Read More to Give for Free Online

I?”
    “Yes.” Callie cringed. “She shook your hand and said if only she was twenty years younger, you two could have some fun.”
    His deep chuckle set butterflies loose in Callie’s midsection. “Interesting lady.”
    “That’s one word for it.” But Callie didn’t experience the usual annoyance she felt when thinking about her mother. Standing this close to Sam, sharing a moment from the past, she felt lots of things, but none of them was annoyance.
    Several amicable seconds passed, and then Sam’s eyes dropped the few inches to Callie’s lips. She stopped breathing. Stopped thinking. Waited.
    Then a door slammed down the hall and Sam stepped back.
    “I think we have a good plan of attack here,” he said. “I’d like to see a full proposal by Friday.”
    Callie nodded, hugging the notepad to her chest. It wasn’t much, but she needed something to hold on to.
    “I’ll have it for you first thing in the morning.” Desperate for space and fresh air, she stepped into the hall and led the way to the lobby. Callie could feel more than hear Sam following behind her. She picked up the pace. “You offered to send Yvonne over to help with the office,” she said, stopping near the front desk. “When can I expect her?”
    The storm-gray eyes were serious again. The grin vanished. Whatever had just happened down the hall must have been a figment of Callie’s imagination.
    “I’ll send her over this afternoon.”
    She’d thought he would leave immediately, but Sam lingered near the entrance. “I forgot to ask, is everything good with the cottage? Seemed the right place to put you, considering its proximity to the inn.”
    Callie hadn’t expected Sam to be concerned about her comfort, but she certainly had no complaints about the cottage. “It’s wonderful. Perfect, in fact. I think I’ll be quite happy there.”
    A glimpse of the smile returned. “Good,” he said. Another brief hesitation, and then, “I’ll see you Friday morning at nine.”
    Callie nodded, then watched Sam walk to his car. The words she’d last spoken played on a loop in her mind. There was definitely a chance she could be happy here. Though she did hope the rest of the islanders were friendlier than the checker players outside had been. Still, Callie preferred to think positive. As her cousin Henri liked to say, you never know what might happen if you keep an open mind.
    And an open heart.

    Sam walked into the Anchor Inn still contemplating his encounter with Callie. She’d always been honest, but brave was not something he would have called her six years before. It had taken incredible courage for her to walk into his office, not sure what he would say or do when he realized who she was.
    What astounded him more, though, was the fact that she had yet to bring up the last time they’d seen each other. Hadn’t asked him why he’d left without so much as a note the morning after they’d been together. Truth be told, after six years, Sam still didn’t have an answer, even for himself. That part of his life was a blur of anger, confusion, and hurt. He could express the anger, but Callie had given him a way to express the hurt. Or at least put a bandage over it for one night.
    The next morning, he’d simply needed to get away. To start over. He’d never meant to fall into bed with Callie that night. Sam had needed a friend. Someone who would understand what he was going through. Callie had seemed like the only person on the planet who might know how he’d felt.
    And she had. She’d said all the right things. Given him exactly what he’d needed. Maybe what they’d both needed. The memory, which had come back like an assault the moment he’d stood next to her in that bedroom, revived the feelings he’d long ago buried.
    “Mr. Edwards?” Yvonne said, jerking Sam out of his reverie.
    Sam stopped before walking into a chair. He glanced to his left to find Yvonne watching him with concern in her yellow-gold