quick getaway.
Ethan sighed as he watched her. One of the things he was still struggling to accept was that physical triumphs were sometimes a whole lot easier in the long run than emotional ones, especially with people like Mrs. Gentry feeding into doubts and insecurities. The woman might be an institution, but he thought it was time for a bit of a shake-up at the school.
* * *
Even though Emily and Boone kept their voices low, it was evident to Samantha that they were having an argument. Since they kept glancing her way, she assumed she was at the center of it. That drew her across the yard to where Boone was grilling steaks for dinner for the family.
“Hush,” Emily whispered urgently as Samantha approached.
Unfortunately for her the warning came too late. Samantha heard Boone trying, apparently without success, to convince Emily that Ethan truly hadn’t been available to join them.
Samantha gave her sister a resigned look. “It didn’t take long for you to forget all about our conversation this morning, did it?” she asked mildly.
Boone gave her a sympathetic look. “My bride-to-be is on a mission.”
“A pointless one,” Samantha said. “I thought I’d made that clear.”
“I’m not so sure it’s pointless,” Boone said, surprising them both.
Emily’s eyes lit up. “Really? You think Ethan’s interested?”
“I think he genuinely doesn’t realize that he is,” Boone said. “It’s been a long time since he allowed himself to take a chance on a woman. It’s not a habit that’s easily broken, especially for a man as strong-willed as he is. He’s focused all of his energy on getting himself as fit as possible, getting the clinic up and running and on those kids of his.”
Samantha blinked at that. “Ethan has kids? Was he married at some point?” She frowned at her sister. “Don’t you think you should have mentioned that?”
“They aren’t his kids,” Emily said quickly. “They’re kids with special needs. Some can’t walk. Some have lost a limb. He’s made it his mission to prove to them they can live a normal life. What’s he call it, Boone? Project Pride?”
Boone nodded.
“I think what he’s doing is wonderful,” Emily added in case Samantha needed to have that pointed out.
Which she didn’t, Samantha thought ruefully. In fact, it made Ethan that much more appealing. The plus column in the man’s favor was literally crowded with checkmarks. The only minus, however, was huge. He wasn’t interested. Or even if he was, as Boone thought, he was going to fight it. Wasn’t that the same thing in the long run?
Emily’s expression turned thoughtful. “You know, Samantha, I’ll bet some of the girls in his group could use a woman’s influence,” she suggested slyly. “Remember when we used to play beauty shop? You were the one who taught Gabi and me how to put on makeup and how to fix our hair. That could go a long way to helping with their self-image, don’t you think so, Boone?”
Boone held up his hands. “Out of my ballpark,” he said. “You need to run that one by Ethan.”
“I think I will,” Emily said, nabbing Boone’s cell phone from his pocket and scrolling down until she found Ethan’s number.
“Not now,” Samantha instructed firmly, managing to wrestle the phone away from her, just as she heard Ethan answer. She sighed, then spoke to him.
“Sorry, Ethan. Emily misdialed.”
“Samantha?” he asked. “What are you doing with Boone’s phone, or do I even need to ask?”
She stepped away from her sister. “You do not need to ask. The plotting and scheming are still going on. You were wise to skip this little get-together.”
“I didn’t do it to avoid you,” he said, surprising her by addressing her unspoken fear directly.
“Is that so?” she said skeptically.
“Honest,” he said. “Though after I ran out on you this morning, I can see how you might think that.”
She settled into an Adirondack chair away from the rest of the family. “Why did you leave?” she asked.
“I can’t explain it.”
“Can’t or don’t want to?” she found herself teasing, thinking of Boone’s theory. “Did you have a panic attack, Ethan?”
To her surprise, Ethan laughed. “I don’t think I’ll answer that,” he said.
“Because?” she said, not sure why she thought it was so important to push him. If Boone was right, maybe she could encourage him to take another look at the possibilities for the two of them.
“You’re not going to let this drop, are you?” he asked, his frustration evident.
“I’m thinking that would be a bad idea. So?”
“I found myself a