July Thunder Read Online Free Page B

hadn’t seemed any happier to see him on the road today.
    But the feeling persisted anyway, and he was glad when he carried the last bag into Mary’s kitchen.
    â€œYou’ll stay for dinner, of course,” she said to him as he set it on the counter.
    Part of him just wanted to escape to his safe hermitage, but another part of him couldn’t resist the warm friendliness of her smile. He stood there, torn, and realized that his social graces had apparently gone the way of the dodo, because as his silence grew longer, her face began to fall.
    He couldn’t allow that. “Sure,” he said. “I’d like to.” Then he added, so she wouldn’t misunderstand, “Eating alone is the pits.” Then it struck him that that had been an ungracious thing to say. Damn, he sounded like he’d been raised in a stable.
    The corners of her mouth lifted, however, letting him know she hadn’t taken his words amiss. “It sure is,” she said. “And it’s absolutely no fun to cook alone. What we need to do is start a singles dining club. Get a group of us lonelyhearts together to cook for each other once in a while.”
    â€œThat might not be a bad idea,” he allowed, although in truth he had no intention of socializing that way. He’d avoided all the singles clubs in town because he was convinced that whatever they claimed was their purpose, their members were all after the same thing: marriage. And he didn’t want that ever again.
    He unpacked the grocery bags for Mary, handing her each item so she could put it away. The way he’d once done for Beth, because she’d been convinced he would screw up her pantry organization if he put things away himself. His heart squeezed painfully at the memory.
    â€œAre you all right, Sam?”
    Mary’s voice, quiet and sweet, drew him back to the present. “Uh, yeah. I’m fine.”
    Her brow knitted with concern and maybe a bit of disbelief, but she didn’t press him about it. He handed her a container of grated Parmesan cheese, and she turned away to tuck it into the cupboard.
    Then she gave him another kick in the heart. “So that’s your father moving in across the street?”
    He couldn’t blame her; her curiosity was natural. But he wished she would talk about the weather, the upcoming school year, or even his job. Anything but this. On the other hand, he couldn’t be rude.
    â€œYeah,” he said, and pulled some cans of soup out of a bag.
    â€œI take it you don’t have a good relationship?”
    He gave a harsh crack of laughter. “That’s an understatement.”
    â€œI’m sorry.”
    For a minute he thought she was going to leave it there. But women never left anything there. A man would have, but a woman always wanted to pry into a guy’s heart. Hadn’t he learned that with Beth? Secrets were anathema to women. Particularly secrets of the heart and soul.
    â€œWhat happened between you?” she asked, her voice as gentle as gentle could be. That gentleness was going to kill him.
    â€œHe disowned me fifteen years ago,” Sam said flatly. “Threw me out and disowned me.” His tonewas meant to be a bar to further questions, but that didn’t work, either.
    â€œOh, Sam,” she said, groceries forgotten, her gaze sorrowful. “Why in the world would he do such a thing?”
    â€œHe said it was because I refused to become a preacher.” Although, in his heart of hearts, Sam believed it was more. As far back as he could remember, he and his father had disagreed on basic religious beliefs. Sam had challenged Elijah more than once with the brashness of youth. And even now that maturity had mellowed him somewhat and made him more tolerant, Sam still couldn’t buy into a lot of his father’s notions. Or at least the notions Elijah had tried to raise him with.
    â€œI’m sorry,” Mary said.