Page 58 of Out to Get Her
“Alrighty,” Zach said. “I’ll get a jump start on my place, then we can prep yours soon as you get back.” He squeezed her forearm gently. “Good luck. Later, man.”
He and Trey waved goodbye, and Zach headed toward his truck. Trey tried to slip away, but not before Samantha reached them.
“Hey, Trey. How’s it going?”
“Pretty good. You?”
“I’ll survive.”
Not the confident kind of response Erin had grown to expect from Samantha over the last few days. It was a little heartbreaking.
Trey cleared his throat and pointed at absolutely no one. “Oh, look. A person I know and should say hello to.” He patted Erin on the shoulder. “I’ll catch up with you in a bit. Good to see you, Sam.”
“You, too,” said Samantha.
Erin just shook her head. He hadn’t even bothered to play that smooth.
She pressed her lips together, struggling for the right thing to say here. Finally, she settled on, “I didn’t cause any trouble. Proud of me?”
Samantha gave a sad frown. “Sorry about that. I’m under a lot of stress. And pressure. And scrutiny. I panicked, and my brain went to worst-case scenarios. I shouldn’t have projected that on you.”
Erin could only blink. This day was just full of things she hadn’t expected.
Maybe Addie had been on the right track earlier, after all.
“Actually, I was going to apologize for snapping at you,” Erin said. “I’ve given you and everyone around here plenty of reason to believe I’m capable of stirring up mess.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No, I did not.” Erin grinned. She couldn’t hide her absolute delight around Samantha, even if she wanted to. “So did you get the evidence from Officer what’s-his-name?”
“It’s waiting for me at the station. I haven’t been in yet today.” Lines settled in on her forehead. “I needed to do my storm prep first. This thing’s picking up fast, and I didn’t want to be caught at work later without having done anything.”
“Do you need a hand? Zach and I can go over to help.”
“No, it’s fine. I think I’ve got everything taken care of now.”
But it didn’t look fine. In fact, Samantha looked the opposite of everything being taken care of.
“What is it then? I thought the storm wasn’t supposed to get much stronger.”
“It isn’t. I’m just not looking forward to having to take Dexter to my Mom’s. My sister stays there during storms, and I used to leave him with Nathan. My property floods sometimes. The house is raised enough, but the water can be impassible for a couple days. I’m afraid to leave him home and have him stuck where I can’t get to him.” Her frown deepened. “But I really don’t want to deal with my mother, either.”
Erin could understand that. It was also reassuring to hear that Samantha wasn’t excited to spend more time with her family. It reassured Erin that Samantha wasn’t buying into all her mother’s family legacy bull-crap like Erin had feared.
Another gust blew across them, and Erin had to peel her hair out of her mouth. “Would he stay with me? You can bring him over this afternoon. I’d be glad to hang out with him.” She paused, her heart racing. “You can both stay. I’ve got plenty of room in that house.”
“Oh, you don’t have to—”
“It’ll be fine. You know Zach’s gonna show up anyway, so it’ll be like a big ol’ slumber party. With a dog. And a parrot.”
Samantha laughed. “Sounds fun.”
She bit her lip, and Erin wanted to grab her and kiss her right there in front of half the town and the priest shaking hands behind them.
“Don’t think about it. Just bring Dexter. And snacks if you have them.”
With a smirk, Samantha said, “You didn’t go to the store, did you?”
