Kelly scanned the room and guessed that almost the entire town must be there. After paying their respects to Addy, people moved in small groups to the table in the back where Megs had placed all the baked goods she’d made. But every time Kelly thought they had seen the last visitor, two more would walk in. She looked up at the door as Sam entered the room. His presence suddenly made her feel lighter inside.
He made a beeline to the sisters and gave a hug to Megs then nodded at Kelly. “Quite a turn out. Addy must be mad as all get-out to be missing it.”
“Something tells me she isn’t.” Megs wrapped her arms around her waist and took a deep breath. “And this is the easy part. I can’t even imagine the funeral.” Her sister glanced around the room, then at the two of them. “I need some air.”
Kelly nodded. “I’ll go with you.”
“No.”
Kelly took a step back at the vehemence in her sister’s voice. She shrugged. “Fine. I’ll stay and greet anyone that comes in.”
She watched as Megs nodded but ran out of the room. Frowning, she spoke to Sam. “Every time I think we’re making headway, she runs. I can’t seem to get her to open up to me.”
“Do you blame her?” Sam kept his gaze on the door Megs had disappeared through. “You’ve been gone so much that you’re practically a stranger to her. She doesn’t know you. Not anymore.”
Kelly’s frown deepened. “You think you know so much about me, but you have no idea.”
“You’re right. I’m sure I don’t.” He peered at her closely, then shrugged. “Neither does your sister. So why don’t you give her some time?” He reached up and adjusted his tie that was already lying perfectly. “Unless you’re planning on leaving right away again.”
Leave for what? She needed this time to figure things out. “I don’t have anything to go back to right now. I thought everything I had left was here, but maybe I was wrong. I don’t have anything at all if I don’t have my sister.” She hung her head and closed her eyes at the sting in them. Breathe in, breathe out.
She felt a hand on her back and knew it was Sam. Assured, solid, she put her arms around his neck and clung to him. “Hey, you do have Megs even if it isn’t exactly what you expected.” He paused, but kept moving his hand in slow circles between her shoulder blades. “I don’t mean to be so hard on you for this, but you’re not alone. And I’ll be there for you, too, if you want.”
But what was Sam? A neighbor? A friend? She let him hold her, not wanting to think about it too closely. Borrowing some of his strength, she used it to push her emotions down. She couldn’t cry here. If she did, she wouldn’t be able to stop. And she had to be strong. For Grammy. For Megs.
For herself.
* * *
SAM SHIFTED THE woman in his arms. Kelly tried to come across as tough, but he suspected that maybe it was a front. That she wanted to keep up a tough exterior so no one could get too close. That she let him hold her surprised even him. The fact that she felt so good there in his arms awakened feelings he would have to figure out later. This was Kelly. Addy’s granddaughter. He should consider her off limits.
She let go of him, and he led Kelly over to a sofa and sat next to her. He grabbed a box of tissues from the table beside them, pulled one out and offered it to her. She took it, but worried it in her hands rather than dabbing her eyes. He glanced at the door, hoping to see Megs returning to them. He didn’t know what to say to Kelly. He didn’t know her. Not like her sister, who had become like family. He nudged her shoulder. “Do you want a glass of water?”
She stared at the tissue in her hand and shook her head, the blond strands of her hair catching on the silver necklace around her slender neck. She pulled her hair behind her with one hand and let the strands fall down her back in a golden waterfall. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t look good.”
She lifted her eyes to stare at him. “You’re not supposed to say that to a crying woman.”
“Well, I never claimed to be good with women, especially crying ones.” He put his arm around her. “I want to help you feel better.”
“You’re not doing a good job of that right now.” She wiped at the smudges of black under her eyes and gave a low laugh that sounded false. And bitter. “You don’t understand. Grammy was more than just a mother figure to me. She was my biggest fan.” She hiccupped, and the next words came out soft. “My only fan.”
“She believed in you.”
A nod. “But she believed in everybody. She always said—” Her voice broke, but she managed to continue, “She said that everyone had a talent, but only the lucky ones found their passion.” She gazed up at him, and he longed to wipe the pain away from those deep blue eyes. “Do you think that’s true? Do you have a passion?”
If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be in Michigan using the skills he’d learned from his grandfather Sam. Thankfully his grandfather had taught him how to build things, use his hands, even fix up houses that were diamonds in the rough. Without that, he’d have been stuck following his dad’s dream of stardom for him. He smiled. “I do.”
“Singing means everything to Grammy. And to me, but I don’t know.” Her gaze drifted over his shoulder.
He turned and found Megs back in the room. Kelly moved an inch away from him as her sister approached them. He held up the tissue box to Megs. “Are you okay?”
Megs gave them a weak smile. “I know we’re supposed to stay for another half hour, but I gotta go somewhere other than here.” She put her hand on Kelly’s shoulder. “You can come with me, unless you’d rather stay.”
Kelly didn’t hesitate as she stood. “Take me with you.”
They both turned and looked at Sam. He shook his head. “Wouldn’t want to come between you two girls. Besides, I’ll make sure everything gets taken care of here before they close for the night. You want me to take the leftover pastries to your place?”
“Mark from the shelter said he’d bring them home to his guys. I left bakery boxes to pack everything in.” Megs slipped her arm around his waist for a brief hug. “Thank you, Sam. You’ve been amazing.”
He shrugged and ducked his head. “What are friends for? Get some rest tonight. I’ll come over in the morning to drive you both to the church.”
He faced Kelly. Did he hug her? Shake her hand? He still didn’t know what their connection was just yet. She made the decision for him and gave him a nod before turning and following her sister out of the funeral home.
* * *
JUST BEFORE THEY reached Grammy’s farmhouse, Megs made a left turn down a dirt road. Kelly shifted to look at her sister. “Where are we going?”
Megs kept her gaze straight ahead. “I can’t go back to that house. Not yet.” She slowed the car, steering farther to the left, then stopped in the middle of a clearing surrounded by pine trees and switched the ignition off. She left the headlights on and got out.
Kelly shook her head as she watched Megs stare out into the darkness. What in the world had gotten into her sister? She’d driven them into the middle of nowhere to do what?
Kelly got out of the car and leaned on the door frame while watching her sister follow the beams from the headlights down a dirt path to the edge of the water. “You brought us to Miller’s Pond?”
Megs didn’t answer but kicked off her flats and unbuttoned her blouse. She tossed the shirt aside and started to unzip her skirt and step out of it. She turned back to look at Kelly. “You coming or not?”
Had grief