Once and for All (22 page)
HE VET TRUCK WAS PARKED
in front of the clinic and Sam was alone in the office when Jodie opened the door, the bells attached to the handle catching his attention. He stood when he saw it was her.
“Lucas needed help.” Sam came out of his office and stood on the opposite side of the counter from her, tall, heart-stoppingly handsome, making her recall the day she’d gone nose to nose with him. “Beau needed to do penance.”
“The letter?”
“The letter.” Sam placed his hands flat on the Formica surface in front of him. “They’re healing. Trying to move past what happened.”
Jodie tilted her head, pressed her lips together. She wanted to believe what he said, but it was difficult when everything she wanted could evaporate in a heartbeat if the people involved came to their senses.
“Damn it, Jodie,” he said, misreading her expression. “Look at what you’re doing by not giving this a chance. I almost think
you
aren’t interested in healing.”
She felt her eyes widen. “Why would I heal?” she asked, perplexed.
Sam leaned across the counter. “You don’t think you need to heal, too?”
She simply stared at him.
“We’re all victims of Colin Craig, Jodie. Every one of us.”
She pushed a hand through her hair. “I, uh, never thought of it that way.” But it made sense. Enough sense that a lump was forming in her throat.
“You need to.”
“I want to,” she admitted in a low voice. Sam stayed where he was, with the counter between them, but his gaze never moved from her face. Jodie took a breath and asked, “Do you love me?”
“Would I have continued to chase after you if I didn’t?” he asked in return. “I had many reasons not to.”
“So that means you honestly believe we could build something. Even with…what happened to Dave and his wife?”
His expression was utterly sincere when he said, “I’m only interested in the future, Jodie.” He came around the counter then, but stopped a few feet away from her, understanding her need for space. “I’ve learned a few lessons lately.”
“Like what, Sam?” Her voice was barely more than a whisper, but he heard her.
“Like you can’t control the things you want to control most. And there are no guarantees, no matter how much effort we put into not making mistakes. So…well, I can’t say there’ll be no losses, no mistakes, no heartaches. But I can promise to do the best I can, and to try to make what we have stronger every day.”
Jodie didn’t reply; she didn’t know what to say.
Frustration flashed in Sam’s eyes. “Damn it, Jodie, I can’t change the past. But I can build a future.”
“With me.” She spoke flatly.
“With you.” Sam matched her tone. “But it’ll only work if we have faith in each other.” He paused before he asked softly, “Can you do that? Have faith in us?”
His voice was steady, but the emotion she saw in his face was killing her. She started to speak, couldn’t find the words, and then something inside her broke free.
She crossed the distance between them and reached up to take his face between her hands, loving the feel of his warm skin, the rough stubble of his beard on her palms. “How can I not have faith, when you refuse to give up?”
Sam let out a breath and pulled her against him, folding her in his arms and pressing his cheek against the top of her head. The phone rang.
“Damn it,” he muttered, but he didn’t move. If anything he held her closer.
“Why don’t you answer that?” Jodie said after the fourth ring.
“Are you sure?”
She was tempted to say no, but she took the high road. This was part of Sam’s life. “I’m sure.” She tilted her head back so she could look up at him. “And whatever it is, I’ll come along for the ride.”
ODIE WALKED DOWN THE
aisle on the arms of two men—her father and Beau Hyatt. Tyler stood next to his uncle as best man. Tears were streaming down her face before she reached the altar, and it looked as if Sam was going to join her. Her father kissed one damp cheek, Beau the other, and then she took her place by Sam’s side, facing the pastor.
Beau and Tyler had other ideas. They’d sat Jodie and Sam down one night, six months into their relationship, and explained that as entertaining as it had been at first, they were getting tired of the excuses and fake emergencies Sam and Jodie used when they wanted to spend the night together, and why didn’t Jodie just move in with them?
Sam and Jodie had explained why that wasn’t possible, but the kicker was, Joe had called Jodie and told her gruffly that if she wanted to marry Sam, then get it over with. That way maybe he could get free vet care. It wasn’t until later that they discovered that Sam’s nephews had waged a persistent campaign with Joe, too, which they’d eventually won.
So, on the first of October, Sam and Jodie were married in the city park, surrounded by friends and family and almost the entire community—many of whom still owed Sam money. Jodie knew he didn’t care. Neither did she.
Later that night she had to drive back to Las Vegas, but Sam was coming with her, and in less than a month she’d be starting her own small practice in Wesley, using the money from her condo sale to buy the office building she would work out of.
Jodie didn’t hear all the words the pastor said, but as she gazed up into Sam’s eyes, she felt them in her heart.
She said, “I do,” and so did he. Then they simply held hands and stared at one another until Beau called, “Hey, you gonna kiss the bride
or what?
”
Sam fought a smile as he kissed his new wife. “Or what,” he whispered.
Jodie smiled before she kissed him back. “No arguments from me,” she said. “Not one.”
ONCE AND FOR ALL
Copyright © 2010 by Jeannie Steinman.
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