Chapter Three
By the time Sam left the hospital, his mother had been moved to a private room, and she’d been sleeping soundly under River’s watchful eye. It turned out surgery wasn’t necessary. Medication and a heart-healthy diet was all she needed in order to get better. For that, Sam was eternally thankful.
As he walked across the hospital parking lot, a gust of cold air hit him in the face. Sam pulled his collar up around his neck to ward off the cold and noticed a few other people doing the same thing. Hell, the early morning sun didn’t stand a chance at warming things up. It might be November and technically still fall, but winter sure as hell didn’t feel far away. As Sam approached his SUV, his cell phone rang. He looked at the caller ID. Reilly.
He hit the answer button as he opened his car door. “Hey.”
“I just dropped Julie at her car. How’s Mom?”
Sam thought of Julie and Reilly alone together and wondered if she’d given his brother the same quiet, dispassionate routine she’d given him during the drive to the hospital. Somehow, he doubted it. “Mom was still sleeping when I left. River’s still there. He won’t leave.”
Sam heard Reilly sigh. “Yeah, I figured as much.”
“He’s as protective as a mama bear when it comes to her. Kept giving the nurses the evil eye whenever they came in to check her vitals and write in her chart.”
“She saved him that morning she walked into the social worker’s office,” Sam said as he recalled that day all over again. “That shithole of a foster home he was in before Mom came along still haunts River, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, it does,” Reilly replied in his usual quiet way. “Mom saved all of us.”
Sam would never forget the place River had been living before Wanda Jennings had taken them all in and raised them as if she’d given birth to them herself. River had had it worse than any of them. It still made Sam angry that he hadn’t protected River all those years ago.
“Sam?”
Sam had to swallow several times before he could speak. “Yeah?”
“You couldn’t have stopped it, you know,” he said, his voice a little rougher than usual. “You were just a kid yourself.”
His mind knew Reilly was right; his heart didn’t much care. His youngest brother had suffered, and he hadn’t been able to stop it. “What’s done is done,” Sam said as he got in behind the wheel. For the thousandth time, he wished they could simply bury the past. “I’m going home to get some shuteye, then I plan to head back up to see Mom in the morning.”
He heard some shuffling, and then, “What time? I could meet you there.”
“Actually, I think I’m going to stop off at the restaurant first. I want to check out a few things. I’ll be at the hospital around ten, probably.”
Reilly was quiet for a few seconds. “You think the heart attack is related to the stress of the restaurant?” he asked.
“It’s a good possibility.” Sam paused, and then Reilly’s words registered. “Mom mentioned the Blackwater Diner troubles to you too?”
“She told me about it on Wednesday. I planned to talk to you after Thanksgiving.”
He shoved the key in the ignition and cranked the heater to full blast. “I need to get an idea as to where things stand.”
“You want to assess whether it’s a matter of making a few changes or if it’s it time to declare bankruptcy, you mean?”
Sam bit back a curse. “Yeah, something like that.”
“You’re not going to bring it up at the hospital, are you?”
“Of course not.” He rubbed his frozen hands together as he waited for the engine to warm up. “Beyond telling her I’m going to take over until things are in the black, that is. I don’t want her unnecessarily upset.”
“FYI, Julie might have some information for you about the restaurant. Mom confides in her quite a bit.”
Sam stopped rubbing and scowled at the mention of Julie. “She’s a waitress. Why would Mom talk to her about the restaurant’s finances?”
“From what I’ve seen, Julie has become more than a mere employee to Mom. I think they’re fairly close.”
The news bothered him, but he couldn’t put a finger on why exactly. “As in, the daughter Mom never had but always wanted?”
“Hell, I’m not sure,” Reilly replied. “Just talk to Julie. I’ll meet you at the hospital.”
“If you get there before me, try and make River go home. He’s going to be tired as hell, if he’s not already.”
“I doubt he’ll listen.”
“I’m just glad one of us will be there round the clock to keep Mom company. You know how she is about sitting in bed when there are things to be done.” A sudden image of their Thanksgiving dinner sitting cold on his mom’s kitchen table shot through his mind. “Shit, I forgot about the turkey.”
“Julie took care of it.”
“Huh?”
“She mentioned that Mom wouldn’t want to come home to see all that food ruined and the kitchen a mess, and offered to clean it up. I told her we’d take care of it, but she insisted. She’s a persistent little thing.”
Sam smiled. He owed Julie for everything she’d done for them. “She has a key to the house?”
“I loaned her mine. Said she’d leave it at the restaurant for me to pick up later. Speaking of the restaurant, did you know that Julie has also been opening in the mornings?”
“No, I didn’t. I thought Mom took care of all that. She always refused to hire a manager, so it didn’t occur to me.” Sam shoved a hand through his hair. “Is there anything Julie can’t do?”
Reilly snorted. “Smart, efficient, sweet as sunshine and easy on the eyes. I can’t figure why she’s still unattached.”
Sam’s gut clenched when he thought of Julie with some faceless stranger. “She more or less said she hasn’t had time to think about dating.”
“For a woman like her, I’d be more than willing to work around her schedule.”
Sam cursed. “What’s with you guys? You’d think you’d never seen a pretty woman before. Christ.”
“Jealous?” Reilly asked in his usual no-nonsense way.
“Why the hell would I be?”
Reilly chuckled. “Good question.”
“I’m going home,” Sam muttered. He knew damn good and well Reilly had him pegged, and it pissed him off. “See you later.”
He hit the End button and tossed his phone onto the middle console. It wasn’t until after he was on his way that he let himself think of Julie again. She’d been an angel. The least she deserved was a thank-you. All he’d given her so far were a bunch of frowns. Maybe he could take her out to dinner to make up for it. A friendly, no-pressure evening as a way to pay her back for all she’d done for them.
But even as the thought entered his mind, Sam knew he was lying to himself. He didn’t want to be friends with the woman. He wanted to get her into his bed. To sink himself into her sweet heat until they both had a good, long taste of heaven. His cock hardened as image after image bombarded his mind. Damn, what was it about her that he couldn’t stop thinking of getting her naked? He’d never let his libido rule, but hell if he could keep his mind out of the gutter whenever her name popped up.
One thing was certain—Julie Rose had crawled right under his skin, and for the sake of his sanity, he needed to do something about it.
“We’ve had this talk before, Bryan. The Blackwater Diner only serves food.”
Julie tried not to let her irritation show, but it wasn’t easy. Bryan Delaney was a handsome man, in a polished suit-wearing sort of way, and he’d been coming into the diner at least once a week for months. Unfortunately he never failed to ask her out on a date. He also never seemed to understand that no thanks was code for never in a million years. His attention had been sweet—for about the first five minutes.
“Is there a problem?”
The deep, rough voice coming from behind had her turning on her heels. The big, strong body encased in a black T-shirt and jeans sent her blood pressure into the dangerous range.
“Sam?” Julie asked. She was surprised to see him at the diner. Although with Wanda in the hospital, Julie should’ve expected one of the Jennings men to take over. When Sam didn’t so much as glance her way and all his attention seemed focused on Bryan, she remembered his question. “Uh, there’s no problem.”
His gaze flashed ice as he balled his hands into fists at his sides. “Planning to order anytime soon, Delaney?”
To her utter shock, Bryan paled. The man had always appeared so confident, a little too confident in her mind, but there was no mistaking the fear in his eyes as he looked at Sam now. “Sam Jennings,” Bryan said. “I didn’t know you were working at the diner.”
“If you’re looking for a date, find it somewhere else, Delaney,” Sam advised. “The waitresses are off limits.”
Bryan turned a rather ugly shade of green. “Of course. My apologies.”
Julie glanced over at Sam and noticed his expression hadn’t changed. He still looked ready to commit murder. She smiled and did her best to diffuse the volatile situation. “How about I get you a slice of that apple pie you like so much, Bryan?”
“Sure. Thanks, Julie.”
She turned to go but realized Sam didn’t budge. She got all the way to the counter before her curiosity got the better of her. When she looked back over her shoulder, she saw Sam leaning close to Bryan, their faces mere inches apart. After a few seconds, Sam straightened, and Bryan slid out of the booth and practically ran for the door. All Julie could see was the money Bryan would’ve spent all but vanishing into thin air.
She glared and waited for Sam to reach her before blasting him. “I hope you realize that you just cost the diner a regular customer.”
His eyebrows shot up. “You want that a*shole around?”
“That’s not the point. The point is, the diner can’t afford to lose even one customer. No matter how annoying he might be.” She paused a moment, then added, “And don’t curse.”
“I’ve known Delaney since high school, and he’s nothing but trouble. Always has been. He chases every woman under the age of fifty. Trust me, we’ll get by without him just fine.” He leaned close and whispered, “Unless you enjoyed him staring at your chest.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be crude. He was a pain in my backside, but he was still a paying customer. And one with a really big mouth too. You could’ve cost us a lot more than just one customer.” Curious, she asked, “What’d you say to him anyway?”
“I told him that you were especially off limits.”
Julie’s stomach did a little somersault at the way his voice dropped to a more intimate, sexy tone. “Why would you tell him that?”
Sam cupped her chin in his palm. “Mom is fond of you, so that makes you one of us. And the Jenningses tend to be damned protective over those we care about.”
She jerked away from him. “Wanda is not the one who chased Bryan off just now.” Julie realized she hadn’t asked how his mom was doing and said, “Speaking of your mom, how is she?”
“She’s better. I’m heading over there later to talk to her doctor. And she might not be the one to get rid of Delaney, but for damn sure she wouldn’t have been too happy if she’d seen the way he was salivating all over you.”
Julie didn’t believe for a second that his motives were so innocent. She stepped closer and squinted up at him. “So you’re looking out for me for Wanda’s sake?”
He ran a hand through his hair before stepping back a few feet. As if needing the distance to think clearly? Julie wondered. “Look, I owe you for everything you did for her. For us. I thought maybe you and I could have dinner together.”
The fact that she had the big bad Sam Jennings on the run sent a little thrill up Julie’s spine. “A simple thank-you would suffice. No need to suffer through another meal with me.”
“Suffer?”
“I got the distinct impression you didn’t want me at your Thanksgiving celebration. In fact, I sort of thought you didn’t want me anywhere near you or your family.”
He shook his head. “Why on earth would you say that?”
“Oh, gee, I don’t know. Maybe it was because of all the nasty looks you sent my way?”
“You misunderstood.”
“Really?”
“Really.” He held his hands out to his sides as if in surrender. “It’s only dinner, Julie. Let me make it up to you.”
Julie bit her lip and looked down. She hadn’t dated much since her grandmother’s death. And never someone as potent as Sam Jennings. You are way out of your depth, sister.
Sam closed the space separating them, then nudged her chin with his index finger until their gazes locked. “Please have dinner with me?”
God, like she was strong enough to say no to that! “Yes.”
“I’ll pick you up tomorrow night. Seven okay?”
“That’s fine.”
Julie jotted down her address and phone number on her order pad, then ripped the sheet off and handed it to him. “Here, this might be helpful.”
He took it, then looked her over. Like, really looked. Finally he said, “I was thinking a step up from casual. That work for you?”
She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “I actually clean up pretty good. You’d be amazed.”
He crowded closer and whispered, “I never doubted it.”
Julie watched as Sam walked into the office and closed the door behind him. It might be the biggest mistake in the world, and no doubt she had absolutely zero skills when it came to men, but that didn’t stop her heart from racing with excitement at the prospect of getting Sam Jennings all to herself for an entire evening.
Mentally, she ran through her wardrobe and came back with absolutely nothing to wear. Great. She wanted to look good for her date, and all she owned were jeans and a few boring skirts. Nothing that made much of an impression. She’d need to go shopping. When Eddie, the cook, yelled, “Order up,” Julie forced herself to concentrate on waiting tables. There’d be time later to think about dark-haired hunks with brooding good looks.