Chapter 24

 

The day before, Wyatt had noticed that Sam seemed off. He was troubled and distant, and he wouldn't open up to Wyatt. That's why he wanted so badly for Sam to come over last night, but he refused.

Today they weren't on the schedule to volunteer, and Wyatt planned to spend the day working. But by lunchtime, he was obsessed with talking to Sam. He had tried texting him, but only got the briefest of replies back. Picking up his phone, Wyatt was thinking of calling him instead, but then he decided he wanted to talk to him face to face.

The kids were happy to have lunch in town, but they were a little disappointed that they couldn't talk Wyatt into taking the dogs along with them. The day was a little cloudy so they drove. That would save Wyatt some time since he needed to get back to work.

When they arrived at the café, all the tables were taken. That wasn't the only bad luck. Sam wasn't anywhere in sight. As soon as two spots at the counter opened up, Wyatt had the boys take them. Magda agreed to keep an eye on them, so Wyatt ordered their lunch and went in search of Sam.

Instead of Sam, he found Mrs. Del Rio. "I'm glad the boys get to help out with the work you and Sam are doing. It's good for them to keep busy. I don't even know how such little things bear up under so much grief," she said with a big sigh.

"They're amazing," Wyatt said and looked back at them.

"They sure are, and so are you, sweetheart. You really stepped up. But I bet you're looking for Sam," she said. "He's around here somewhere. He still seems spooked. I was hoping he'd be more at ease with you guys working where it's quiet and where Sandra won't be running around snapping pictures like some paparazzo."

"Right," Wyatt said though he wasn't sure what she was talking about.

"I just hope some actual work is getting done," she said with a teasing smile.

"And this thing with Sandra...?" Wyatt started to ask.

"Those pictures won't make it online. I made sure of that. Sam's dirtbag of an ex won't be finding him that way," she assured Wyatt.

"I didn't need to worry, I guess," Wyatt said as he realized that must have been why Sam was acting odd.

"But it's sweet that you did. You just keep looking out after our Sam," Mrs. Del Rio said and patted his arm approvingly. Then she went off to talk to some other customers.

That left Wyatt to wonder why Sam didn't talk to him about what was bothering him. There was nothing he would like better than to look out for Sam, but he would first need to know what was going on.

After popping in to check on the boys, Wyatt went looking for Sam again. A bunch of people told him he was around, maybe in the kitchen. Since he couldn't barge in on him in there, Wyatt went outside and to the back.

He parked himself by the cafe's back door and leaned against the wall. Next he texted Sam to let him know he was waiting for him there. He expected to have to wait a little while, but Sam showed up right away.

As he came out, Wyatt could smell all sorts of good things cooking. Then Sam shut the door behind him and stood a few feet from Wyatt.

"What's going on?" he asked while only glancing at Wyatt briefly like he didn't want to look at him full on.

"Just wanted to talk to you. I knew something was on your mind. Now I know what it was. You could have told me what was bothering you," Wyatt said and Sam looked taken aback, like he didn't want him to know even now. "Yesterday, I noticed you were talking to the boys more than you were to me. I wish you had talked to me then. Why didn't you?"

"I didn't see the point," Sam said in a dour way.

"Couldn't you talk to me now?" Wyatt asked. He wasn't trying to be demanding, but he felt like Sam was shutting him out and that hurt and it scared him. What if he was pulling away? What if he didn't want to see him any more?

"I don't think..." Sam started to say while shaking his head.

Wyatt could tell he was going to refuse, so he decided to fill him in on what he knew and then Sam could fill in the blanks. "I talked to Mrs. Del Rio. She thought I already knew all about it, like I should have. If that photo worried you so much, you should have told me."

Sam blinked a few times then he smiled in a way that Wyatt couldn't decipher. "Why involve you?" Sam said. His voice was low, his expression unreadable. Wyatt felt like he didn't have a clue what was going on with him.

"What the hell, Sam? You didn't want to involve me? Why didn't you want to talk to me about this? Are you mad at me?" Wyatt wanted to know.

"Why would I be? You don't owe me anything," Sam said.

"What? I want to help you and to be there for you," Wyatt stated though he couldn't keep the rising anger out of his voice.

"For now," Sam said flatly.

"What are you saying? What is this about?" Wyatt demanded.

Sam took a shaky breath then he told him. "I heard you at the cafe. You told the boys you would be going back to Europe."

"That is not what I said. I was telling them that I would be taking then with me. So they wouldn't worry."

"I know. I heard you. Now leave me alone, Wyatt," Sam said and turned away to go back in.

"I'm not going anywhere, maybe not for a long time," Wyatt yelled after him but Sam didn't want to hear it.

He went inside and shut the door. For a second Wyatt was going to follow him inside, but then he realized he wouldn't be doing Sam a favor if he made a scene at his place of work.

Feeling frustrated and confused, he sighed and went around to the front then joined the boys inside. They were eating their lunch with Mrs. Del Rio leaning next to them and laughing at something. Wyatt smiled as he went over, but he had to get his lunch to go.

He just didn't feel like eating at all right now. He felt like he would never want to eat another bite until he settled this thing with Sam. On his way out, he spotted him at a table and went over. He whispered to him. "I'm going on a hunger strike until you feed me something."

Sam jumped at that and gaped at him. To let him know he wasn't giving up, Wyatt eyed him seriously as he left. He wasn't going to lose him no matter what.

In contrast to his intensity, the kids were waving cheerfully to Sam as they went out the door. For the kids Sam had a smile, but for Wyatt he only had a pained expression.

 

Since his concentration was shot anyway, Wyatt decided to call Raquel. He needed a sympathetic ear.

"How come you're calling?" she asked instead of saying hello.

"Where's the love?" Wyatt asked and leaned back in his office chair. He let his head fall back until he was staring at the ceiling.

"Hey now," Raquel told him in a conciliatory tone. "I always want to hear from you. I know it must be hard for you."

"I won't argue with that," Wyatt said with a sigh.

"So what's wrong?" she asked gently. When he didn't answer right away, she turned more demanding. "I know something is up, so spill it."

"I guess you're psychic. I had my first and my second fight with Sam," Wyatt confessed. "I never thought that kind of thing was a big deal, but it's different with him."

"Because you're head over heels. Want to tell me what the fight was about?" she said.

"He thinks I'm going to leave, go back to Vienna or somewhere," Wyatt summed up.

There was a thoughtful silence on the other end before Raquel spoke. "Well, you are living in that tiny, little town. That's not you."

"I know, but this is where the boys need to be. And I think I'm fitting in OK. At first, it was kind of weird being in my brother's house when he's gone, but the place is feeling kind of like home lately," Wyatt told her.

"So you're thinking of staying?" Raquel said.

"I want to be where Sam is," Wyatt stated simply.

Another pause from Raquel followed. "Wow. So did you tell him that?"

"I didn't get a chance. He didn't want to listen to anything I said," Wyatt complained.

"I'm sure once you talk, you'll clear it up."

"I hope. But it scares me. The way he's turning away from me. What if he decides I'm too much of a gamble?" Wyatt said worriedly. "Sam is coming off a bad relationship. He doesn't want turmoil in his life. He likes this place because it's peaceful."

"And you tend to turn things upside down," Raquel said.

"What? I'm not some kind of troublemaker," Wyatt said getting a little defensive.

"It does sound like you might be starting to settle down. I guess raising kids will do that to you," she said. "So how are your nephews doing?"

"They are brave little guys," Wyatt said feeling so proud of them.

"They have you so they'll be OK."

"When you come down, you'll get to meet them and Sam, and see this place. And I can't wait to see you. We didn't get to spend much time together, and I was so rushed and out of it when I arrived," Wyatt reminded her.

"I can't wait either," Raquel said.

After he hung up and went back to work, he realized that talking to Raquel cheered him up a little. But too soon after that, Wyatt found himself brooding about Sam once again. He needed to straighten this out as soon as possible, but he didn't want Sam to feel cornered or pressured.

Wyatt wanted to be considerate, but he just couldn't let go of the fear that all this turmoil might be too much for Sam. He might make his case only for Sam to reject him. After all the bad things in his life, Sam needed someone he could trust. What if he decided Wyatt wasn't the man for him?