing for the UCLA Bruins. Dad was super pleased the Colts got him in the draft. And I remembered him having a conversation with a bunch of his buddies (and Cooter, who was not a buddy, he just happened to be there) where Cooter was dissing Sam for his choice to leave football for the Army and Dad had said firmly, “Man’s got mettle. One thing to play at warrior wearin’ pads on a field. Another thing all together to be one.” Cooter had no reply to that but his face got hard and his eyes got scary though, luckily, he got over this before we got home and he could take it out on me.
Dad broke the silence. “How’d this happen?”
“Well, we, uh… were in the same hotel in Lake Como, we were seated at tables next to each other at breakfast. Then the maitre d’ moved me to his table, we started talking, hit it off, he asked me out, I went and we’ve kinda spent nearly every minute together since.”
And, it occurred to me just then, this was true. Except when Sam worked out or ran, when he went to his room to get clothes and when he left me at Luci’s to go back to the hotel, we had not been apart, like, at all.
Whoa.
More silence then, gently, “He know about your recent business?”
Boy did he ever.
“Everything,” I whispered. “He’s, uh… I’ve, well…” I pulled in breath. “He’s not had a very good time of it, Dad. Being away from home, having time to think, stuff has come up for me and Sam’s borne the brunt of that. I’ve tried to, well, push him away and we’ve had some dramas. He’s helping me work through stuff.”
“He’s helping you work through stuff,” Dad whispered back.
“Yeah,” I kept whispering.
More silence.
I broke the silence.
“Dad, all the things you might think he is, he is but he’s more. He’s very wise and he’s very protective and he can be gentle –”
“Gentle,” Dad whispered and I felt my throat close. “My girl deserves gentle.”
Oh man.
“Dad,” I choked out.
But it was Dad who cleared his throat then he asked, “So, where’s this goin’?”
I drew in a calming breath and answered, “He’s coming back to Indiana with me and I’m going to deal with some stuff I have to deal with there then Memphis and I are going to his house in North Carolina for awhile.”
“Inseparable,” Dad muttered.
“Sorry?”
“Nuthin’, honey. I look forward to meetin’ him, you tell him that.”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me but said stupidly, “Uh… he’s not Sampson Cooper.”
“Say again?”
“He’s not Sampson Cooper,” I repeated then explained, “It’s just that, well, when you first meet him, that’s all you’ll see but he’s not Sampson Cooper, he’s not Coop. He’s Sam.”
“He’s Sam,” Dad repeated after me.
“Yeah,” I whispered.
“Right,” Dad whispered back, my phone binged and my brows drew together. “What’s that?” Dad asked.
“I think I have another call,” I told him.
It was probably Celeste, she could leave a message and I’d call her back.
“I’ll let you go,” Dad said.
“No, that’s –”
“You go, take your call and we’ll see you in a few days. Can’t wait to have you back home, honey.”
“Right, Dad.”
“Love you, Kiakee.”
Man, I loved it when Dad called me “Kiakee” and, lucky for me, he did it all the time.
“Love you too, Dad.”
“Love you, sweetie!” Mom shouted in the background.
“Love to Mom too,” I told Dad and my phone binged again.
“‘Bye, honey,” Dad said.
“‘Bye, Dad,” I replied.
Then he disconnected, I took the phone from my ear and grabbed the next call, putting it back to my ear before seeing the name come up on the display.
“Hel –”
“What the fuck?” I heard Paula screech and I took the phone from my ear with a wince again then put it back.
“Paula, sweetie, I’m so sorry I didn’t text. I’ve decided I’m backing –”
“What the fuck, fuck, fuckity, fucking, fuck, fuck, FUCK?” she shrieked.
Again, I did the phone and ear business and when she stopped squealing, I hesitantly put it back and started, “I’m not sure that unit is a good inves
t –”
I didn’t finish.
This was because Paula announced, “I am, right now, sitting at my computer looking at you wearing a kickass tank with some serious kickass lace at the back but it is not the awesome tank I see but freaking, freakity, freak, freak, freaking Sampson Cooper wrapped around you and you’re kissing!”
Ohmigod!
“Uh…” I mumbled, thinking fast.
“Uh! Uh!” Paula shouted. “What the fuck?”
“Paula, swear, I was just going to call and tell you that I, um… well, I met Sam in Lake Como and we kinda hooked up.”
“You kinda hooked up?” she screamed.
I did the wince, phone, ear thing again then put it back and whispered, “Paula, honey, you’re going to shatter my eardrum if you keep shrieking at me.”
“Oh, so sorry, babe, I mean, you hooked up with Sam who would be Sampson Cooper in freaking Lake Como, Italy and there are pictures of you on the internet making out with him so, you know, considering he’s a major freaking hot guy, he’s been the love of your life for years and you’re in Lake Como, Italy making out with him, I was a little out of sorts. I’ll keep a freaking lock on it.”
“We weren’t making out,” I told her and tried to hark back to if we were.
“You’re standin’ on a sidewalk goin’ at it, girl,” she returned and I blinked.
Oh God.
Oh shit!
Tilda had followed us and taken pictures!
What a stalker bitch!
Shit! Sam was going to be pissed!
“Uh…”
“And then there are others, you two sittin’ at a table, all cozy, him way up in your space,” I heard the mouse button clicking in the background, “you got your elbow on the table and you are way up in his space right back. Holy crap. Holy shit. I cannot believe my eyes.” More clicks. “Ohmigod!” she shouted. “He’s smiling at you in this one! Ohmigod! I’m going to have an orgasm just looking at it.”
“Paula –”
“Holy crap.”
“Paula –”
“Holy freaking shit.”
“Paula!” I shouted.
“What?” she shouted back.
“How many pictures are there?” I asked.
“Like, about, two dozen.”
Oh my God.
She went on, “Most of them are you and him sitting at a table talking or drinking wine but others are of you at the same table, snuggled close talking and not drinking wine then there are three of you going at it on the sidewalk.”
Apparently, Tilda had been taking pictures of us not only after her husband came to chat but before then after Sam had given her her picture with him.
What a greedy cow. Sam had taken his time to be cool and she’d followed us.
“That greedy cow,” I griped, totally pissed and also totally forgetting Paula was just learning this mind-boggling news. “Sam was so cool with her, taking a photo with her and her husband for their son and then she followed us, took our picture while we were necking and posted them for all the world to see.”
“Uh… babe,” Paula put in, “you wanna tell me how in the hell you’re necking at all with Sampson Cooper?”
“I told you, we met and hooked up. He’s here now with me, in Crete. And he’s not Sampson Cooper, he’s Sam.”
Silence (finally).
Then, softly, “He’s there with you now?”
“Yeah.”
Then, sounding hurt, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Oh man.
“Paula –”
“I find out on a gossip site. What’s that about?”
“I… well, honey,” I sucked in breath then I let it out and explained, “Things, in Lake Como, I… I met him and he likes me, sweetie, like, a lot and just when we met, things started to hit me, things I couldn’t push to the back of my mind anymore and, well, they started to come out and he was there and he’s…” my voice dipped, “he’s amazing, Paula, everything you can imagine Sampson Cooper to be, Sam is better. He’s been wonderful to me.”
Another moment of silence then, “Have you slept with him?”
Oh man.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Ohmigod,” she breathed.
“Paula –”
“Is he good?” she asked.
“I… you know, I’d rather not talk about that. For Sam. He’s… women in his past… well, that’s between Sam and me, okay?”
“He’s good,” she whispered her correct guess.
I changed the subject.
“He’s coming home with me, we’re going to deal with stuff, get Memphis then I’m going to North Carolina with him.”
“Ohmigod.”
I made no response.
Then Paula said, “He’s into you.”
“Yeah,” I confirmed.
“Like, a lot.”
My belly started to get warm and I whispered, “Yeah.”
“Ohmigod, this is so… cool.”
I grinned. “Oh yeah.”
“Wow. I cannot wait to meet him. This is so cool. Rudy is already stinking flipping. I’m still at home, I showed him the pictures. He loves Coop. You know that. And Teri is gonna fah-REEK!”
“Yeah, I know and Paula, I’m going to call her and Missy just now but, just to say, I’ll be home soon, with Sam, and you guys all have to be cool about that. He is who he is to the world but he’s something else in real life and this is real life, not TV, not the internet and you all have to be cool.”
“I can be cool,” she assured me.
“No freaking out. No asking for autographs. No asking for photos. This is just Sam.”
“I can do just Sam. So can Rudy.”
We would see.
“Okay,” I said.
A pause then, “You’re happy.”
Outside the hit called on me, absolutely.
I didn’t say this; I just said a soft, “Yeah.”
“Oh honey, babe, oh God,” I heard tears in her voice, “oh my God, I love this for you. I love it. I told you your luck had changed.”
She was right and wrong about that, both in big ways.
She let out a sobbing hiccough.
“Paula, sweetie,” I whispered.
“I love this for you. I love this for you,” she said through her tears.
“And I just love you,” I replied.
Another sobbing hiccough.
I let her do her thing for awhile then I called softly, “Paula, honey, I have to go. I need to call Missy and Teri.”
I heard her pull in a steadying breath then she murmured, “Right.”
“See you soon.”
“Can’t wait.”
“Me either, sweetie,” I said quietly.
“I love you, Kia and I’m so happy for you it isn’t funny.”
“I love you too. Oh, and, let the unit go. Sam says it’s a bad investment in this market. We’ll do some viewings. I know you’ll find me something else.”
“You bet your bippy,” she told me. “And Sam’s right. This market is volatile. Now that it’s not five o’clock in the morning and I’m thinking clearly, ish, after this whole thing with you and Sam, I’m seeing that’s crazy. We’ll get you sorted. Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“All right, later, babe.”
“Later, sweetie.”
We disconnected, I drew in breath, staring at my phone then I jumped when I heard Sam say quietly, “Thank you, baby.”
My eyes flew to the door where he was leaned against the jamb, arms crossed on his chest, one foot crossed at the ankle.
Seriously, he was hot and I suspected he was so hot, I’d never get used to how hot he was.
Which was cool.
“Thank me what?” I asked.
“Your girl asked what I was like in bed, you didn’t tell her. Thank you.”
I blinked. Then I asked, “You were listening?”
“Fuck yeah.”
I felt my brows draw together.
&n
bsp; Then I asked, “Why?”
“Mainly because I’ve had women play me in the past, I got burned, they were good, you could be the master and I gotta say I’m pretty fuckin’ pleased to find out you’re not. You’re what I thought you were. You’re just Kia.”
Okay, it kind of sucked he’d eavesdropped but then again I’d been trying to do that to his conversations all morning.
And, he had a point. Once bitten, twice shy. A gazillion times bitten, two gazillion times shy.
“Yes, Sam,” I said quietly, “I’m just Kia.”
He held my eyes, his entire face warm, his eyes both warm and intense and I really liked when he looked at me like that.
Then he said, “Lunch is comin’. More good news, got a buddy who’s got a buddy who’s got a place here. He’s also got skills and hardware. He’s retired so he’s also got time. This means he’s okay with bein’ another pair of eyes, you and I do our thing here, he’ll kit me out and have our back.”
I stared at him.
Then I sought clarification.
“Are you saying he’s going to be our bodyguard?”
Sam nodded once. “That’s what I’m saying.”
“And are you saying that he’s giving you a weapon?”
Sam nodded again, his eyes never leaving me and he repeated, “That’s what I’m saying.”
I went back to staring at him mutely.
Sam, being Sam, felt like being communicative.
“He’s good, he knows what he’s doin’ and between him and me, no one will get at you. We can enjoy the rest of our time here and get you home. In the meantime, I got boys doin’ their thing to see about coverage in Indiana. By the time we touch down in Indianapolis, you’ll be golden.”
Wow. Seriously. He was not wasting any time looking out for me.
I didn’t know what to do with that. The only thing I knew was that it felt really, freaking good.
“Okay,” I whispered.
“I’ll be talking to Barney Oswald too, baby, just so you know.”
“Okay.”
He studied me in a way that it occurred to me that maybe I didn’t quite understand his simple statement.
Sam confirmed my assumption.
“When I say that, I mean, I’ll be talkin’ to him to find out what’s up with his search for this guy and I’ll be talkin’ to him to find out why the fuck he didn’t give you a head’s up.”
“He’s a really good Sheriff, Sam, has been for years because he’s a good guy and he’s protective of his citizens. But he’s known me since I was a little girl, he hunts with my father and I know he figured out what went down with Cooter and me.”