"Something on your mind?" Wyatt asked.
"Just one little thing. Don't get me wrong, you seem like a fine young man and you're doing right by your nephews, but I gotta ask you, what do you want from my Sam?"
Wyatt thought about how to answer her very motherly question then he gave her the must honest answer he could. "Everything."
At that she laughed that big, hearty laugh of hers and clapped him on the back. "You're quite a man, Wyatt Hayes," she told him. "I don't have a thing to worry about."
Right now Mrs. Del Rio with her big heart and big hair was the closest thing Sam had to family. That made Wyatt wonder about her. "How come you settled down here? You were a showgirl in Las Vegas. It must have been quite a change."
"I was born and bred here, grew up in this very house. I swore on my life once I left, I would never come back here, and now here I am," she said and motioned all around.
The place was certainly lively and it suited her, but it obviously wasn't always that way. "I guess you didn't like growing up here," Wyatt said.
"Not one bit. All the uptight people... But most of the people who used to make my life miserable either died off or moved away, so now it's not so bad. And with young blood, sweet looking boys like you and Sam, moving here, old Peach Tree is getting better every day," she said.
Wyatt was certainly liking it more every day with Sam and the boys here and other people he was growing fond of. Sam's ex was just a glitch. He had no reason to stick around.
As Wyatt was telling himself that, he saw that Sam had arrived. He was making his way through the crowd toward him and Mrs. Del Rio, and Wyatt started to doubt himself.
Would his ex really give up and leave? Gazing at Sam, Wyatt couldn't imagine that anyone would ever be able to let him go.
Chapter 32
Every time he got another text from Wyatt, Sam had to smile. Though they were a reminder of what happened with Brian, they also reminded him how much Wyatt cared.
In his last text, Sam told Wyatt he was almost there. As he went up to Wyatt at Mrs. Del Rio's, Sam could see signs of concern on his face. He hated that he made Wyatt worry about him, but at least they were going to be together now.
"Glad to see you," Wyatt told him. "But I might not be able to let you out of my sight again."
"Don't be weird. I'm fine," Sam told him.
After a quick kiss, they joined Lara, Raquel and the kids who were talking to Rico.
"I swear everyone wants to push me into something," Rico was saying as they approached. "My dad wants me to be a dentist. I finally put my foot down, and I said no, so we're at war."
"Don't be a dentist, Rico," Riley told him.
"OK. I won't. Glad to see someone is on my side," Rico said and he high-fived Riley.
Seeing Sam, Riley wanted a high five from him too.
"If you're here, I guess I have to be heading to the café soon," Rico said.
"Don't worry. You're not late," Sam told him and the two of them went off so he could grab a drink.
"Those little squirts are not so bad, but I still think it's weird dating someone who has kids?" Rico affirmed once they were away from the others and Sam was staring back at Wyatt.
"The boys are great." Sam loved DJ and Riley with no reservations. And Wyatt too.
Damn. Why did he have to think that? Sam looked away from Wyatt quickly and stared at the ground at his feet. He didn't want the word love in his head when it came to Wyatt. Wasn't it enough that his love for Wyatt was etched into his heart, or more like carved into it deeper every day?
"Rico, my boy, your turn to go feed the tourists," Mrs. Del Rio said startling Sam.
"I'll head over there now," Rico said sighing before he rushed off with a wave.
"He's a good boy," Mrs. Del Rio was saying then some new arrivals got her attention.
As Rico was leaving and Sam looked after him, he saw something that made his blood run cold. Stunned, he watched as Rico stopped halfway to the road to talk to... God, why was he here? Why was he grinning at Rico like that?
