Sex, Lies & Sweet Tea Read online

  “Take care of my girl.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I will,” I promised, bowing my head to Mimi and backing out of the room to wait for Sam by the door.

  “I love you, Mimi.”

  “I love you too, sweetie. Don’t worry. I’m right as rain.”

  I took Sam by the hand and escorted her out of Mimi’s suite.

  “Are you okay sweetheart?” I asked. Samantha didn’t say a word, but waved me off and frantically began walking down the hallway. I held tightly to her hand and kept up, deciding she would let me know when she was ready to talk. We flew through the open administration office door and she marched me down the hall, quickly shutting the door to her office. Sobbing, she literally fell into my arms. Her body shook uncontrollably and I held onto her as tight as I could.

  “It’s gonna to be okay, Sam,” I promised, smoothing her long hair out of her face and down her back. “Everything is gonna be okay.”

  “I can’t lose her, Mac,” she cried. “Not yet.”

  “Sam, if there’s one thing I learned when my dad died, it’s that when it’s time to go, it’s time to go. I get the feeling your grandmother has made peace with every aspect of her long wonderful life.”

  She looked at me, her blue eyes sparkling through the tears. “I know you might not be ready for her to go, but did you ever stop to think that maybe she is ready to go?”

  “I know I’m being selfish, but she and Dax are all I have. I’m not close to my parents.”

  “Mimi and Dax aren’t all you have,” I said, kissing her on the head and rubbing her back softly. Sam shook her head at me as if to say you don’t know. I pulled her head up as her tears fell to the floor. I wanted her to see me. “Sam, you have me. You have me.”

  She hugged me tightly and I didn’t want to let go—ever. “Let me take you home,” I begged, still locked in our embrace.

  “I don’t want Dax to see me so upset.”

  I brushed another tear away. “Let me take you back to Lone Oak.”

  She nodded. “I just need to get my things. And I want to call King again so he knows to call me if there are any changes.”

  “Baby,” I said, taking her briefcase from her hand. “I’m sure if King has any updates, you’ll be the first to know. Believe me.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Let’s just say I think Dr. Giles wants to get to know you much better.”

  “Are we back to this again?”

  “I think King would love to get his mitts on you. That’s all.”

  “Whatever,” Sam countered. “I need his help with my first contract, and if he likes me, then so be it. I’ll get his time and attention more readily.”

  “Look at you,” I said with a smirk. “Using circumstances to your advantage, Miss Peterson. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were a savvy businesswoman disguised as a proper young lady.”

  “Pit bull disguised as a prom queen,” she corrected.

  “And sexy as hell. A woman with brains and balls.” I grinned, coaxing a laugh out of her. She was so beautiful in every way. “Let’s get out of here.”

  We walked the long hallway out to the administration lobby and overheard Stacy talking with Miller.

  “Listen,” she hissed. “I’ve had about enough of this.”

  “I understand,” Miller countered.

  I held my arm across Samantha, holding her back wanting to hear more.

  “Don’t tell me you understand,” she continued. “Just do it.”

  “I’m doing the best I can to keep everyone happy,” Miller pleaded.

  Sam pushed my arm away and flashed me a look, walking ahead. She didn’t care what was going on.

  “I’m going home to work from home today,” Sam announced, breaking up the conversation I wanted to hear. “Well, what’s left of the day.”

  “Sam,” Stacy bellowed. “I hate to do this to you—I know you’ve had a rough one with your grandma and all, but I want back the files Mr. Miller gave you.”

  “I’m almost finished, Stacy,” Sam answered. “You can have them in a couple of days.”

  “I leave on vacation in three days, Samantha, so I’ll need them before then. I have to do my section of the Board of Directors report for PDC and you have my files.”

  “I understand,” Sam quipped. “Let’s talk about this tomorrow.”

  I pulled my phone out as they carried on their discussion and quickly texted Micah:

  Pull any airline records for Stacy Little, James Miller or Chuck Hanson in the next two weeks. Pronto.

  I looked up as Sam cut Stacy off.

  “That’s fine, Samantha,” Miller conceded. “My thoughts and prayers are with your grandmother Marilyn.”

  “Thank you,” Sam answered, giving Stacy a well-deserved glare as we left the office.

  “What was that all about?” I asked as we walked down the main corridor.

  “She’s just an overbearing, overprotective twit, that’s all. Probably afraid I’m going to expose her for all the perks she’s been scamming while working here.”

  “Really?” I asked, opening the door to the Range Rover. “What kind of perks?”

  “Little stuff, NBA and NFL tickets—a few Broadway shows that came through Montgomery, nothing too crazy. But I could still call her on it.”

  “Anybody else abusing power in the administration office?” I asked innocently.

  “Miller uses the company credit card to take his wife out to eat and says he recruiting doctors,” she said. “It’s illegal stuff, but innocent enough. It’s not a big deal.”

  “It’s still breaking the law, Sam,” I said. Climbing into the driver’s seat and starting the car.

  “Are you going to make a big deal out of this?” she asked. “I don’t care about them right now.”

  “No.” I backed off. “I’m sorry. But it is my job to stop crime. Especially white collar crime.”

  “Believe me,” she said with an exhausted sigh. “If there was anything big going on, you’d be the first to know.”

  “Yes, I would.”

  We left Autumn Valley and made our way to Lone Oak. Samantha cracked her window to let the fresh evening air into the car. She rested her head against the window, trying to gather herself. As the breeze met her face, she closed her eyes and sighed heavily. God, I loved this woman. I wanted to take away all her pain. I wanted to protect her.

  I needed to wrap this case so I could take my vacation and spend some real time with her.

  “What do you feel like eating for dinner?” I asked.

  “I’m not very hungry, really. It’s been such a horrible day.”

  “You need to eat, Sam. I promised Mimi I would take care of you,” I reminded her. “Now tell me what sounds like it might be at least palatable?”

  “Anything is fine,” she said, looking out the window, her mind clearly back with her grandmother.

  I hit the button on the steering wheel to call home and Miss Celia answered after only one ring.

  “Good evening, baby.”

  “Miss Celia, I’m on my way back to Lone Oak and I’m bringing Miss Samantha with me. Now, Miss Samantha’s had a bad day, and she won’t tell me what she would like to eat for dinner. Maybe she’ll tell you.”

  Samantha frowned at me. “Hi, Miss Celia,”

  “Hello there, Miss Peterson, how are you, honey?”

  “I’m fine. I’ve just had a really long day.”

  Sam’s voice cracked as she spoke with Celia. It was breaking my heart to watch her hold in her tears.

  “How about some chicken soup and maybe a sandwich or a salad? I can whip up something right quick.”

  “Soup and a sandwich sound perfect,” Sam replied, trying her best to hold it all together.

  “The same for me, Miss Celia, and we will be there in fifteen to twenty.”

  “I’ll have it ready when you get here. Bye now.”

  She hung up and I looked at Samantha. “See how easy that w
as?”

  “I just don’t feel comfortable letting Celia take care of me.”

  “Miss Celia is as much a part of me and my family as Lone Oak. She’s so happy to have me home, and someone to cook for. Usually she’s just overseeing the house and the grounds. Really, Lone Oak is more her home than it is mine.”

  “She’s a good woman,” Sam agreed. “I like her a lot.”

  “I couldn’t do it without her, she’s like my second momma.”

  “Yeah, I know the feeling.”

  “Well, I bet Mimi doesn’t set you straight every other day,” I said with a laugh. “Miss Celia has never let me get away with anything. I thought maybe when I became a grown man she would cut me some slack, but alas, no dice.”

  It was good to see Sam try to smile even though I knew underneath she was stressed.

  “I guess everybody needs someone to keep them on the straight and narrow,” she said.

  “Yeah, well, if I ask her when she’s gonna stop treating me like I’m ten, she usually says when I stop acting like it.”

  “This is such a beautiful place, Mac. I don’t know how you leave it for D.C.,” Sam said as we made our way down the lane to Lone Oak.

  “In the past it wasn’t that hard. Except maybe after Dad died, and I had to leave Mom here alone.”

  “I’m sure that was hard.”

  “You make it harder.” I pulled into the garage and opened her door, getting her briefcase out of the back seat.

  “You know, you’re all Dax has talked about since Sunday.”

  “Three year olds are easily impressed by me.”

  “Well, not just you,” Sam admitted.

  I stopped in my tracks. “Really? Who else? Cause if you say King Giles, I might lose my mind.”

  “Wow.” Sam gasped, continuing to walk toward the house, leaving me behind. “You really have a thing with him, don’t you?”

  “I don’t have a thing,” I pouted. I just don’t like him sniffing around.

  “I was going to say before you had your paranoid episode, that you and dinosaurs have been the topic of conversation. It’s dinosaur week at school. We discuss plant and animal eaters a lot.”

  “Speaking of Dax,” I said as I held the door open for her to enter the house. “He left something in my car on Sunday. I’ll make sure I remember to give it to you tonight.”

  “Okay.” She caught a glimpse of Miss Celia and waved.

  “Hi there, honey,” Celia chimed. “Mac, I’ve set up your dinner in the study. The soup is on the stove and your sandwiches are in the icebox whenever you’re hungry. There was a little bit of a chill in the air tonight, so Randall started a fire.”

  “Thank you, Celia. Did you—”

  “There’s sweet tea on the table in the study, baby.”

  I smiled at Celia and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. “Thank you so much.”

  She nodded and walked away, bidding us goodnight.

  “Come, my dear,” I motioned with my arm. “Why don’t you take a seat and let me fix you a drink to wash your troubles away.”

  “That would be nice.” She sighed, throwing herself onto one of the overstuffed couches in the room. “What I’d really love is to change my clothes.”

  “Would you like me to send Randall to your house to get something?”

  “Do you have an old pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt I can wear?”

  “Of course. In fact, that’s not a bad idea. I’ll join you upstairs and we can change and then come back down for dinner.” I reached for her hand and lifted her off the couch, wrapping her arm around mine. We slowly walked up the stairs. I could tell Sam was exhausted. She leaned into me as we walked into my room and I led her to the bed and carefully sat her down.

  “Okay,” I began as I loosened my tie and took off my suit coat. Tossing it on the standing valet in the corner, I walked to the closet. “Let’s see what I have that Miss Samantha Peterson will wear.”

  I took off my shirt, leaving my pants and shoes on. I picked out a red Cornell sweatshirt, very worn and well loved. I walked out of the closet to show her. “How’s this?” I asked, holding it up to myself.

  “I could get kicked out of the Princeton Alum Association for wearing that.”

  “I could dig up a Harvard Law shirt. Would that make you feel better?”

  “Just toss me the sweatshirt,” she said with lackluster enthusiasm.

  “There’s more in here for you,” I said, teasing her as I walked back into the closet. This time losing my pants, shoes and socks, I reemerged with a pair of sweats from Phillips Academy.

  “How about these?” I asked with a smile, holding the very small sweats in front of my legs.

  “Those are tiny, when were you ever that small?” she asked with a laughed.

  “Eighth grade, Phillips Academy. I was a lady-killer in these. Actually, these covered my very skinny legs during the harsh Massachusetts winters if I remember correctly. So how bout it?” I danced the sweatpants around in front of me and she extended her arms once again.

  “Fine.”

  I tossed her the sweat pants, revealing that I had stripped to my boxer briefs.

  “Are you going to finish the striptease or am I going to change? Cause if more is coming off, I don’t want to miss it with my head in this goofy Cornell shirt.”

  “I’ve tortured you enough tonight.” I smiled and cocked my head to one side, fantasizing about Sam, first naked and then dressed in my favorite sweatshirt. “You know where the bathroom is if you need to wash up before dinner.” I went into the closet and picked a plain grey T-shirt and my favorite jeans. I took off my boxers and went commando. Sam met me back in the bedroom, and I’d never seen her look sexier. “Baby, you make me wish I was in eighth grade again.”

  “You are such a goober, Mac. Does that actually work on women?”

  “I don’t know, does it?”

  “It doesn’t work on me,” she said.

  I pulled her close to me and kissed her long and deep, caressing her shoulders and working my way down her sweet backside. I pulled away from her, gazing at her raw beauty. “Is it working now?”

  “Maybe.”

  I took her by the arm and led her back down the stairs and into the study. “It’s a little chilly tonight.”

  “Pretty unusual for April second, don’t ya think?” asked Sam.

  “Pretty unusual for April second in Alabama.”

  “I’m going to call and get an update on Mimi.” Sam retrieved her phone from the purse she had tossed to the floor upon arrival. “I need to call home too.”

  I nodded, pouring her a glass of sweet tea. “Come on over here and sit down at the table, take a breath, and have a little sip of tea. I’ll get your soup and sandwich from the kitchen, okay?”

  “Thank you, Mac. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  I smiled and walked out of the room. “Hopefully not call King,” I muttered under my breath as I walked to the kitchen. Celia had left two perfectly made turkey sandwiches on whole wheat in the fridge. Already dressed and on plates, I found a tray in the cupboard and began to assemble our dinner. Ladling the soup in each bowl, I decided if I made it from the kitchen to the study with the tray and food still intact I would consider myself a superhero for the day. I walked back into the study and carefully placed the tray on the table Miss Celia had set for us.

  “Yes, thank you. Well, if there are any changes will you please let me know? Yes, that’s the correct number. Thank you again.” Sam hung up and sighed. “Well, no changes. She’s sleeping. Her vital signs are good.”

  “That’s all good news,” I hugged her. “Did you call Polly?”

  “Yes. She said to tell you hello. Whatever that means,” Sam smirked. “Do you guys have some sort of inside joke?”

  “Something like that,” I replied with a wink. “Now come over here with me and let me make over you,” I said escorting her to the table. “You’ve had a really tough day, and I want to make sure y
ou get a little something in your stomach before I take you home for some much needed rest.”

  “Thank you, kind sir.”

  “My pleasure.” I pushed her chair under the table and kissed her neck. “So tell me again why Polly has your car?”

  “It’s in the shop—something to do with the alternator. She and Dax dropped me at work this morning. They were picking me up at six.”

  “I see. And you didn’t want to call Randall?” I didn’t know how she’d react to my question, but I felt the need to ask.

  “No.”

  “He would’ve been happy to do it.”

  “I didn’t need Randall today, but thank you.”

  She leaned over the table and I rose to my feet to greet her kiss. “I do appreciate you caring so much.”

  The light from the fire danced on her face. She had long since cried her makeup away, and I’d never seen her more beautiful than in this moment. In my old sweats that practically swallowed her slim and muscular body whole and hair in her famous messy ponytail, she was flawless.

  “I’d do anything for you,” I confessed softly.

  “I know you would,” she replied. “You adore me.”

  “I love you, Sam.”

  “And I love you,” she said, leaving the table and making it into my lap before I could get on my feet. She kissed me and ran her hands through my hair and down my neck, massaging my back and shoulders slowly moving to my chest. Her hands felt like magic, making me tingle from head to toe. No other woman had ever done for me on the inside or the outside for that matter what Sam did for me. I kissed her and thought of the conversation I had with my mother. I wanted Sam. I wanted all of her. I wanted to take care of her and Dax. I wanted to raise a family here at Lone Oak and give Dax all the opportunities that I had as a Callahan. Dax would become a Callahan just like his mother, and I would pass on the tradition. Filius est pars Patris. The son is part of the father.

  I pulled away from Samantha. Taking her head in my hands, I gazed into her eyes and saw my future. “You know, I had a dream about you.”

  “You had a dream about me?”

  “Yes. You were here at Lone Oak on the back veranda. You and Dax.”

  “What were we doing?”

  “Nothing really, just standing in the sunshine and breeze, looking beautiful.”