Chapter 15
WESTON
I spend the day hiking with Samantha. After our sensitive conversation as we watched the sunrise, I’ve kept the conversation strictly friendly. I’m still not sure what’s going on between Samantha and me, and I really don’t want to push it too far without being certain it’s a good idea.
But she’s been great company today. We’ve had a lot of fun, joking about old flings, school days and good memories. It’s good to have here someone close to my own age to talk to. Of course, I’m close with Madeline, but she’s more like a mother to me than a friend, especially when she keeps meddling with Samantha and me. As much as she means well, it felt good to be out in the wild all day, away from prying eyes. I couldn’t have asked for better company than Samantha, either.
Now, as we head back to the ranch, we’re closer than ever, both emotionally and physically. She sticks to my side like glue, our hands occasionally brushing. I curse myself each time I don’t have the courage to grab her hand and walk with her with pride. But I’m not even certain that’s what she’d want anyway. She’s giving me very little in terms of signs of affection - she’s keeping her cards close to her chest, to say the least. But is it for my benefit? Is she testing the waters too? Perhaps she wants me to make the first move?
When did romance get so complicated?
But as we approach the house, I spot a very angry Madeline waiting for me in the driveway. I frown. What could she possibly be mad about right now? If she’s about to scold me for spending the day with Samantha, then I really don’t know what she wants me to do, since she’s the one who encouraged this to happen. Madeline puts her hands on her hips.
“Where have you been? I’ve been trying to call you!”
Samantha looks stricken. I glare back at Madeline.
“Samantha and I decided to go on a hike today. What’s wrong? It’s not exactly late now…”
“It’s Eric’s Welcome Back fair at school today! We’ve had this planned for weeks! And I don’t recall you telling me anything about a hike!”
“You said the Welcome Fair was next week!”
“I definitely didn’t!” Madeline sighs, rubbing her forehead. “Well, never mind. You’re back now. Let’s jump in the car, we’ll only miss the first half an hour.” Madeline turns to Samantha with an apologetic smile. “I’m so sorry. Weston is terrible at remembering these things…”
“Is Samantha coming too?” Eric asks, bounding out of the house in his favorite outfit - the Batman t-shirt his friends love so much and his cargo shorts. Samantha looks surprised.
“I don’t think so, honey…” she says, shifting from foot to foot. “It’s kind of a family thing, isn’t it?”
“But I told my friends all about you! I want them to meet you…” Eric says, pouting his lip. Samantha is about to protest again when Madeline cuts in.
“Well, I think it’s a great idea! A nice way to unwind after your long hike, huh? And there will be loads to do. Eric can show you his art from the last term, and we can get involved in all of the stalls! Unless you have something else planned?”
“Well, no, I, uh…”
“Excellent, jump in the car too! We can all go,” Madeline says, clapping her hands together. Poor Samantha looks so shocked by the whole ordeal that I know I have to try and say something.
“Now hold on, Madeline…”
“Don’t make us any later than we already are, Weston,” Madeline says sternly, getting into the passenger seat without another word. I throw my hands in the air in exasperation, turning to Samantha.
“I’m so sorry about this…”
“It’s okay!” Samantha says quickly, beaming at Eric and ruffling his hair. “I’ve been to my fair share of Welcome Fairs - they’re a lot of fun! I’m looking forward to it.”
I still can’t believe she’s been roped into this. She’s been around for two days and Madeline is treating her like she’s a new addition to the family. Still, I guess I can’t complain about spending some more time with her. Samantha helps Eric into the back seat and I get in on the driver’s side, quietly fuming at Madeline. She seems rather pleased with herself, glancing over her shoulder to give Samantha a meddlesome smile.
“This should be great, right?”
Samantha nods enthusiastically, though she still looks a bit nervous. I roll my eyes as I start the engine, driving off without a word to Madeline.
By the time we reach the school - a few miles out in the nearby town - it’s already busy. There are cars everywhere, packed into the parking lot and along the road by the entrance. I curse quietly. This is not helping my mood. After a perfect morning with Samantha, why did Madeline have to go and get involved? She’s lucky Samantha’s so nice, or she might have run disappeared into the horizon at the idea of going to my kid’s Welcome Fair.
We eventually get parked up and I rush around the side of the car to let Samantha out. She thanks me quietly and Eric bounds to her side in excitement.
“I can’t wait for you to meet my friends!” he says, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the school gates. I stomp behind them, Madeline quickly on my tail.
“Aren’t they sweet?” Madeline says, watching Samantha being hurried forward by Eric. I scowl.
“I can’t believe you did this. You should have let her go!”
“I wasn’t about to waste this opportunity for you, Weston. You never know what’s good for you!” Madeline exclaims. “Trust me, this is going to be a good thing. The more time you spend together, the easier it’s going to get.”
“You need to stop meddling, Madeline. It isn’t your place to try and manipulate her into staying. If she wants to stay, she will. She’s not a child, she can make her own decisions.”
“I’m sure she can...but I don’t know about you. You’re eaten up by your own past. You won’t let yourself move on. It’s self-sabotage, Weston. I’m not saying you need to forget Cheryl, but you need to remind yourself how to be happy. Don’t think I haven’t seen the way you look at Samantha. You could be great together if only you’d let her in.”
I’m about to argue further, but one of the mothers from the playground waves to Madeline and she heads over to talk to her. Probably better for her own sake. I’m shaking with anger, but I know I have to play cool for the next few hours. Especially now that Samantha has been dragged along to this.
I catch up to her. Eric is surrounded by his friends and their mothers. Eric is talking everyone’s ears off and the adults are all nodding politely, but I can tell they’re all eyeing Samantha up, wondering who the hell she is. I have to intervene before this gets messy. I rush over to Samantha, placing a comforting hand on the small of her back and trying to ignore the shock of electricity it sends through me.
“Hi, ladies. Good to see you all again,” I say, nodding to each of the mothers politely. “How was your summer?”
“Oh, just wonderful! And it’s so nice to meet your new nanny too,” Tina, a fake blonde with even faker eyelashes says, a glint in her eyes.
Samantha blinks several times. “Oh, I’m not Eric’s nanny…”
Tina pretends to be shocked. “Oh? So you’re…”
“A family friend,” I cut in. I know women like Tina. They’ll squeeze a situation dry for any hint of drama possible. This is exactly why I didn’t want Samantha getting mixed up in this - school moms are notorious for sticking their noses in where they don’t belong. Tina looks down on Samantha snootily.
“Ah, I see. That makes a lot more sense. She’s clearly not from around here,” Tina comments, having lost interest in the scenario already. “I guess you’ll be on your way back home soon, hmm?” Tina turns to me. “And what about you then, Weston, honey? Still coping as a single dad?”
I’ve had just about enough of this. I flash Tina a weak smile. “Yeah, I guess you could say that. Still filing for divorce number three, Tina?”
Samantha snorts before she can stop herself, composing herself as quickly as she can. Unfortunately, the ladies have already seen her smirking. They all adopt Tina’s look of distaste. Meanwhile, the kids have wandered off to weave through the stalls together, unaware of the playground politics unfolding between their parents. I give Samantha’s arm a subtle squeeze.
“We’d better go and find Madeline…it was nice to see you all. I hope to see all your kids at Eric’s birthday party next month.”
Tina glares at me, but the other ladies simper, nodding and talking over one another with promises of bringing snacks and drinks to the party. I barely stick around to hear them out, giving them all a quick wave before storming away as quickly as I can. Samantha finally allows herself to giggle.
“God, I’ve missed the term-time drama between parents!” Samantha says, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “That was some come-back, Weston. You really showed her up.”
I don’t feel particularly proud of myself. I know it was a low blow, and Tina is not a woman you want to be on the wrong side of. I might have set myself up for a world of pain where she’s concerned. But as Samantha continues to giggle, I can’t help smiling too. At least she’s not bringing up the whole single dad thing. That’s really not a conversation I want to have right now. Samantha nudges my arm.
“I learned some interesting things from those women, you know,” she says, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. “Turns out they’re all crushing on you pretty hard. And I’m not just talking about the single mothers.”
I blush. “Oh, wow...not sure if I should cry or laugh about it.”
Samantha giggles. “I would feel the same if those women were all over me. They’re kind of obsessed with you. One of them was talking about auctioning off a date with you at the parent’s school fundraiser. Word has it that Tina was planning on placing a pretty large bid on that prize…”
“Let’s just hope her divorce has wiped out her bank account,” I comment with a smirk. Samantha snorts again, before covering her face in embarrassment. She gives me a side-eyed glance, grinning behind her hand.
“Oops,” she says, not sounding particularly sorry. “Sorry if I made things awkward for you back there.”
“Don’t be. If there can be any excuse to escape their company, I’m grateful for it. Maybe they’ll find a more eligible bachelor for their weird charity auction,” I say, rolling my eyes at their antics. I catch Madeline watching me across the playground and she throws an encouraging smile my way. I cringe. It seems like every woman here has a play on my love life in some way. Even Eric has been pushing for me to find someone, and he’s just a kid.
The person that’s trying the least is actually probably Samantha, which is weird considering she’s the only one I would ever be interested in. Maybe that’s why I like her. She doesn’t push things too much. I guess that could have something to do with the breakdown of her recent engagement, but I like it, either way. As we wander past the stalls, she’s more preoccupied with them than with me. It’s refreshing not to be scrutinized - she’s clearly just happy to be here.
I watch as Samantha pauses at the cake stand. One of the local father’s owns a bakery, and his wife is manning the stall, selling their cakes on his behalf. She gives me a friendly nod as Samantha inspects the cakes, asking about the flavors. She looks up at me with a smile.
“Let me see...cappuccino flavor for Madeline...chocolate chip for Eric, of course...I’ll take a red velvet for me…” She screws up her features, watching me as though she’s trying to suss me out. “Hm...I think your favorite is...lemon zest.”
I blink in surprise. “How…how did you know?”
Samantha winks at me, turning to the lady at the desk. “Bittersweet,” she says in explanation. The pair of them laugh together and I feel a jolt in my heart. Is that how she sees me? I don’t have much time to dwell on it. Samantha has the cupcakes boxed up and pays for them with some spare change before continuing to weave through the stalls. I follow after her, struggling to keep up with her new found energy. I’m starting to feel the effects of our early start, but Samantha is as bubbly as ever. In fact, more so than I’ve ever seen her. I guess here, she’s really in her element. She sighs happily as she passes some kids throwing wet sponges at one of the teachers.
“I love these fairs,” she says dreamily. “At my old school, the kids would auction off their artwork and all sorts of things. It was so cute. All the parents would pay ten dollars for a stick drawing of their family and their house.” She chuckles. “I think I’ve got a fair few of those drawings at home myself. If a kid’s parent didn’t buy their piece, I’d always make sure it got bought. The kids were always over the moon.”
My heart fills with warmth at the thought of Samantha’s home, filled to the brim with kid’s drawings. I imagine her bedroom is plastered with them. With anyone else, it would seem totally nerdy, maybe a little sad, but not with Samantha. Nothing she does seems that way to me. Not for the first time today, I push away the urge to hold her hand. I don’t want to spark any more rumors, after all. I simply follow Samantha wherever she goes, listening to her excited chatter, reveling in the fact that this beautiful woman has taken time out of her holiday to be here today. And though I’m still angry at Madeline for enforcing this, I’m kind of glad she did, because strangely enough, this day couldn’t get any better.