Then just as he thought it, there was a knock at his door. He looked through the peephole. It was the server from room service.
“About damn time,” he muttered, and opened the door to let the man in, added a tip as he signed the ticket.
When the server began to remove the covers, Mark waved him off.
“I’ll do that,” he said, and turned the dead bolt after the server left.
Journalists had been trying to get to him for a story since the whole nightmare began, even going to the extreme of pretending to be hotel employees just to get into his room. Now he was more cautious about who came and went.
But this was his last night in the hotel. Tomorrow he had to go back to his house and have movers pack up his personal belongings. After that, he was going home to Kansas. Back to the family farm.
Maybe getting dirt under his nails and on his clothes again would help him forget the dirt on his soul.
***
Katie woke up early to make blueberry muffins. She wanted to take some to Delilah when she went to walk Rhett Butler. The old woman had become dear to her, and she was going to miss seeing her every day.
She was stirring up the batter and had it ready but for the blueberries draining in a bowl, when there was a knock at the door. She was barefoot, wearing an old-fashioned bib apron over her pajamas, with her sleep-tangled hair clipped up high on her head. And while she was debating about answering the door looking as she did, whoever it was knocked again. At that point, she ran to answer.
To her horror, it was Sam.
He looked at her and grinned.
She sighed. “Well, all the magic just rubbed off the mirror, didn’t it?”
He shook his head. “You look adorable.”
“I’m baking blueberry muffins. Please, come in. Is everything okay?”
“I won’t come in. I shouldn’t have come without calling. But I need to ask you something and tell you something.”
“Okay, ask away.”
Sam’s future hinged on her answers, but she was so sexy standing there that it was hard to focus.
“You need to know I was afraid to come over here. I still am. But the chance that you might not turn me down is worth the fear.” Then he took a deep breath. “You are the first woman I’ve wanted to get to know since…since Shelly died. But I sense you have reservations about men in general, and I don’t want to push where I’m not welcome.”
“Oh, Sam, I—”
He held up his hand. “Let me finish before you say what you have to say.”
She nodded.
Sam took another breath. “I want to know if you would be interested in us seeing each other.”
“Is it my time to speak now?” Katie asked.
Sam tensed. “Yes.”
“Then my answer is yes. I am interested. I have issues, but not with men in general. Just one in particular. And I’m not pining away. I would not throw water on him if he was on fire. But he broke my trust in a very big way, and I guess I’m kind of like you…afraid to let anyone climb over the wall again.”
“I’m not into breaking down walls. I prefer waiting for someone to just open a door and invite me in.”
Katie’s heart skipped. “Well, the door is already open. And this is your official invitation. You are welcome in my home, Sam Youngblood.”
Sam exhaled. “Thank you, Katie.”
“So, are you coming in?”
“I don’t feel like pushing my luck. I think I’ll just let this settle right here,” Sam said. “You’re baking muffins and the girls are playing, and I don’t leave them alone for long.”
“Oh…today’s your day off, right?”
“Yes. So if you get lonesome, we’re across the street raising hell.”
Katie laughed. “What was the crash about last night?”
“They dry-landed Fishy,” Sam said.
“What?”
“They ‘accidentally’ dropped the fishbowl with their goldfish onto the bed, and turned the table over that it was on, although… (A.) They weren’t supposed to be moving the fishbowl. (B.) Fishy told them he didn’t like being in the moonlight. And (C.) You’re too damn cute for words, and you have made my day. I want to ask you out, but it all hinges on finding a babysitter.”
“Consider the invitation received and accepted right now. But I don’t want to be the woman who suddenly takes away the girls’ daddy time. Maybe we could keep it simple at first. Stay close to home and take them with us?”
Sam was surprised. “Are you serious?”
“Sure. You can’t just shift loyalty to accommodate me. They’re your babies. They’re always going to have to come first.”
Sam’s eyes were shining with unshed tears.
“God, Katie…you are so dang near perfect, I can’t stand it.”
Katie tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Nearly perfect? It’s my hair, isn’t it? Or was it my bare feet?”
Sam stepped across the threshold, cupped her face, and kissed her square on the mouth.
“Perfect,” he said softly, rubbed his thumb across her lower lip, and left her standing there.
Katie shivered. You, sir, are a thief in hiding. I think you are planning to steal my heart.
Then she remembered the muffins, hurried back to the kitchen to finish the batter, and couldn’t think of what she was doing before she stopped.
“Oh yes…the blueberries,” she said, and folded them into the batter.
Her lips were tingling as she put the muffins in to bake. She was still thinking about the way his mouth felt on hers.
She was riding a high that this was happening, and so afraid of the fall if it ended. But she was taking Lila’s advice. Ride the ride. Take the risks. Love while you can. Heartbreak won’t kill you.
While the muffins were baking, Katie went to get dressed. She had things she wanted to do before work began Monday, so after she walked Rhett Butler, she was going downtown. There was a small clothing boutique she’d been wanting to check out, and she had an appointment at the beauty shop to get her hair trimmed.
A short while later, she and the muffins were on their way to Delilah’s.
She pulled all the way up in the drive and went to the front door with the muffins and rang the doorbell.
Rhett was barking as Delilah opened the door, but when she saw how Katie was dressed, she was confused.
“You look too pretty to go dog walking,” she said.