The One She Left Behind. KRISTI GOLD
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of you get along for a change. I don’t want to deal with a barroom brawl and risk throwing my back out.”
Sporting a wily grin, Matt spun around and walked away, leaving Savannah without any retort. She could tolerate Sam for a few hours. Besides, she truly wanted to connect with her old friends, even if she didn’t count Sam among them.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Savannah?”
She turned to her left to find Sam leaning against the railing, arms folded across his chest, looking much like he had when she’d left the diner the other day. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
“It means spending an entire night with me.”
An entire night? “It’s just an hour or two, Sam. We don’t have to communicate at all or even come near each other.”
His smile formed only halfway. A somewhat skeptical smile. “Yeah, you’re right. As long as you don’t have more than one drink.”
Another series of flashbacks ran through Savannah’s mind like a long-ago slide show. Memories of one night beneath the stars in his arms after she’d had her first wine. She shook off the recollections and firmed her frame. “Believe me, I can handle myself much better these days.”
Truth be known, she was a little worried and it had nothing to do with booze. Having a somewhat tense conversation with Sam on a porch in the sunlight seemed innocuous enough. But being in the presence of a former lover in a dim bar after a couple of drinks could wreak havoc on her common sense.
Not a chance. She didn’t intend to have more than one drink, if that. And she certainly wasn’t going to re-enact the mistakes of her youth.
She would go to see old friends. She’d have a good time, even if she had to fake it, and she was pretty darn good at faking it.
SHE DIDN’T WANT TO BE there. Sam could tell that about Savannah the minute she walked into the bar with Matt and Rachel. He could tell because she started wringing her hands like an old-time washer and her shoulders were about as stiff as Gracie’s old clothesline. She looked even more uncomfortable when a couple of people called out greetings as she worked her way through the rows of tables.
But damn, she still looked good. He’d almost forgotten how well she could fill out a pair of jeans. She filled out the black thin-strapped shirt pretty well, too. With her blond hair curling around her bare shoulders, those man-killing high heels, she’d make the grade as most men’s dream-girl fantasy and wish for reality.
He wasn’t the only man who’d noticed her, either. A group of young bucks seated at the bar gawked when she passed by, and so did a few guys who had come with their wives or dates.
In a country place full of country folk, in a bar with rough-hewn wood walls, a tin roof and seen-better-days furnishings, she stood out like tar against snow. But if those guys really knew her like Sam did, they wouldn’t give her a second look. And if they did, they ran the risk of getting burned.
Once the group reached the round table in the corner that Sam had claimed an hour earlier, Rachel and Matt moved ahead of Savannah and took the two high-back stools opposite him. That left only one option— Savannah was going to have to sit next to him, whether she liked it or not. He figured she wasn’t going to like it any more than he did.
Savannah confirmed his theory when she moved the stool as far from him as she could without landing in Rachel’s lap. She did turn to him to say, “Hello, Sam,” with a little too much formality for someone who once knew him better than anyone.
He returned her greeting with a less formal nod of acknowledgment, then followed with, “Where’s Chase?”
Matt hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “We saw him at the pool tables with a group of women probably ten years his junior.”
No sooner had Matt finished the sentence than Chase walked up to the table and wrapped his ham-hock arms around Savannah. Sam couldn’t stop the harebrained thought “Hands off” when Chase looked her up and down like she was his favorite hot rod. “You’re looking mighty fine tonight, darlin’. Where have you been all my life?”
Savannah didn’t seem the least bit put off by the come-on and even grinned, which for some reason didn’t sit too well with Sam. “I’ve been avoiding silver-tongued devils like you, Chase. But it’s still good to see you even if you haven’t changed a bit.”
Sam disagreed with Savannah on that count. Chase was just trying too hard to convince people he was the same.
Chase took the empty stool on the other side of Sam and set it between Savannah and Rachel, causing everyone to have to shift position. That also meant that Savannah had to move closer to Sam. He might have found that amusing if her damn perfume didn’t smell so good.
“Has anyone ordered anything yet?” Chase asked as soon as he was seated.
Sam raised his hand to signal the sixty-something waitress who’d been a Barney’s fixture since the Confederacy rolled up the carpet. “Maybe she’ll be by to take our order before midnight.”
Savannah looked around before saying, “It’s sure crowded for a Wednesday. Must be the ribs.”
“It’s the band,” Chase added. “They come in from Memphis every Wednesday.”
Rachel rolled her eyes. “And they let anyone who thinks they can sing have a shot. Nothing quite like spending the evening with a bunch of yahoos who erroneously believe they have talent.”
Matt nodded toward Sam. “He’s been known to sit in with the band every now and then.”
His friend could’ve gone all night without mentioning that. “Not in a while.”
Rachel rested her cheek on her palm and stared at him. “But you can sing, and I think you should give us a song tonight, just like in the old days.”
Sam held up his hands, palms forward. “No, thanks.”
“Come on, McBriar,” Chase said. “Do it for the six-pack.”
Luckily the waitress arrived to take their orders, halting the conversation. Normally he might perform a song or two, but he didn’t see any reason to take time away from his friends, except maybe Savannah.
She picked that moment to lean over, surprising the hell out of him. “What are you having?”
The urge to get the hell out of Dodge. “I ate before I left the house.”
“Why?”
“Because I was hungry.” He still was and she was looking pretty damn appetizing. Obviously he hadn’t had a decent meal in a while.
“Then what do you recommend other than the ribs?” she asked.
“The burgers are okay.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Do they have salads?”
He pointed to the chalkboard hanging on the far wall. “That’s the menu.”
“Oh.” Thankfully she straightened to study it, giving Sam some room to breathe.
After they placed their orders, the waitress returned with their drinks in record time. Chase and Matt each had a beer, while Rachel opted for iced tea and Savannah settled for a glass of cheap red wine. Sam had requested a cola, and he figured he was going to catch hell for it.
Chase was the first to notice. “Why aren’t you drinking tonight, Mac?”
“Because I had a beer before you showed up and that’s my limit.”
“Since when?” Matt asked.
“Since I had a kid.”
Savannah looked more amazed than anyone. “I’m impressed.”
At least he’d done something to impress her, not that he gave a damn what she thought of him. “People tend to change as they get older