GAMBLING ON LOVE (Travis Series) (30 page)

Sam
’s chest puffed with pride
.
“Maggie
,
this is Anne
.
She’s going to be staying here indefinitely.”

Maggie
’s smile never faltered, although Beth had the distinct feeling his news came as quite a surprise
.
“I’ll be glad to have another woman to talk to,”
the older woman
said earnestly
.
“Sam’s okay if you can communicate in grumbles and
grunts
.”

Beth laughed, instantly adoring Maggie
.
“Is there anything I can help you with?”
 

“Goodness, no
.
You go freshen up and I’ll have dinner on the table in about twenty minutes.”

Sam took
Beth’s
hand and led her
out of the kitchen and
through the dining room
. As they passed by the table, her gaze fell on the place settings.
 

“Sam
, wait
.” She nodded towards the table. ”
Maggie wasn’t expecting me, was she?”

“No, but she doesn’t mind.”

“It’s not that
. Look at the table; it’s
set for two.”

“Maggie always eats with me when I’m home.
”
He looked at her apprehensively
.
“Is that a problem?”

“Of course not
!
She’s
your family, but if the table
is
only set for two, I want to make sure
a third
place
is
set
for Maggie
.”

Sam pulled her into his arms
.
“This is one of the many reasons I love you, Anne
.
You’re kind and thoughtful and warm
…
all the things I’m not.”

Beth’s brows drew together
.
“That’s not so
.
You’re all those things and more
;
you just don’t know how to show it sometimes
.
Now go on up to the room and wash up while I grab an extra setting for the table.”

Sam kissed her softly
.
“I’m going to love being married to you.”

She watched him walk away and waited a few moments for her heart to stop pounding so wildly in her chest before returning to the kitchen
.
She was going to love being married to him
,
too.
 

“Maggie
?
Where are the dinner plates?”

Maggie pointed to a cupboard behind Beth
.
“Up there, but I’ve already set the table.”

Beth opened the cupboard and pulled down a plate and saucer
.
The glasses were on the shelf above the plates so she grabbed one and put it on top of the plates.
 

“I know you did and it’s lovely
.
There’s just one problem
.” She
turned around and smiled at Maggie
.
“It’s one setting short
.
Now
,
where is the silverware
?”

Maggie turned around and busied herself at the stove
, but not before Beth caught the shimmer of tears in her eyes
.
 
“In the drawer below the plates,” she said over her shoulder.

Beth retrieved the silverware and added them to her stack
.
“Thanks, Maggie
.
We’ll
be down i
n
a few minutes.
”
She
rearranged
the plates so that Sam’s setting was at the head of the table with hers and Maggie’s on either side of his
.
“There,” she said
, pleased with
herself
, “that’s much better.”
 

Hurrying up the stairs to Sam’s bedroom, she
didn’t notice Maggie hovering in the doorway
,
or the worried look on the older woman’s face.

They had a wonderful time at dinner and
, eager as Beth was to visit Vic, she
was disappointed when it was over
.
She thanked Maggie for the meal and asked her to come back over for dessert when they returned from the hospital
.
Maggie seemed a bit flustered but accepted when Beth refused to take no for an answer.

“I’m not sure Maggie likes me,” Beth said with a frown once they’d started for the hospital.

“Of course she likes you, sweetheart
. What’s
not to like?”

“I don’t know
.
It’s just that I caught her looking at me a few times with a strange expression
.
You don’t think she has a problem with me staying there
,
do you?”
 

“Maggie
?
Not a chance
.
She’s
been
pester
ing
me to settle down
for years.
Don’t worry about it, honey
.
I’m sure you’re just imagining things.”

Beth
nodded
,
although she wasn’t entirely convinced he was right.
Her anxiety over Maggie
’s behavior
was waylaid when they
entered
Vic’s room
.
His leg was propped on a pillow
and he looked as if he hadn’t slept in days, but h
is expression brightened when they walked into the room.

Beth sat on the edge of the bed
, guilt gnawing at her stomach.
“How are you feeling, Vic?”

“Like one of those guys that gets shot out of a canon
.
The doctor says I can leave tomorrow
,
though
.
They just want to make sure the concussion isn’t going to cause any problems.”

“
As soon as
you’re released
,
I want to get you out of town.”

“I’m not leaving you,
Beth
.”
Vic’s jaw set defiantly.

“I know you want to play bulldog for me, but you’ve already been hurt once because of me
.
I’m not about to let it happen again.”

“You need me.”

“Yes, I do need you
. T
hat’s why you have to go away
,
so you’ll be safe.”

Vic looked to Sam for support
,
frown
ing
unhappily when he didn’t get it
.
“She’s right, Vic
.
What if this man comes after you in person
? How
would you get away with a broken leg?”

“I could kick him with the cast, maybe show him what a broken bone feels like, that’s how.
”

Beth laughed
.
“
Why don’t I have problem believing you would do just that?
”
She put her hand over his
, her expression sobering
.
“I love you, Vic, you know that
.
But until this man is found, I’m suspending you from work.
”
He opened his mouth to protest but she rushed on
.
“If I have to shut the whole business down to keep you away, I’ll do it
.
You wouldn’t want to be responsible for all those people being out of work, would you?”

“You
don’t have it in you to be that ruthless
,” he
declared
.

“
Be
glad that’s all she’s threatening you with,” Sam said with an accusing glance at Beth
.
“She promised to get a restraining order and have
me
toss
ed
in jail if I
attempted
to see her.”

Vic eyed Beth with disbelief
.
“You really did that?”

“Well, he wouldn’t leave,” she defended herself
.
“I just wanted him to be safe.”

“But he’s with you now
,
”
Vic pointed out.

Beth’s eyes met Sam’s
.
“Yeah, he can be pretty persuasive when he wants to be.”
 

“So where are you shipping me to?”

“Where ever you want
.
If you need me to hire a nurse to take care of you, let me know and I’ll arrange it.”

Vic waved his hand in the air
.
“I don’t need a nurse
.
If you send me to the Keys, I’ll have plenty of friends around to help me if I need it
.
Do you have any idea how long I’ll need to be gone
?
You know the office will fall to pieces without me.”

“Hopefully, not too long.
”
Beth stood
.
“We’ll let you rest now
.
What time are they releasing you tomorrow?”

“First thing in the morning
-
around eight o’clock
,
I think.
”

“I’ll
pick you up
and take you to your house to pack
.
I
f I can
book
a flight for early tomorrow afternoon
, I’ll
have you in the Keys before happy hour starts.”

They talked briefly about Stockton and then moved onto lighter subjects.
By the time they
arrived at Sam’s house
,
it was after nine o’clock
.

She wasn’t really hungry, but didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to bond with Maggie.
“You don’t think it’s too late to ask Maggie to come over, do you?”

“She stays up pretty late
.
I’ll run out and get her while you cut the cake and set out the plates.”

B
ecause it
was cozier in the kitchen
, she
set the plates on the small table where she and Sam had eaten the night before
.
As soon as she entered the room,
Maggie
started for the cupboards
, her footsteps faltering when she noticed the table had already been set.
Judging by the dour expression on the woman’s face, Beth
had
made a major faux pas by
encroach
ing
on Maggie’s territory
.
 

"I’m sorry,
” Beth offered a sincere apology. “
I was
only
trying to be helpful.”

Maggie
moved to the table and
sat
down
.
“I guess I’m so used to taking care of Sam, it seems strange to have someone else doing it
.
Sit, you two!”

They
joined Maggie at the table but there had been something in the older woman’s
manner
that bothered her
.
While Sam and Maggie chatted, she tried to put her finger on it
.
It took her a while
,
but she finally figured out it wasn’t just Maggie’s tone that nagged at her
; it was
what she’d said about being used to taking care of Sam
.
Maggie didn’t resent her being there, Beth was certain
of that
, but
she probably
fe
lt
as if her importance in Sam’s life was being
usurped
by the new woman
.

After finishing her cake
, Maggie rose from the table and took Sam’s plate along with her own
.
Beth remained sitting, sipping from her cup and smiling to herself when Maggie reached tentatively for her plate and took it along with
the
others to the sink
.
Sam eyed her curiously but
seemed to understand when
Beth nodded
at
Maggie
,
who was washing and drying the plates
.
It was the only
thing
she could think of
to
let Maggie know her position wasn't being
threatened
.

“I’m going to take my shower now
,” Sam said as he got to his feet
.
“
Thanks for the cake, Maggie
.
As usual, it was wonderful.”

Beth waited for Maggie to finish the dishes before speaking
.
“Come and sit with me for a minute, Maggie
.
I’d like to talk to you for a minute.”

“I think I know what you’re going to say.
”
She sat
with her fingers
clasped
tightly
together
.
“I know my Sam better than anyone.
”
She lifted her eyes to Beth’s
.
“He’s asked you to marry him, hasn’t he?”

“He told you?”

Maggie shook her head
.
“
He didn’t have to; from the moment he met you, it was inevitable. The boy was frantic
when
he
lost your phone number
and was determined to find you that night
.
He’s never so much as mentioned a woman’s name to me,
al
though I know he’s had plenty.
”
Maggie
’s hand flew to her
mouth
.
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry
…
”

Beth smiled
.
“I know all about Sam’s reputation
.
He’s been very honest about it right from the start
,
so don’t worry about it.”

Maggie
visibly
relaxed
.
“
The night he lost your number, Sam told me
you were special to him.
”
She smiled softly
.
“I don’t think he even knew it himself, but he’d already started falling in love with you
.
When he brought you home tonight and said you
would
be staying, I knew what that meant.”

“How could
you possibly
k
now
based on that
?”

“Because Sam has never brought a woman here before
.
Fifteen years I’ve been taking care of him
. E
xcept for me and Virginia, there
have been no other women in this house.
”

Beth waited for
Maggie
to continue when she
paused for a moment
, as if
considering whether to divulge any more.
“Lord knows Sam has his faults,
” she finally said, “
but he also
has
some very firm values
and rigid beliefs
on how he want
s
his home
life
to be
.
When he had
this house
built, he made it big enough to entertain in, for his wife, and for his children
.
I know why he never brought his women here
:
so his wife wouldn’t go from room to room wondering who
had
been there before her.”

“Sam told me,” Beth said softly
.
“I think it’s about the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard
.
Maggie
…
can I ask you something?”

“Something that’s been bothering you?”

Beth nodded
.
“Sam told me some of it, but maybe
…
well, maybe you can help me come to terms with it
.
There was a scandal some years back that hit the tabloids and then
suddenly
just stopped
.
Do you know what I’m talking about
?”

When Maggie nodded slowly, Beth took a deep breath and went on
.
“He told me he talked the woman out of
…
getting rid of the baby
.
But he also said he doesn’t see the child
.
I thought I could work through it, but I’m not sure I can
.
I love Sam so much
.
I don’t think I could even function without him, but knowing he abandoned his own child
…
”