order. He’ll fix you right up.”
Sam couldn’t help noticing the sexy high heels she was wearing when she slid off her bar stool. Those shoes drew attention to long, shapely legs. He didn’t know a lot about fashion, but he had a feeling she hadn’t bought them at the discount store out on the main highway. In fact, her entire outfit, as casual as it was, seemed to shout that it had come from a designer, not off the rack. A rich tourist, perhaps, though she did seem to be totally comfortable in here. And hadn’t she referred to the owner or the bartender as her cousin?
Sam didn’t have time to try to put the puzzle pieces together. He sure as heck didn’t have time to allow his curiosity to be stirred by a beautiful woman. His life had recently gotten more complicated than he could ever have imagined. Right now, he needed to get his food and get back to Bobby.
Once more, he went back to the door and glanced across the street. There was no sign that Bobby was stirring and nobody was standing beside the car looking alarmed that a child had been left alone inside. That didn’t mean Sam could be gone for much longer. The last thing he wanted was for Bobby to awaken, find himself alone and panic.
Pacing impatiently, he was startled when the woman appeared at his side, obviously on her way out.
“Your food’s on the way,” she said as she opened the door.
A light floral scent that reminded him of summer nights was left in her wake as she passed him, then headed across the street.
Sam saw the exact moment when she spotted Bobby. She stopped beside the car, did a double take, then turned back to give Sam a look that could have melted steel. She whirled around on those spike heels of hers and marched straight back in his direction.
The pub’s door slammed open and she stood before him.
“That’s your car?”
Sam nodded, a flush crawling up his face.
“You left your son in the car all alone? What were you thinking?” she demanded indignantly. “This may be a safe town, but no place is 100 percent safe. Plus it can get hot inside in practically no time, especially on a sunny day like this.”
Even though he knew she was probably justified in her indignation, Sam stared her down.
“Why is this your business?”
“Because innocent children need to be protected from irresponsible parents.”
“I’m not his parent,” Sam retorted, though not only was that not entirely true, he knew it was also hardly the point. He’d been a parent for about a nanosecond. He was still getting the hang of it. “He’s my nephew.”
Since her harsh stare didn’t waver at that, he found himself explaining. “His parents died in an accident two weeks ago. I’m just bringing him here to live with me. You’ll have to forgive me if I thought letting him finally get some rest was more important than dragging him over here to wait with me while I get some food. He was never out of my sight, was he? And the windows are all cracked, so there’s air circulating. Didn’t you see me standing right here by the door keeping an eye on him?”
“I suppose,” she said, backing down, but sparks still flashed in her eyes. “You can’t take chances with a child’s safety. Things can happen in the blink of an eye.”
“I’m well aware of that, probably more so than you are,” he said. “That’s what happened to my sister and brother-in-law. They were gone in the blink of an eye. Nobody could have anticipated that. And I sure as heck didn’t anticipate becoming a dad overnight.”
She faltered at that, her cheeks turning pink. “I’m sorry. Look, just go back to the car, okay? I’ll bring your food out as soon as it’s ready. It’ll make us both feel better if he’s not over there alone.”
Sam started to argue, then gave in. He pulled a couple of twenties from his wallet and gave them to her. “I’m not sure how much the bill will be, but this should cover it.”
She handed back one of the twenties. “This will do. I’m going to have Luke put some chocolate-chip cookies in with your order. They’re not on the menu, but he keeps them on hand for the kids in our family. They’re my great-grandmother’s recipe. She bakes once a week and brings them over here. She leaves a supply at my house, too, since most of the kids are in and out of there, too.”
The thought of home-baked cookies triggered a longing in Sam, one he hadn’t even realized he’d buried deep inside. “My grandmother used to do the same thing. She baked for the whole family. She’s been gone for years, but I still remember the way her kitchen smelled.”
A smile spread across the woman’s face at last. “There’s nothing like it, is there? Don’t ever tell Nell, if you happen to meet her, but I bake, too, just so my house will smell like that when the kids come by. I want to be the go-to aunt or cousin or neighbor when it comes to cookies.”
She shooed him toward the door. “Go. I’ll be over with your food in just a minute.”
Sam dutifully left the pub and crossed the street. He stood beside the car and waited for the woman to emerge with his order. At least he told himself his gaze was so intense because his stomach was rumbling, but the truth was, he wanted another glimpse of her. She was a mass of contradictions with her fancy clothes and home-baked cookies, the lost expression he’d caught on her face when he first noticed her sitting at the bar, and her fiery indignation when she’d found Bobby alone in the car.
Contradictions like that, though, usually meant trouble. And these days Sam had more of that than he could possibly handle.
Through the pub’s window, Carrie studied the man as he waited beside the car. He looked bone-weary. Little wonder after just suffering a tragic loss and then finding out he was responsible for his nephew. No longer furious about finding the boy alone in the car, she was able to cut the man some slack, but just this once. She’d be keeping an eye on him, and not because he was handsome as sin with his tousled hair, deep blue eyes and firm jaw, but because that child was likely in need of an advocate who knew something about kids.
When Luke emerged from the kitchen with the take-out order, Carrie held out her hand. “I’ll take it to him.”
Luke frowned. “Since when did we offer curbside service and how’d you get roped into it?”
“Just give me the bag. Did you put in some of Nell’s cookies?”
“You told me to, didn’t you? Of course I did. Are you picking up the check, too?”
“Very funny. His money’s by the register. Keep the change.”
She was about to open the door, when Luke called out.
“Carrie!”
She stopped, but didn’t turn around.
“Come back here after you’ve delivered that,” he said.
“I was going to head home.”
“Not just yet,” he said firmly.
A
