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Sam sputtered a response, afraid to make this athing. It wasn’t athing. “It’s not… I, uh…”
“Mr. Kohler needed some help getting showered and changed,” Mike explained. “We’re gonna watch a movie.”
“Okay,” Mrs. Ewing said, and if Sam wasn’t mistaken, with a slight bounce on her toes. “Sounds good. Your father and I are heading up to bed soon.” Then she winked.
And for fuck’s sake. This was definitely athing.
Sam kept her gaze on the floor, her cheeks flaming as Mike led her to the basement, all the while trying to forget the fact that his mother obviously knew they werenotgoing to watch a movie.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked.
“Your mom knows.”
“Knows what?”
“Knows aboutthis.” When he tried to play dumb, she growled, fisting her hands by her sides. “Thisisn’t how it’s supposed to work.”
Mike laughed and reached for her hand, but she evaded him.
“I’m serious,” she said, and he sat down on his bed, his hands up.
“Okay. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, for Christ’s sake, stop apologizing.” She threw her arms out to the sides. “You could make this a little easier on me, you know?”
“Make it easier?” He scrubbed his hand down his face. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about you, about your mom, about Jimmy…” She paced in a small circle. “It wasn’t supposed to be real. This was supposed to be the summer, and that’s it. Your family knowing makes it feel like this is a real relationship, and it’s not.”
When he blanched, her first instinct was to take it back, but she was too deep in the spiral to pull herself out. She could no longer pretend that her feelings for him were a longtime crush come to fruition or a casual fling. Sam’s feelings for Mike were real, and at the moment, she couldn’t stand to think about what that would mean for her when the time came to say goodbye.
“I have to go.” She turned her back on him, saying, “Talk to you later,” before running out of the Ewing house like the coward she was.
22
It had been one week since Sam had last seen Mike, and she didn’t know whether to be proud of her self-restraint or let it all go and run next door to beg him to forgive her. She knew she had upset him; it was written all over his face. So when he didn’t respond to her text the next day, she assumed what they had was over. The summer was cut short.
And maybe that was for the best.
Like a Band-Aid, rip it off. It was better to be done early than wait until the last minute.
Yes, this was for the best.
Steam rose from the pan, and she turned down the heat on the stove before opening the window to get her father’s attention on the back porch. “Dinner’s almost ready.”
He acknowledged her and put down the book he was reading to get himself up from the table. He was doing well, going to physical therapy, and following all the guidelines at home, doing some simple exercises while watching television.
And for once, he actually rested. He didn’t go outside to tinker with his garden or look over data on his laptop. He sat and did nothing for a while every day. Most of the time, Sam and Gavin joined him, sometimes each in their own world with a cell phone or iPad, or other times, they watched something together. They talked about the classes Gavin had signed up for at school and the work Sam would be doing in Texas, and it was really nice, being together.
Too bad this chapter was about to come to a close.
A professional on his crutches now, Phil made his way into the kitchen and took a seat at the table, where Sam put down two plates of summer vegetable stir-fry and rice.
“Smells delicious,” he said. “Thank you.” He blew over a forkful of vegetables to cool it. “Where’s your brother tonight?”
“Out with Ava.”
He swallowed down a bite of food. “What are you up to tonight?”
