intelligence behind her wire-rimmed glasses. She was petite, but no pushover, and not a woman to be underestimated.
“Yes, it is,” he answered in a whisper, rising. He pointed toward the front of the store to indicate they should move so they didn’t interrupt Story Time with their conversation.
Coraline got the gist and spryly headed away from the Kids’ Korner. Sam followed.
She turned, smiling, when she reached a far aisle closer to the front of the store. “Looks as if your twins are enjoying Story Time.”
“Yes, they are. Allison is a great storyteller.”
“She certainly is. I can’t think of a better person to run this store.” Coraline eyed him speculatively. “I seem to remember your sister was quite close to her while growing up.” Before she was principal of Bygones High School, Coraline had been a teacher, so she knew everyone who’d grown up here better than just about anybody else in town.
“Uh-huh. Allison and I were just talking about that.”
Coraline smiled. “Is this the first time you’ve been into Happy Endings?”
“I’m sorry to say it is. I wish I’d brought the kids in sooner.” Especially now that he’d seen how well Allison handled them. “Story Time might become a regular thing.”
“Did you know Allison was running the store?” asked Coraline, shifting her purse from one arm to the other.
“No,” he said sheepishly. “I’ve been pretty busy with teaching, after-school tutoring and coaching.”
“And your darling twins, of course,” Coraline said with a lift of a brow. “I’m sure they take up most of your spare time.”
“Well, that goes without saying.” On the nights he had the kids, he stayed up late grading papers after putting them to bed, then fell into an exhausted sleep himself. And when he didn’t have the kids, he still had catch-up classroom work to do in the evenings, along with early mornings. Whether the twins were with him or not, he always seemed to be running on empty.
“You probably don’t get out much, do you?” Coraline, a widow, had raised four children, so she knew what it was like to be a busy working parent.
“No, I don’t.”
“You need some time with other adults.”
“Yeah, I guess my social life could use some work.” Frankly, though, dealing with the ups and downs of social relationships was just more than he could handle right now.
“Have you thought about spending some time with any of the wonderful young women here in town?” she asked in her usual no-nonsense way.
Which was her way of asking if he was ready to date. He shook his head, wishing he hadn’t admitted his social life was dead. “No, I’m not ready for that yet. Besides, when I have the twins with me, I don’t feel right about leaving them.” True enough. He only had them half the time, so he tried to spend as much time with them as possible.
“Of course not,” Coraline replied. “It’s been, what? A year since your split with Teresa?”
“Fourteen months, actually.”
“That long?” Coraline blinked. “My, how time flies.”
“It certainly does.” Though why did it seem as if he’d been by himself forever? And would be for the foreseeable future. So be it.
She patted his arm. “Well, I’m sure you’ll come around and want to revive your social life soon.” Her gaze strayed in the direction of the Kids’ Korner. “Allison is single, isn’t she?”
He was suddenly on high alert; Coraline was known for her matchmaking tendencies. “Um...yes, I believe she is.”
“And she’s good with your children?”
“Seems to be,” he replied neutrally. How could he get Coraline off the track she’d taken?
“She’s a very nice young woman,” Coraline said, her voice going up just enough to remind him she was probably fishing.
“Yes, she is.” Pretty, too, though he was determined not to get caught up in that detail. Teresa was gorgeous, and look how that had turned out.
Coraline sighed. “I’m just going to be direct. Do you have any interest in dating Allison?”
He wasn’t surprised by the question. He was an eligible single man. “Coraline, while I know you have my best interests at heart, I’m not interested in dating Allison, or anyone else, for that matter.” Coraline had good intentions, so he’d be polite.
She frowned and her eyes went soft. “Your divorce wounded you, didn’t it?”
Put mildly. “Yes, it did.” He wasn’t a liar, and even if he were, an untruth wouldn’t slip by a sharp gal like Coraline. “Especially because of the way the whole thing played out.” It was common knowledge that Teresa had left him for Spense O’Laughlin, an up-and-coming lawyer who’d moved to Bygones a few years ago to take over a law practice in nearby Manhattan, Kansas, from his uncle.
“Ah, yes, I’m sure that made the whole thing worse,” Coraline said, her voice tinged with sympathy.
“That would be an understatement.” Their marriage had been on the rocks for a while—Teresa, a city girl, hated living in Bygones, and blamed Sam for keeping them there—but Sam had been willing to tough it out and stay together for the kids’ sakes.
Until the horrible night Teresa told him she’d fallen in love with Spense and was leaving Sam. Sam’s heart had shriveled up on the spot, and he’d known then that there was no saving the marriage, especially when he’d found out that Spense had told Teresa they could move to Kansas City as soon as he could sell his practice. The proverbial final nail in the coffin had been hammered home.
There had been no happy ending for Sam, just as there’d been no happy ending for his dad, who’d never been the same since Sam’s mom had left him to go “find herself” in a commune in Colorado when Sam was eleven.
Given that, Sam was sure such a thing as a happy ending didn’t even exist, except in the books sold by the store in which he stood.
“Divorce is never easy.” Coraline thought for a moment. “Your guard is up now, isn’t it?”
“Pretty much,” he replied. “The last thing I want is another heartbreak.” He’d had enough of that, considering his and Teresa’s history, coupled with his mom’s desertion. In hindsight, he shouldn’t have gotten married in the first place, because he and Teresa were such different people. But love and attraction had skewed his judgment—lesson learned. And while there was undeniably bitterness in his heart due to Teresa’s betrayal, his marriage had produced his precious children, and he would always be thankful for that immense blessing.
“Another love might be different,” Coraline said with a knowing look. “And you’re still a young man—too young to be alone for the rest of your life.”
“Perhaps,” he said, though his response wasn’t accurate; the
