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pulled up. Probably giving his father a heart attack, if Elijah was home across the street. It wasn’t giving Sam a heart attack, though; it was giving him an equally strong but very different reaction.
    He turned off the ignition and sat a moment, indulging himself. Mary had a nice bottom, with little left to the imagination as the shorts stretched tightly over it. Nice legs, too, slender but not skinny.
    Just then she straightened and twisted to see who had stopped, giving him a great view of her breasts in their sheath of stretchy red cotton. Yup, Elijah would have a heart attack.
    Suddenly feeling guilty, Sam climbed out of his car. Mary smiled and waved, as unself-conscious as a child who had been playing in a sandbox. She clearly had no idea that one of her neighbors would consider her to be indecently dressed. Nor was Sam going to advise her. Elijah had always needed to loosen up a bit.
    â€œHi,” she said. She dropped her trowel and weeding fork and pushed herself to her feet. For an instant Sam could almost see down the neck of her top. Down, boy.
    Her knees were grungy with dirt, but she didn’tseem aware of it. He smiled to himself. “Morning,” he said. “Sorry to bother you but…” It suddenly struck him that he didn’t know how to ask.
    â€œBut?” She waited with a pleasantly expectant look on her face. “Did you forget something last night?”
    â€œUh…no. It’s… Well, I was wondering. Would you like to go to the Sanders’s house with me for dinner tonight?”
    Something almost fearful flickered across her face, making him wonder what he’d said. Reviewing his words, he couldn’t see anything frightening in them. But they certainly weren’t clear enough. “Not a date or anything,” he blurted.
    He winced inwardly, realizing how that sounded. Man, his social skills had not only atrophied, they’d died. Now she would be offended, and rightly so.
    But she surprised him by looking relieved. “Great. Sure, I’d like that. As long as it’s not a date.”
    She looked relieved because it wasn’t a date. Sam was taken aback by the disappointment he felt, even though he’d laid the ground rule himself. But no, he must be mistaking a little ego bash for something else. He wasn’t capable of getting involved again.
    â€œGood,” he said, forcing a smile. “It’ll be fun.”
    â€œI’m sure it will.”
    A few moments of awkward silence, as if neither of them knew what to say next. Get back to work, Sam told himself, but that seemed too abrupt rightafter asking a woman to dinner—even if it wasn’t a date. But he wasn’t much of a talker, never had been. Although this was even worse than usual.
    Mary gave him a sidelong look, as if she were a little uncertain herself. Then she shocked him. “Your father?”
    He didn’t want to talk about Elijah. He wanted to pretend the man didn’t exist, even if he was right across the street. But Mary’s mention had been so tentative. And what if something was wrong? “What about him?” he asked roughly.
    â€œHe’s standing in his window watching us.”
    Sam swung around and saw Elijah standing in the picture window across the street. The man didn’t acknowledge him with so much as a wave. “Nosy old coot,” Sam said, his gut twisting.
    â€œMaybe…maybe he’s hoping you’ll come talk to him.” She offered it almost as a question, hesitantly.
    â€œNot a chance in hell.” Sam turned his back on the old man. “He probably figures you’re in trouble with the law. That’s the way his mind runs.” And he needed to get out of there before the old anger managed to burn through the glacier that encased his heart.
    â€œWell,” said Mary, an impish smile coming to her mouth, while a strange shadow remained in her eyes, “I’m sure he thinks