“Call me Nell.” She smiled. “And you have helped, just by listening. Now, tell me what brings you back to the neighborhood?”
Marilee sighed. “It’s a long story.”
“That’s okay. If the bathwater gets cold, I’ll just add more hot. Now, start at the beginning.”
SAM WAS DOZING ON THE SOFA when the women exited the bathroom some time later, Nell powdered and wearing a clean gown. He rose quickly. “All finished?”
“I almost drowned,” Nell said, “but Marilee performed CPR and brought me back from my grave.”
Sam just looked at her.
Marilee chuckled at the woman’s spunk. “Your mother is perfectly capable of bathing herself, but I enjoyed keeping her company.”
Nell rubbed her hands together. “Now, how about a slice of that cake?”
“None for me,” Marilee said. “I still have more cleaning to do.” She thought Sam looked disappointed. Maybe she was just being hopeful, and that was downright sinful, considering her circumstances. “It was nice seeing you again, Nell, after all this time,” she said and turned for the door. “You too, Sam.”
Nell shot her son a dark look. “Sam, show some manners and walk the girl home.”
“I was planning to,” he said defensively.
“I’ll be fine,” Marilee told them.
Sam was already beside her. “I insist. Besides, my mother would never forgive me for not seeing you home.” He opened the door and motioned her through first. He waited until he’d closed the door to say anything.
“Thanks for the help. And the cake.”
Marilee looked at him. “I dropped by so I could apologize. For what happened this morning. I don’t know what came over me. I was just so…low.”
Their gazes locked beneath the streetlight. He looked worried. “You haven’t thought of hurting yourself again, have you?”
“That’s the last thing on my mind,” she replied, which was the truth. Distractedly, she noted the pickup truck sitting in Sam’s driveway, then looked at it more closely. “You’re driving Bobby Benson’s truck,” she said, almost an accusation.
Sam glanced in that direction. “We’re business partners. We just haven’t gotten around to changing the name of the company.”
“I don’t believe this,” she exclaimed.
“It’s true. Why?”
“Our committee hired Benson Contractors to renovate Grace Blessing Home. Bobby walked off the job and went fishing.”
“You’re involved in that?”
“Yes. Why haven’t I seen you?”
“I’ve been finishing up the new hardware store on the other side of town. Haven’t been near Blessing Home. From what I hear, Benson wasn’t getting paid.”
“He’s going to get his money,” Marilee said tightly. “All we need is a little more time.”
“The subcontractors have to be paid, Marilee. You can’t expect men with families to work without pay.”
“Well, the whole thing has been a disappointment. We expected a little more support from the community. You wouldn’t believe how many people I’ve called, only to have the phone slammed in my ear.”
“Everybody has problems.” He sounded weary.
“You’re right. Nobody has time to worry about these girls, not even their own families. I suppose they’re just expected to live on the streets and have their babies on the side of the road.” Obviously, Sam was no different from the rest. She turned to go.
He captured her arm. “Now, don’t go running off in a huff. Surely we can work out something.” He was not surprised when she pulled her arm free. “How about I run by and look at the place tomorrow. See how much more work is needed.”
Marilee was surprised by his answer. “Well, okay,” she said after a moment. “You don’t know how much that would mean to the committee.”
“I’m not doing it for the committee. I’m doing it because you were kind enough to assist my mother with her bath.”
“I appreciate it regardless.”
“And I’d like to make repairs at your place. That ceiling beam is going to cave in if we don’t get some support up there. Won’t take me long to fix it and the front door.”
Marilee wondered why he was offering his help when all she’d done was sit with his mother for a few minutes while the woman had bathed. Was he trying to come on to her? She had no idea—she’d been married so long, she didn’t know how men operated these days. As far as Sam was concerned, all she had to go on was his reputation, and that alone was enough reason to keep her distance. “Why don’t you let me think about it?”
“I don’t expect anything in return, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Even as he spoke, Sam knew it was a lie. He’d had his eyes on Marilee for years, and the thought of spending time with her, even if he was perched on a ladder, was appealing. But first, he needed to find out what was going on between Grady and her.
“Oh, I didn’t mean to imply you had ulterior motives,” she said quickly, although that wasn’t altogether true. This conversation was making her uncomfortable. “Well, I’d better go inside.”
“You’re right. You don’t want Mrs. Bodine from across the street finding you in the dark with a man of my reputation.”
He sounded amused, and Marilee wondered if he was making fun of her. She hitched her chin higher. “I don’t much care what anyone thinks.”
“Good for you.” He cupped her elbow in the palm of his hand and led her toward her house. “I don’t know what problems you’re going through, Marilee, and the last thing I want to do is butt in. But I’m a good listener if you ever need a sounding board.”
“I’m fine. Thank you, though, for your concern.”
Sam suspected he would be the last one she would take her problems to. She was keeping him at arm’s length, and that made him even more determined to learn more about her. “Thanks again for helping my mother. You probably think I’m overprotective, but she was in a bad way when I first moved here.”
“I understand she lost her best friend.”
“I meant healthwise.”
“Sometimes depression can bring on physical problems,” Marilee said gently. “I’ve spent a lot of time working with the elderly, and no matter how old a person gets they want to feel productive.”
They had reached her door. Sam gazed down at her, thinking no woman had a right to look that good in sweats. She had been pretty as a young girl and still was, though the years had softened her features. “I remember how lovely you looked in the Christmas parade the year you were crowned homecoming queen,” he blurted without thinking.
Marilee couldn’t hide her surprise. “That was a long time ago.”
“You wore a red velvet dress and tiny flowers in your hair.”
“Baby’s breath. I can’t believe you remember.”
“How could I forget? You stole the show.”
Marilee had been avoiding direct eye contact until then, but when she looked up she found him studying her curiously. A light breeze ruffled his dark hair. She remembered how Grady sprayed his hair each morning with something he bought at a beauty supply house that promised extra hold. It would have taken hurricane-force winds to muss the blond mane that he was so proud of. She wondered if she would spend the rest of her life