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Thad leaned back in his chair, gazing up at the roof of the patio. “I have a thing for Sammie. A serious thing.”
We all turned our attention toward him. This was the first time he’d truly admitted to liking Sammie. I knew why. It was all ridiculously complicated. She was a single mother witha secretive past. She had a three-year-old daughter. And she worked for us as a waitress at the Bunkhouse. Worst of all, she lived with us at the big house, renting a room for herself and Chloe. When Thad had suggested we temporarily rent her a room, we didn’t see any reason to say no. From my perspective, it had been a great addition to our bachelor existence.
“Dude, you cannot pursue her,” Soren said. “You’ll ruin the dynamics in the house.”
“You mean she’ll stop waiting on us hand and foot?” Thad asked.
“Am I wrong when I say she’s made the old house feel like a home?” Soren asked.
It was true. Sammie and little Chloe added a sweet femininity to our days. Laughter and good smells once more wafted from the kitchen. Art projects hung on the refrigerator. When we were all home, we even sat together at the dining room table. Milk and cheese filled our refrigerator. Cabinets hosted canned goods and boxes of cereal. Lunch meat and peanut butter were now staples. Up at the crack of dawn, Sammie immediately made a large pot of coffee so that it was ready whenever we came down for breakfast. She even poured half-and-half in a little white pitcher. Small things, obviously, but we appreciated them.
“It doesn’t matter anyway,” Thad said, sounding uncharacteristically pessimistic. “She doesn’t like me that way.”
I thought about that for a moment. He might be right. Not because she didn’t like something in particular about Thad, but she seemed closed off from anything remotely intimate. Whenever I’d asked her questions about her past, she’d been elusive, giving vague answers to most questions.
“Something happened to her before she came here,” I said. “Guaranteed.”
“I agree,” Thad said. “But she’s not about to tell us what it is.”
Soren nodded. “The other morning, I accidentally scared her. She didn’t hear me come into the kitchen and when she turned to see me there, she jumped like a foot in the air. When I apologized, she brushed it off like it was nothing. But I had the feeling it was more than just being startled. She’s been hurt. If I’m right, not just emotionally.”
“Yeah, and there’s no way she’s from Pennsylvania. That accent is dead-on Tennessee,” Rafferty said.
“How do you know?” I asked.
“Because I studied linguistics and the origin of accents in college,” Rafferty said. “They had us memorize certain giveaways that indicate where someone was raised. The way she says her vowels is a dead giveaway.”
“I sincerely hope whoever it was who hurt her doesn’t decide to look for them,” Atticus said. “If he was bad enough she ran away and started a new life, then he won’t give up until he finds them.”
“God, I hope you’re wrong,” I said. “She and Chloe are the sweetest. Who would want to hurt them?”
“An abusive husband,” Soren said.
“If only I could get her to open up,” Thad said. “Get her to trust me.”
“Be patient,” Atticus said. “Be her friend. If it’s meant to be, it’ll happen when it’s the right time.”
“Do you really want to be with someone with a kid?” Soren asked.
Thad’s mouth dropped open as he turned all the way in his chair to address our tactless brother. “How could you say that?”
“What do you mean?” Soren looked perplexed. “I don’t mean it in a bad way, I’m simply asking if that’s really the direction you want to take your life.”
Thad shook his head, clearly appalled. I knew why. He was thinking about Pop and how he’d taken on not one child on when he’d married Mama, but all five of us.
“If you love someone, it doesn’t matter what they bring to the relationship,” Rafferty said. “Pop taught us that.”
Soren cocked his head to one side. “That seems too simple. What if you love someone but it’s way too complicated to make work?”
Atticus narrowed his eyes. “Are you speaking from personal experience?”
“Me? God no. I was speaking hypothetically,” Soren said.
“I thought you were referring to Mandy Ford,” Rafferty said. “The girl you longed for in high school.”
“I didn’t long for her,” Soren said. “This isn’t like those British historical dramas you’re so fond of.”
“Mock me all you want,” Rafferty said. “A heart loves what a heart loves, and I happen to loveMasterpiece Theatre.”
