“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 little too eager to haul you into the closest bedroom,” he said with unexpected candor.
Samantha smiled at the revelation, glad he couldn’t see her face.
“Are you laughing?” he asked. “Because I wouldn’t blame you if you were. Here I am, a decorated war vet, and I’m admitting that you scare me to death.”
“I like you all the more for being honest,” she said quietly. “That takes courage, especially when there are a lot of people who might seize on that little tidbit and run with it.”
“Which means it might be best if you kept it to yourself.”
“I can do that,” she promised, thinking it was something she could dream about tonight. “But if I’m not the reason you stayed away from dinner, what is?”
“I have a commitment on Thursday afternoons. There’s a group of kids I work with.”
“I just heard about that,” she acknowledged. “It’s a really nice thing you’re doing for them.”
“There are days I wonder if I’m making any inroads at all,” he said. “Today was one of those. I have this one girl, she’s as stubborn as anyone I’ve ever met, and she’s determined to fight me every step of the way.”
“Which makes you want to try all the harder,” Samantha guessed.
“Something like that. Today she told me about something a teacher had said, something that really crushed her. I’ve been trying to get in touch with the teacher this evening, but so far I haven’t had any luck.”
“Then put it off till morning and come on over. The steaks are about to come off the grill. There’s plenty of food. I’d like to hear more about these kids of yours.”
“Why?” he asked.
She frowned at the skepticism she heard in his voice. “Why wouldn’t I? They obviously matter to you, and what you’re trying to do for them is important.”
“You don’t even know them.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t care about what you’re doing.” She thought of the initial impression he’d obviously had of her. “Or do you think I’m too shallow to give a thought to anybody else?”
“I never said that,” Ethan said, sounding annoyed.
“It’s not the first time, though, that you’ve suggested you thought I’d be vain and self-involved. I thought we’d put that notion behind us, but I guess we haven’t.” She couldn’t seem to help the hurt that had crept into her voice.
“Samantha—”
She cut him off. “Come over. Don’t come over. It’s up to you.”
She disconnected the call, then tossed the phone to a startled Boone, who managed to snag it before it landed on the grill.
“What did he say?” Emily asked, regarding her worriedly. “You didn’t fight, did you?”
She thought of Ethan’s admission that he was attracted to her. While that had bolstered her spirits, his underlying lack of faith in the kind of woman she was pretty much undercut all those warm and fuzzy feelings.
“There was no fight. We just clarified a few things,” she told her sister.
“Did you convince him to join us?” Emily persisted.
“I doubt I could convince Ethan to stay on the curb if a Hummer was barreling toward him,” Samantha said.
Emily blinked at that, glanced at Boone, who merely shrugged, then said. “What on earth did the man say to you?”
“Not important,” Samantha insisted.
But it had been enough to convince her she needed to forget all those teenage fantasies that had never quite died. Ethan Cole might be a real hero, but when it came down to it, he wasn’t going to be hers.
7
Ethan stared at his phone for at least a minute, trying to grasp that Samantha had misunderstood him so completely and, worse, that she’d actually hung up on him because of it. Wasn’t that one more bit of proof that he was in dire need of a refresher course in social skills? He might want to keep his distance, but he’d never meant to offend her.
And now, he realized reluctantly, he needed to apologize. He tried to recall the last time he’d been called on to do that. He made it a practice to stay to himself precisely so he wouldn’t make this kind of stupid mistake.
Though he’d removed his prosthesis and taken a shower when he’d returned from the hike, planning to settle down for a quiet evening while he tried to reach Mrs. Gentry, he strapped the leg back on, pulled on a pair of jeans and a University of North Carolina T-shirt, then headed for his car.
Five minutes later he was pulling up at Boone’s. He was halfway across the lawn when B.J. spotted him and came racing his way, pulling up just in time to keep from running into him. Though Ethan’s balance was pretty much rock-solid now, it would have been humiliating to have the kid knock him on his butt in front of Samantha.
“Will you play my video game with me?” B.J. pleaded. “Everybody else is talking about the wedding.”
“And you’re bored?” Ethan surmised.
B.J.’s head bobbed. “I want Dad and Emily to get married, but this
