Catching Sam: Book 2 of 5: The MacDonald Brothers by Emily Matthews (best mystery novels of all time TXT) 📗

certain was that Sam would not get mixed up in her mess. She vowed that under no circumstances would Wayne ever find out about her relationship with Sam. God only knew what he would do with that information.

She had to protect herself, but she also had to protect Sam.

In the end, she decided she wouldn’t say anything to Sam unless she had no choice. She’d wait for Wayne to get out, then play it by ear. No sense in getting all worked up over something that may or may not happen. She would expect the best but be prepared for the worst.

She finally fell asleep an hour before her alarm went off and woke groggy but satisfied that she’d made some good decisions and preparations. She could call in sick, but then she’d feel guilty all day. She heaved herself out of bed and into the shower, knowing she could catch up on sleep later.

It wasn’t even lunchtime before she regretted her decision not to stay home. She’d just gotten off the phone with her attorney, who had called with bad news and more bad news. While attempting to find the divorce paperwork she’d requested, he realized that someone in his office had failed to file the correct paperwork on time and, long story short, she and Wayne were still married. The attorney apologized profusely and promised that everything was being done to rectify the situation as quickly as possible.

As if that wasn’t troubling enough, his next bit of news made her sick to her stomach. He wanted to warn her that Wayne would be freed from prison any day now. His parole hearing had been a couple of weeks prior, and they’d decided his time served was enough and were letting him out early. The date for his release was imminent. The attorney assured her that he would let her know immediately when it happened and confirmed that everyone in his office knew not to give out her information.

After hanging up with the attorney, she’d plopped into her chair, completely unsettled. Laying her head back on the cool leather, she closed her eyes. She wasn’t ready. While she wasn’t physically afraid of Wayne, she’d worked hard to build this new life, and Wayne would have no problem waltzing in and messing everything up.

She would need to distance herself from Sam soon, just to be safe. That thought bummed her out more than any other. She took a couple of deep breaths to settle herself and then started making a mental list of everything she was grateful for. It was a trick her life coach had taught her. It was impossible to be upset and grateful at the same time.

Just as she was picturing Sam in a swimsuit, there was a light knock at her door. She looked up just in time to see him pop his head in. That gorgeous smile lifted her mood instantly.

“Hey, Sam,” she said. “What brings you by?”

“Well, I…” He switched gears mid-sentence. “You look tired. Everything okay?” he asked, coming in and shutting the door.

“Oh, yeah. Everything’s fine.” She sighed and offered a weak smile. “I stayed up too late shopping online last night, and now I’m regretting it.” She wasn’t about to tell Sam about the recurrence of her ex-husband—or rather—still-husband, in her life. Not until or unless she absolutely had to.

“I stopped by to see if we’re still on to hang out this weekend.”

“Sure. What’d you have in mind? I’ve been craving Mexican food. Is there any way we can work that in?”

“That sounds doable. I have to fly to San Francisco on Friday, but just for a few hours. I should be back by late afternoon. How about I pick up dinner on my way home and bring it to your house?”

“Sounds like a plan. Can’t wait.” She prayed she wouldn’t have to cancel. One more weekend couldn’t hurt. Even if Wayne got out tomorrow, it would take him awhile to find her and then travel up here.

“Okay. See you then.” He glanced out her office window, bent to give her a quick kiss, and then let himself out.

She licked her lips, tasting his spearmint gum, then closed her eyes again to imagine Sam without a swimsuit.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Annie made it to Friday and left work early to meet the furniture delivery truck. She arrived home just as a large box truck was pulling up. Packages of all shapes and sizes littered her porch. It was like Christmas in June!

Yesterday after work, she’d taken a cab to the dealership to pick up her new car. She still couldn’t get over how crazy it was that she could buy a car without talking to anyone and then simply show up for it the next day.

So far, the car was working out great. It was the perfect size, drove smoothly, and had a decent radio. It felt nice to have some freedom. She parked on the street and motioned to the truck driver to park in the driveway.

This delivery had her new couches and bed. Even though she’d taken the trouble to move her old stuff up here, she’d thought better of it later and decided a clean start included a new bed and nicer couches. Most of the other things she’d purchased were smaller and coming separately. A lot of it was probably in the boxes on the porch.

The burly men worked quickly and made short work of the job. She told them where she wanted things, and they took the old stuff out, had the new stuff in, and her new bed set up in less than an hour. It was extremely efficient. After they left, she opened boxes until she found the new sheets and put them in the washing machine.

Thank goodness she didn’t have to get up early tomorrow. She needed to catch up from the last couple of nights of poor sleep and wanted to get the bed set up and comfy, so as soon as