CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Monday morning, Sami took her first step to show Chase how ill-matched they were. She texted him early, telling him she needed to see him before he headed to the hospital. She’d found photos of three Corgis from the local Corgi rescue group and planned to ask him which of the three she should add to her menagerie. Or should she adopt all three? Waiting outside with her dogs, Sami grinned, thinking of the horrified expression Chase would not be able to conceal or his annoyance at having his doctor’s routine interrupted.
A car rounded the curve and halted. Chase hopped out and strode toward her. The Corgi leapt for his pants leg, despite being leashed. “Damn mutt,” Chase said. “Sami, what’s happened that can’t wait till after work?”
Sami put a hand on her hip. “Why, good morning to you, too, Chase,” she said.
“Good morning,” he said, sounding annoyed.
She pulled her phone out. “I’m thinking of getting another dog and I really need your advice.”
“Samantha, I have a very busy schedule today. You already have three dogs, which is at least one dog too many. You certainly do not need a fourth. There, see how simple that decision is.” He glanced at his watch. “Of all women, I thought you understood that a doctor’s day isn’t his own.”
“But these dogs might be put down today.” She flicked to the photo of the most raggedy- looking of the pooches. “Look, doesn’t this picture melt your heart?”
Chase didn’t even glance at the photo. “The children waiting for me at the hospital need my time a lot more than those dogs.”
“Of course your job is important,” Sami said. “But when something is important to one person in a relationship, it needs to matter to the other person. Chase, I’m trying to demonstrate to you that you and I are not perfect for each other. Look how annoyed you are with me asking for your time and attention just this once. I don’t want to be second string.” Sami clenched her hand holding the leashes. “I want to matter, more than any job or hobby or—anything, to the man I marry.”
“I think you’re getting worked up over nothing,” Chase said. “If this were something important, of course I wouldn’t be annoyed. But it’s a damn dog.”
“That’s not the point,” Sami said. “I told you last night we weren’t right for each other but you didn’t want to believe me. Here’s your scientific proof.”
He shook his head. “I know when I’m right. If you think I’m backing away from the most perfect woman I’ve ever met over one little tiff, think again.” He reached a hand toward her.
Ruby barked and pounced at his ankles.
Sami pulled the Corgi back. “You asked me last night if there was someone else and I said ‘no.’ But the truth is there is someone else in my heart, even though he’s oblivious. So it’s not fair—“
“I knew it. That’s the only possible reason you can’t see how perfect we are together.” He held up a hand. “No need to say another word. I don’t play second fiddle. Puck and Mam will be disappointed, but I’m sure we all wish you well.”
“Thank you,” Sami said. “I wish you all the best in your search.”
Chase kicked at a pebble. “I think I’ll just hire a matchmaker,” he said, sounding forlorn.
Ruby started barking and yanked her leash from Sami’s hand. She bounded down the driveway.
Toward Flynn, who was walking slowly in their direction.
Sami’s pulse raced. “Sometimes, Chase, you find what you’re looking for by not looking for it.”
He sketched a salute and strode toward his car as Flynn neared it.
Chase held out a hand to Flynn and the two men shook. Chase said something to Flynn, who answered, a grin on his face.
Sami wished she were close enough to eavesdrop, but with Ruby barking, overhearing what they said to each other was impossible.
“You’re dying to know what he said, aren’t you?” Flynn said as he walked up to her, Ruby’s leash safely in his hand.
“Oh, I don’t know that I would admit to that degree of intensity,” Sami said. “Curious, yes.”
“He advised me not to let you drive me crazy.”
“Oh.”
Flynn took a step closer to her. “And then I said, ‘It’s okay. It’s the right kind of crazy.’”
Her heart was beating even faster. Feeling almost shy, she glanced at him then down at the ground. “It is,” she whispered. If only the two of them wanted the same things.
He tipped her chin up. “I promise you I’ll never run away. Never slip off into the night ever again. I apologize from the bottom of my cowardly heart.”
“You’re not a coward.”
“Yes I am. I’m afraid of being like my dad. But I’m more afraid of losing the chance to be with you.”
Sami looked Flynn up and down. She needed to change the subject or she’d end up in tears. She wanted Flynn, but she wanted True Love and marriage and babies and wouldn’t settle for less. “You look as if you have received sufficient medical attention to allow you to attain mobility, but I’m concerned you have a more serious concussion that you may have been brought to realize.”
Flynn threw back his head and pumped a fist skyward. “How much I’ve missed those sentences of yours.”
Sami stiffened and then as suddenly relaxed. “You really mean that, don’t you?”
He nodded.
“You’re a funny man,” she said, rather wistfully.
He sketched a bow. “At your service. If I could put a smile on your face every day, I’d count my life well lived.”
Sami gave him a puzzled frown. “I’m not sure I comprehend your sentence.”
“Oh, hell,” he said. “Forget trying to be poetic. Marry me, Sami. Please?”
Sami realized she herself must have suffered a stronger concussion than she’d suspected from tripping over the tree root. And Flynn’s brain damage from last night’s accident must be severe. She reached a hand to her head and massaged one ear, then the other. “I don’t think I heard you correctly,” she said at last.
“I’d get down on my knees if I could,” Flynn said, “but these damn stitches are interfering. I mean it, Sami. I want to marry you and that means I want you to marry me.”
Words that should bring her joy only confused her. “When a football player suffers a concussion, doesn’t he have to sit out for a certain number of games?”
“There is a concussion protocol. Yes. What’s that got to do with ‘will you marry me’?”
“Wait two weeks and see if you still think you mean what you’re saying.”
“Two weeks!” Flynn practically shouted.
Ruby started barking.
The other dogs joined in.
“Two weeks,” Sami said. “Perhaps if I were thinking more clearly I’d say two months, but two weeks will do.”
“You’re tough, Dr. Pepper.”
Sami nodded and reached for Ruby’s leash. It took all her will power to turn her back on Flynn, but that’s exactly what she did. As much as his words were magic to her heart, she had to believe that he truly meant what he said. “Bye for now,” she called over her shoulder.
Three days later, back in L.A., Flynn accepted the beer Cameron handed him and dropped onto one of the poolside chaises. “I don’t know what I’ll do if she doesn’t say ‘yes.’”
His friend nodded and smiled over at Jonni. She smiled back.
“That magic you two have. Now that I’ve got my head screwed on straight, that’s what I want,” Flynn said. “And don’t ask me why it happened, but I know Sami and I are like that. Not identical, but we hear inside each other’s heads.”
Jonni eased her legs off the chaise, stood up and crossed to Flynn. She sat beside him and gave him a hug. “If you knew how long I’ve waited for you to feel this way.” She brushed a tear off her cheek. “It makes me so happy!”
“Yeah, well, it’s nothing to cry about,” Flynn said. He patted her cheek. “I’m thankful you’re recovered.”
“Yes, and the doctor says we’ll be able to have another child.”
Cameron opened his beer. “If we can handle the excitement,” he said, as his two feisty kids barreled out onto the patio and dove into the pool.
“What I don’t know is how to prove to her that I mean what I say. That I’m a changed man.”
“Want me to text her and let her know all you do is mope around?” Cameron grinned and reached for his phone lying on a glass-topped table.
“I’m not sure words alone will do the job,” Jonni said. She looked over at Cameron. “Is there anything the two of you have talked about, maybe something you’re afraid of doing, but if you did it and showed her, she could see you’re braver than you think you are?”
“Still think I’m a coward, Jonni dear?” Flynn smiled as he asked his question, knowing she’d been right about him being afraid to move past the shadow of his deadbeat dad.
She shook her head. “Think about my question.” She rose and walked to the side of the pool, where the kids were splashing. “Ten more minutes till dinner,” she said.
“It’s eerie,” Flynn said so that only Cam could hear him. “Sometimes I think Jonni really is a witch. A good witch, of course.”
Cameron took a sip of his beer. “She’s wise beyond her years.”
“Her question made me realize what I need to do, but I’m going to need some time to get it done. I’ll take all next week off. Don’t worry. Things in Nashville are set up and production will be ramping up five weeks from now. Violet’s holed up working on some new songs for the film. You’re going to love her. She’s perfect for Runaway Heart.”
Cameron put down his beer. “Ironic, isn’t it? I’m doing a pic by that name the same time you finally stop running the heck away from life. And love,” he added as Jonni walked back to his side.
Flynn lifted his beer in a toast. “Here’s to True Love trumping Good Times.”
Cameron slipped an arm around Jonni.
She smiled up at him. “In the best of all worlds, the two go hand in hand.”
What in the world had possessed Sami to tell Flynn to wait two weeks? She tramped through the woods, past the newly mended fence, her three dogs rambling about. It was a good thing the summer session had started, demanding she focus. But even her self-discipline wavered at times. She’d open the Introduction to Philosophy book and instead of the text she’d see Flynn’s face, his shock of red hair, and his blue eyes laughing with her.
She should have sent him packing with stern finality.
She should have leapt into his arms.
She should never think of him again.
She should book a flight to L.A., hunt him down, and declare her love.
But she knew better than to do that. Flynn had to make the choice to face his demons and come to her willingly.
Sami called the dogs and turned her pack around, heading back to the apartment.
Another good thing about her class being underway was that it was convenient to drop by Emile and Nathalie’s place. She’d had lunch with them twice. Nathalie would always be Nathalie, but she’d continued to soften a bit. Now that Sami understood her better, her mother’s criticisms weighed on her far less.
At the spot where Ruby had broken through the fence, the dogs gave the ground extra sniffs. “He’s not here,” Sami said. Ruby barked and Shelby lifted her sweet Lab face to give Sami a lick of her tongue across her knees. She stroked the Lab’s head. “He’ll be back,” she said. Ruby barked again and raced ahead, then ran back, circling them, urging them onward. Despite realizing she was foolish to do so, Sami picked up her pace. Maybe he wasn’t going to wait two weeks. Then she suddenly slowed her steps, considering what she would do if Flynn showed up ahead of her requested time frame.
The debate began in her mind all over again and she clapped her hands over her ears. She was sick of thinking.
She hurried from the wooded path out into the clearing.
Ruby was running in circles and barking at a vehicle stopped in front of the garage.
A FedEx delivery truck with its engine running stood there, the driver looking out from behind the wheel at the vociferous Corgi. Sami hurried over. Kyle and William must not be home.
“I can take their delivery,” Sami said, shushing Ruby at the same time.
The driver glanced at a page-size envelope. “Dr. Pepper?”
“Yes, I’m Dr. Pepper.”
The driver handed her the envelope. “No signature required,” he said. “Cute dogs. Noisy, though.” He headed down the drive.
Sami stood there, gazing at the packet. The return address was Marina del Rey, California.
Flynn.
Sami held it between her fingertips, staring at the FedEx envelope as if she could make its contents appear without opening it. Silly her. She headed up the stairs, dogs at her heels. Inside, she crossed to the kitchen island and pulled the tab to open the mailer.
Inside were several sheets of paper. On the first one, in a scrawl she knew must be Flynn’s handwriting, was a note.
These songs are dedicated to you, dearest Doctor Samantha Pepper. Thank you for teaching me that Good Times can’t exist without True Love.
The other pages were sheets of handwritten music. Through misty eyes, Sami carried them to the piano, pushed open the keyboard cover, arranged the bench and sat down. Picking out the melody, she could hear in her head one of the tunes Flynn whistled.
He’d written down his songs.
Ruby jumped up and ran to the door, barking. Of course.
Sami ignored her and played the first two lines again.
A knock at the door stopped her.
She crossed over, shushed Ruby and opened the door.
Flynn stood there, a McDonald’s carryout bag in each hand. “I hope it’s okay I’m early.”
Sami threw the door wide. “It is not simply okay. It’s perfectly wonderful.”
He grinned and stepped inside. Ruby jumped at his ankles. The other dogs rushed over.
Flynn leaned close and kissed her. Sami put her arms around his neck. Then she realized she was crushing the sacks and stepped back.
“Brought lunch,” he said. “Sausage biscuits for everyone.”
Sami laughed and dabbed at her eyes. So much for wondering what she’d do if Flynn returned before the prescribed two weeks.
Flynn carried the sacks to the island. “Dogs, you’ll have to wait a few minutes.” He glanced over at the piano. “You were playing my songs already.” Not a question. A statement. A deep sigh of relief.
Sami nodded. She was having trouble finding any right words to say. So she simply nodded again and then lifted his right hand and kissed his fingertips. “I love your music.”
He put his arms around her. “And I love you.”
She rubbed her face against his chest. “Thank you.”
“Whoa,” Flynn said, “don’t you want to add a few words?”
Sami blinked the tears from her lashes. “I love you, Flynn Lawrence.”
“True love,” Flynn said, and kissed her again. Then he pulled back. “Time for lunch.”
“I don’t think I could swallow a morsel,” Sami said.
“Hmm,” Flynn said, opening one of the sacks and pulling out first one sandwich then another. He closed the wrapper of the last one, then still holding it, knelt on one knee and handed it to Sami.
“For you,” he said. “If you’ll accept.”
Sami unfolded the paper wrapper. It didn’t feel like any sausage biscuit she’d ever purchased. She lifted the ring box hidden in the wrapper and the paper fluttered to the floor. Ruby jumped on it. Sami gazed at the box and at Flynn looking up at her, more serious than she had ever seen him.
She flipped the top back.
A beautiful diamond met her eyes.
“Marry me, Sweet Stuff?”
Sami dropped to her knees. Flynn took her in his arms. “I take it that’s a yes.”
“Yes. A most definite yes. An acknowledgement of positive agreement—”
Flynn kissed her and slipped the ring onto her finger.
Ruby circled around them, barking. Of course.