Page 17 of Surprised By Love

She doesn’t turn to me, so I try again. “Samantha.” Still nothing, so I press on the horn with a quick honk. It’s deserted on this road and the farmhouses are far enough away from the road. The sound of the horn shouldn’t wake anyone.

Sam jumps and pulls out headphones from her ears. “Oh. My God. You scared the crap out of me.”

I stop the car and lean over the passenger seat. “What are you doing walking around here so late at night?” I push the passenger door open. “Get in, I’ll drive you home.”

She comes to the door and leans in. “I couldn’t sleep, so I took a walk.”

“Get in,” I repeat. “You’re a good thirty-minute walk from your house. Let me drive you.”

She hesitates, looking around the dark and quiet street.

“Sam. Please get in. I know this is a small town, but you shouldn’t be out walking these back roads alone late at night.”

She nods and slips into the passenger seat. “Thank you,” she whispers and closes the door and fastens her seat belt.

“Of course.” I look over at her and notice her swirling her thumbs around each other. Is she nervous about being in the car with me?

I take a deep breath and start for home. The smell of vanilla fills the car and I’m not sure if Sam was baking before she took her walk or if this scent is just her. After a few minutes of silence I ask, “So… Uh… Why were you taking a walk so late at night?” What is wrong with me? I’m never at a loss for words. What the hell? There is something about this girl that has me all tongue tied and it’s freaking me the hell out.

I see her look at me from the corner of my eye and damn, the way the moonlight is hitting her… she’s beautiful.

She clears her throat. “I couldn’t sleep. Sometimes when I can’t sleep, I take a walk. It’s so different taking a walk in the middle of the night here compared to Ottawa. It’s so quiet and peaceful here. In Ottawa, no matter what time you go outside, there is always some sort of noise. Unless you live in the suburbs. I just started walking and before I knew it, all I saw were farms. So I turned around and started back when you found me.”

I know it’s not my place, but curiosity got the better of me. “Everything alright?”

She shifts her body in her seat so she’s facing me. “Yeah… Mostly. It’s just…” she lets out a quiet breath. “It’s a lot. I haven’t been back here in so long and people talk to me as if I never left. It’s going to take some getting used to. I missed this town so much, don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to be back, but there is a lot I still need to figure out.”

I let out a huff. “Yeah, I get it. When I moved here, it was weird. I’d never lived here before, but it was like the people in town already knew me. I guess since they knew my parents and my parents were talkers, they felt like they already knew me and the kids so well. It took me a while to get used to it.” I laugh.

“I’m still not used to everyone being up on my business all the time, though. But I guess that’s just part of small town life.”

She barks out a loud laugh that has me grinning. “Yeah, you can say that. It was something else growing up in this town. My grams never knew how to keep anything private. If anything happened to one of us girls, the whole town knew about it in a matter of minutes. It’s like they called the phone tree and reported everything the minute it happened.”

I glance at her and laugh. “That had to suck when it came to dating.”

“Tell me about it. You had to be creative if you ever wanted any privacy, since the whole town would be watching. My gram knew about Vicki’s first kiss before she even got home.” She shakes her head, the sweet sound of her laughter filling the car. It’s a nice genuine sound and I like it. More than I should.

I pull up to Vicki’s house, and Sam unbuckles her seat belt, turning to me. “Thank you so much for the ride. I appreciate it. I swear I didn’t plan on walking that far out of town.”

I smile. “It’s not a problem. Just next time you go for a walk in the middle of the night… maybe don’t wear your headphones. You didn’t even hear me until I honked at you.”

A blush creeps up her neck, and it’s fucking adorable. “I’ll remember that. Thank you, Josh,” she says as she slides out of the car and closes the door behind her. I wait as she walks to the front door.

She turns and waves before entering the house. I pull out of the driveway and inhale deeply, wondering how long the vanilla scent of Sam is going to linger in my car. It’s not something I should like, but I can’t help it. I do.

Chapter Seven

Sam

Ipullintothealley at the back of the diner and park my car. I haven’t worked in the diner since I was a senior in high school. What if I drop a tray or spill a drink on someone? Vicky says not to worry, it’s like riding a bike. It’ll all come back to me, but I’m still nervous.

Maybe being nervous about working in the diner after so many years was part of the reason I couldn’t sleep and ended up taking a walk in the middle of the night. That and I couldn’t get Josh out of my head. I still can’t believe not only that he lives here, but he’s the town sergeant. What are the chances of that?

Taking a deep breath, I unlock the door and prop it open with a large rock I found beside the door. Grabbing a tray of muffins, I make my way towards the voices in the kitchen.

Vicki already warned me that Sloan and Bea would be here early. Sloan is usually here around six am to start the breakfast prep and Bea is there shortly after. I look at the clock on the wall of the kitchen when I step inside, ten after six.

“Hello,” I say as I place the tray on one of the prep tables behind where they are standing.

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