Summer of Love - Carly Phillips Page 0,75
head.
“Then—”
Realizing she was about to decline his gesture, he came up with a more acceptable idea that would help them both. “How about we take this to a photo machine and make you a copy? You can even pick out your own frame.”
She smiled. “I’d like that a lot.” She paused, biting on her lower lip. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” He leaned against the wall and studied her.
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
He hadn’t known what to expect, but she’d stumped him with that one. “Any reason I shouldn’t be nice to you?”
She glanced down at her bare feet. “I don’t deserve it.”
He swallowed hard, surprised at how her sudden insecurity and vulnerability affected him. “I’ll admit you can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but it’s part of your charm.” He laughed. “Besides, you’re family.”
“So?” She curled her toes into the hardwood, her body a bundle of raw nerves.
He wondered if she was serious. Glancing up, meeting her gaze, he realized she was. As Zoe had tried to tell him time and again, Sam didn’t understand being loved and accepted. It would take a long time to convince her there was nothing she could do to change the way he felt about her.
“So, you’re my niece, and that binds us. You can stuff all the toilets you want, and it won’t get you tossed out of here. You can run away and, mark my words, I’d find you.”
“You mean it?”
His throat filled as he looked at the young girl. “I mean it. I guess what I’m saying is, you’re my family, and I love you.” He held his breath, wondering if he’d gone too far too fast.
But when Sam unexpectedly stepped forward and gave him a quick hug, he realized his honesty had been a good thing for them both. “You should get some sleep,” he told her.
“Yeah. I have a big day ahead of me. I promised Grandma Vivian I’d help her fix up the garden.”
“You did, huh?”
Sam raised her shoulders. “Ima messed it up. It’s right I help fix it. Besides Grandma said if I did, she’d build a special pen for Ima to stay when we come visit.”
Ryan blinked. “You’re kidding.”
“Well she wouldn’t build it herself, but she did say she’d have one built for Ima. It works for me.” Sam yawned, then flipped her hair out of her eyes with her hands. “I guess I’m beat.” She started for the hallway, then turned. “Night, Uncle Ryan.”
She padded down the hall, leaving him with a warm, fuzzy feeling of family that he’d never had before. A feeling he wanted to share with Zoe, so rather than head for his room, he paused outside her closed door.
On the other side was another female with whom he had unresolved issues and feelings. He didn’t believe any talk with Zoe would be nearly as productive or end as well as the one he’d just had with Sam. But he was too wound up to sleep and decided it was time she hear what he had to say.
Although it was late, he knocked once and walked inside. Zoe lay in bed under the covers, but she didn’t seem shocked to find him standing by her side. She moved over to make room for him to sit, while she propped herself up against her pillow.
“What’s going on?” she asked, her voice rough from sleep.
Ryan tried like hell not to focus on her skimpy tank top or think about the matching pair of equally skimpy panties she likely wore beneath the covers. Instead, he reached for her hand and chose his words.
“I had a bonding moment with Sam.”
A smile touched her lips. “That’s great. You and your family are beginning to make headway with her.” Her voice held a somber tone.
“You don’t sound thrilled.”
“It’s a mixed blessing,” she said. “As much as I’m happy for you, your progress with Sam means that my family’s role in her life is coming to an end.”
“We’ll work things out. You will see her again.”
Through the darkness, Zoe merely stared. “We have to be up early,” she said at last.
In other words, she was asking him to leave. Not yet, he thought. “You don’t believe me, do you?”
“About what?”
“That you’ll see Sam again.”
She sighed. “Actually I do believe you. We agreed early on that you’re a man of your word and I’ve seen that for myself many times since we met.”
He appreciated her belief in him—because faith was a solid basis for