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A young girl was on her knees next to her, looking terrified—Allie’s daughter.
Sam felt helpless as he dropped to his knees beside Allie and grabbed her hand.
Her head moved slightly, and her eyes opened, but she grimaced when the bright light hit her eyes. He angled his body to block the sun from her face, and she blinked a few times, disoriented.
“Hey. Can you hear me?” he asked, then let go of her hand as he realized he was patting and rubbing it, and Meredith was giving him dagger looks. Awkward.
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Allie nodded. “What happened?” she said and tried to sit up.
“Hold on a minute. Let’s get you something to drink before you start moving. Violet, do you think you can run and get your mom a drink of water?”
“Mom?” Violet asked in a shaky voice.
“Sweetie. I’m fine. Water would be great.”
Violet and her friend raced back to the canopy to grab a bottle of water. Allie managed to sit up with his arm behind her for support.
“She was fine just a minute ago,” Laney said, still agitated, and turned to her sister. “You said the stomach bug was gone this morning.”
“It was. Mostly. I’m feeling a lot better. I’m sure it’s just dehydration and the hot day that got the better of me.”
Hot? He frowned. It was barely seventy degrees out.
Laney bit her bottom lip. “We need to get you home. But you’re in no condition to drive, and I don’t know how to work your stick shift.”
“I can drive Allie’s car, and Meredith can follow in mine,” Sam offered.
“Of course,” Meredith said, looking less than thrilled.
Sam helped Allie up and to the car, then bundled Laney and the girls into the back and slipped behind the wheel. Ten minutes later, they were turning onto Allie’s street.
He took a quick glance over at her in the passenger’s seat. She seemed fine. But all the same, he was worried. Could the stress of everything finally be hitting her?
Damn. He needed to talk to her. In private. He glanced up in the rearview mirror to the car following behind them like a heat-seeking missile. Somehow, he doubted that would go over well with Meredith. And it wasn’t as if Allie wanted him around, anyway. She’d made that pretty clear over the past week.
The two little girls were giggling about something in the back seat. That was good. The natural sound of their laughter eased the tense silence in the car. But Laney was watching him, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Another fan. He tried not to sigh in exasperation.
After pulling into the driveway, he strode around to get Allie’s door before he realized what he was doing. She looked surprised to see him holding the door open for her. Even more surprised when he held out his hand to help her down.
He couldn’t risk her falling and cracking her head on the concrete, could he?
He could see her weigh the possibility of refusing, but finally, she accepted his hand.
Firmly on the ground, she tried to pull her hand back, but Sam didn’t let go. He wrapped his arm around her waist and helped her to the front door. Vi had run ahead of them and, without thought of prying eyes, retrieved Allie’s spare key from under the frog tile in the flower bed and handed it to Laney, who hastened to open the door. They all stepped in—save for Meredith, who remained seated in Sam’s car, watching them carefully.
“Thanks for driving, Sam,” Allie said.
Laney quickly echoed it, staying close to her sister’s side, almost protectively. “We can take it from here.”
“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” His arm was still at her waist.
“Of course. I’ll send Laney for Gatorade, and I’ll be back to my old self again in no time.”
He cautiously withdrew his arm. Her legs didn’t buckle—a good sign—and she made her way slowly to the couch. From the sounds of laughter floating down the hallway, the girls were already in Vi’s room.
“Don’t worry, Sam,” Laney said. “I’ll stick around for the rest of the night. She’ll be in good hands.”
