Sam's Promise: Blackwater, Book 1 (4 page)

Julie didn’t believe for a second that his motives were so innocent. She stepped closer and squinted up at him. “So you’re looking out for me for Wanda’s sake?”

He ran a hand through his hair before stepping back a few feet. As if needing the distance to think clearly? Julie wondered. “Look, I owe you for everything you did for her. For us. I thought maybe you and I could have dinner together.”

The fact that she had the big bad Sam Jennings on the run sent a little thrill up Julie’s spine. “A simple thank-you would suffice. No need to suffer through another meal with me.”

“Suffer?”

“I got the distinct impression you didn’t want me at your Thanksgiving celebration. In fact, I sort of thought you didn’t want me anywhere near you or your family.”

He shook his head. “Why on earth would you say that?”

“Oh, gee, I don’t know. Maybe it was because of all the nasty looks you sent my way?”

“You misunderstood.”

“Really?”

“Really.” He held his hands out to his sides as if in surrender. “It’s only dinner, Julie. Let me make it up to you.”

Julie bit her lip and looked down. She hadn’t dated much since her grandmother’s death. And never someone as potent as Sam Jennings.
You are way out of your depth, sister.

Sam closed the space separating them, then nudged her chin with his index finger until their gazes locked. “Please have dinner with me?”

God, like she was strong enough to say no to that! “Yes.”

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow night. Seven okay?”

“That’s fine.”

Julie jotted down her address and phone number on her order pad, then ripped the sheet off and handed it to him. “Here, this might be helpful.”

He took it, then looked her over. Like, really looked. Finally he said, “I was thinking a step up from casual. That work for you?”

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “I actually clean up pretty good. You’d be amazed.”

He crowded closer and whispered, “I never doubted it.”

Julie watched as Sam walked into the office and closed the door behind him. It might be the biggest mistake in the world, and no doubt she had absolutely zero skills when it came to men, but that didn’t stop her heart from racing with excitement at the prospect of getting Sam Jennings all to herself for an entire evening.

Mentally, she ran through her wardrobe and came back with absolutely nothing to wear. Great. She wanted to look good for her date, and all she owned were jeans and a few boring skirts. Nothing that made much of an impression. She’d need to go shopping. When Eddie, the cook, yelled, “Order up,” Julie forced herself to concentrate on waiting tables. There’d be time later to think about dark-haired hunks with brooding good looks.

Chapter Four

Julie let the emerald green fabric glide down her body, then checked herself in the mirror. The
Surplus neckline. Cross-back. Accordion pleating. Grosgrain ribbon trim at waist and on shoulderSurplus neckline. Cross-back. Accordion pleating. Grosgrain ribbon trim at waist and on shoulder
deep V neckline was hot. The crisscross back made her feel sexy without being too overt. Heck, she wanted to get the message across that she could look good. That she owned something other than her waitress uniform. The plain black skirt she’d worn to Thanksgiving dinner didn’t exactly scream hottie either. More like schoolteacher of the year. Yippie. Still, she didn’t want to appear as if she were trying to impress Sam, even if that was exactly what she was doing.

As she pulled up the side zipper, she inspected the skirt of the dress once more. Normally she didn’t go for pleats; they made her feel poufy, and she already had a little too much around the hips as it was. She didn’t need to bring more attention to that particular area than necessary. But when she’d seen the dress on the rack, it’d been the accordion-style pleating that had tugged at her. The satin ribbon trim around the waist added just the right touch. Opting to go with black hose and heels seemed to pull the whole look together nicely.

Julie grabbed the metal comb off the counter and did a little upsweep with her hair before starting on her makeup. She never wore much, just a little lipstick and mascara. Tonight was a special night, or so she hoped it would be, so she applied a light dusting of blush and some smoky gray eye shadow to bring out the green in her eyes. Satisfied with the results, Julie left the bathroom, but as she stepped into her bedroom, she stopped abruptly and looked around the spacious room. As always, she half expected to see the old puke green carpeting that had once covered her grandmother’s floors. She’d hated that carpet, but now she missed it terribly. The house and her grandmom were gone, though. Julie’s stomach clenched; she wished she could see the smile. The one her grandmom gave her just before hugging the stuffing out of her.

“I’ll always live in your heart, Julie dear.”

It’d been something her grandmother had said several times during her final days. Remembering the words gave her comfort. As she looked at the small window on the far wall, she smiled. The curtains were one of the few things from the old house that she’d kept. Not because they were gorgeous. Definitely not. The huge yellow and pink flowers all over them had always seemed a bit psychotic to Julie. She’d kept them because her grandmom had made them by hand. The sunny yellow could nearly blind a person if they stared too long, but they still made Julie smile every time she saw them.

The rest of her bedroom had been paid for with the money she’d received from the sale of her grandmother’s house. There weren’t fond memories attached to the furniture, but she aimed to change that. Sooner rather than later. The bed had been an indulgence, and an expensive one at that. The king-size cherrywood four-poster could comfortably sleep three adults—or one large man. A man like Sam Jennings, maybe? Julie would bet a week’s worth of tips that Sam liked lots of room when he slept. Did he like plenty of space when he made love to a woman? Did he like to take his time or was he the rush-to-the-finish type? With any luck at all, she’d find out. Damn, it was way too easy to picture the delicious man lying against the white down-filled comforter, naked, of course.

Then again, what did she know about sex? Very damn little, that’s what. Her introduction had been a quickie in the back of Clint Radley’s Buick. She’d been a junior in high school at the time. It’d been over with before she could let out a single
ahhh
. After that, all her time had been spent taking care of her grandmother. Crap, maybe saying yes to dinner wasn’t such a great idea.

Julie plopped down on the edge of the bed and contemplated canceling. Then the doorbell rang. Sam. Her stomach suddenly filled with butterflies. As she stood, her legs shook a little. “Get ahold of yourself. You’re a grown woman, you can do this,” she muttered.

Julie took a deep breath, then let it out and left the bedroom, turning off the light as she went. As she walked down the hall, her heart seemed to beat faster with each step closer to the front door. She reached the living room, and the doorbell chimed again. She had the insane urge to run in the opposite direction, but the part of her that wanted to move on with her life, the part that didn’t act like a scared cat in a room full of Dobermans, kept her feet moving toward the door. Maybe if she’d had more than a handful of dates, let a guy show her the ropes, so to speak, she wouldn’t be so nervous now. Although Julie had a feeling a big part of her anxiety had to do with whom she was going out with. Sam Jennings simply made her insides turn all mushy and warm.

When she reached the door, she double-checked her appearance in the mirror that hung next to it. Not a hair out of place. If not for the petrified stare, she wouldn’t look half bad. Julie groaned, straightened her spine, and pasted a smile on her face. When she opened the door, she about swallowed her tongue.

He was wearing black trousers, a three-quarter-length black wool coat, and a black V-neck T-shirt peeked out from beneath the open collar. It appeared he’d even attempted to tame his dark, messy hair. Hot, yeah, that word fit Sam nicely. Hot as hell fit even better.

“Hi,” she said, realizing too late she’d been standing with her mouth open.

He smiled and looked at her from head to toe. “You look fantastic.”

Julie stepped back to let him enter. “Thanks. Let me grab my coat and we can go.”

He nodded and stepped over the threshold, shutting the door behind him. Julie now had Sam Jennings in her condo. All to herself. If only she were bold enough to do something about it. She sighed and headed to the couch where she’d left the new black knee-length coat she’d purchased to go with the dress. It draped open in the front and looked classy, but the wool material and long sleeves would still keep her from freezing her tush off, she hoped.

“I hope you like steak. I made reservations at Kane’s.”

Deciding to tweak him a bit, Julie let her eyes grow big as quarters. “Uh, I’m a vegetarian.”

His gaze narrowed. “You came to our Thanksgiving dinner.”

“But did you see me actually eat any meat?”

He rubbed his chin. “Well, now that you mention it—”

“I’m teasing you.” She laughed. “I love a good steak.”

He shook his head, and a small smile kicked up one corner of his mouth. The left corner, to be exact. Well, heck, wasn’t that just adorable in an ornery sort of way?

“Had me worried there for a minute. Not that I have a problem with vegetarians, but I had to do some serious sweet talking to get those reservations.”

She pulled her coat on and grabbed her purse. As they headed out the door, his words registered. “You know, now that you mention it, Kane’s is a bit upscale. How’d you get reservations on such short notice?”

He placed his hand at the small of her back, and Julie’s heart skipped a beat. “I know the owner’s daughter. We belong to the same church.”

The church thing wasn’t a surprise. Wanda was always trying to get Julie to go to church with her. So far Julie had managed to hold the woman off with one excuse or another. The truth of it was, she couldn’t get the sight of her grandmom lying in a casket out of her head. That’d been the last time Julie had been inside a church.

After she locked the door, Sam escorted her to his waiting SUV. Once they were both inside, Julie turned to him and asked, “So, what sort of sweet talking did you do with the owner’s daughter?”

His wink before turning away and starting the engine sent a surge of lust through her apparently sex-starved system. “In exchange for a table for two, I’ve agreed to take a look at her car for her. She’s having some trouble with it stalling out.”

An image of Sam wearing a pair of well-worn jeans and covered in grease came to mind. Suddenly her coat felt a little too warm. “You know your way around an engine?”

He turned on the heater and checked his rearview mirror before pulling out of the parking space. “Dad taught all of us how to work on cars. He used to say there was no sense in paying someone to do a job that you could do yourself. It’s how Vance learned construction and how I learned carpentry work. Dad was all hands-on.”

So, the indomitable Sam Jennings was good with his hands. No surprise there.
Geez, he just gets more perfect with each passing minute.
At this rate, Julie estimated that she’d be salivating over him by the time dessert arrived. “Is that what you do for a living? Carpentry?”

“I do a little bit of everything. Remodeling and roofing for the most part. Some building but not a lot. That’s Vance’s gig.”

“And you live in the area?”

He nodded. “About twenty minutes to the south, near Amanda.”

“I’m surprised I never ran into you at the restaurant, then.”

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “That’s because I’ve been too wrapped up in my own life. I should’ve been checking on things.”

“I don’t know, your mom seems pretty independent. I’m not sure she would’ve welcomed a lot of interference, even coming from her own son.”

“And yet she’s confided in you,” he stated in a quiet voice as he took his gaze off the road for a second. “Let you help her.”

“Ah, I’m sneaky, though.” She bobbed her eyebrows. “I have ways of getting around her.”

“I’ll bet you do.” His somber expression lightened a bit, and he went back to watching the road.

“So, how’s your mom doing?” She’d seen Wanda the night before. After Julie’s shift at the diner had ended, she’d headed up to the hospital. She’d been feeling better, but it’d been a chaotic visit with all the brothers there, so Julie hadn’t caught any details about Wanda’s condition beyond the obvious fact she’d been feeling better.

Sam let out a deep breath, and she noticed his hands clenching the steering wheel in a tight grip. “The doctor ran about a million different tests. Don’t ask me the names of them—that shit confuses me to no end—but they’ve determined that the blockage can be taken care of with a better diet and medication. No surgery. She should be released in the next couple of days.”

“That’s great news! She’ll be glad to get home, I bet. Hospitals have a way of making you feel worse than you are.”

He snorted. “You’re being kind. She’s driving everyone crazy up there, and we both know it.”

Julie attempted to stifle a laugh when she remembered Wanda all but lecturing one of the nurses the previous night about the merits of healthy food that didn’t taste like dust. “The nurse on duty last night did seem a bit harried. River looked ready to bang some heads together.”

“That’s because Mom keeps insisting she be released. We told her not to worry, that we’re all taking turns handling the diner, but the woman never was good at sitting around doing nothing. Even on our family vacations, Mom was always cleaning or cooking something.” He paused, then in a quieter tone, he said, “And River has a hard time seeing Mom upset or in any kind of distress. Always has.”

“I don’t mean to pry, but Wanda told me once that she and your dad adopted the five of you when you were very young. That must have been tough.”

He turned a corner, and Julie looked out the windshield. She could see the restaurant up the road on the right. Food was forgotten at the moment, though. All she really cared about was hearing more about the man who was quickly becoming an obsession to her.