The Best Man Read online

  “I’m fine.” I shook my head. “Juice?” He took the orange juice I offered, and I slid the cooler door shut before walking around the counter to sit on the stool beside him. Jackson came around the corner then and placed my toast in front of me, along with a heaping plate of breakfast foods in front of Samuel.

  “Good to see you, son.” The old cook smiled.

  “Thanks, Jackson. Good to see you too.”

  Samuel lifted his fork and took a bite of his hash browns. I tried not to stare at the way his mouth moved while he chewed.

  “So...where’s Andy?” I asked. I nibbled my toast and twisted the lid off my cranberry juice.

  “He’s at home, nursing a hangover.” Samuel grinned. “I guess he went out with some guys last night and tied one on.”

  “He’s a lightweight,” I snickered. Samuel nodded over his breakfast. “Have you talked with him yet?”

  “Nope. I don’t suppose you’ll fill me in on this big surprise?”

  “No way. So...what are you doing here?”

  “Mom said you and Andy were supposed to drive out to the beach to jog. Since he wasn’t up to it, I thought I would take you.”

  “Oh...” I frowned down at the crust of bread on my plate. Good old Samuel, being forced to babysit again. “You really don’t have to. I mean, I’m sure you have better things to do while you’re on vacation. And you got in late last night. You must be tired.”

  “What’s the matter, Emelia?” Samuel smirked and took a drink of his juice. “Afraid you won’t be able to keep up?”

  My eyes narrowed of their own accord. I really didn’t know Samuel well enough anymore to be able to tell if he was teasing. The challenging tone of his voice made me grit my teeth.

  “More afraid of seeing you cry when I leave your ass in the dust.”

  “Is that it, then?” He snorted, seeming amused. “Let’s get to it.”

  Samuel grabbed both of our plates and carried them back to the kitchen, while I fetched two bottles of water for the trip. Always the gentleman, Samuel opened my car door for me as I slipped inside.

  “Nice car,” I complimented while he got behind the wheel.

  “It’s a rental,” he shrugged. “It’s all right for now.”

  “Do you still drive Eleanor?” I remembered he had left for school driving that old blue car he loved so much. Since he’d chauffeured Andy and me around when he still lived at home, Samuel never argued when Andy was the one to name the car. Of course, he’d named it after a Beatles song.

  “She died a few years ago.” Samuel shook his head. “I haven’t replaced her yet. I pretty much take a cab or the subway everywhere when I’m in the city anyway.”

  We both smiled, and he turned his eyes back to the road. I looked at his profile for a moment, thinking of how strange it was to be sitting beside him like this. The years had changed us both, but everything felt exactly the same. With the window rolled down, I leaned my head back and let the wind whip the short pieces of hair that had escaped my ponytail around my face. The fog was losing its battle. The sun was breaking through.

  By the time we made it to the beach, the fog had completely lifted. Warm sunlight peeked through the clouds and bathed patches of the sand with its creamy yellow light. I watched as Samuel pulled his sweatshirt over his head and dropped it on the seat of the car. His T-shirt fit nicely over the solid planes of his chest, and I dropped my eyes to my feet. Suddenly, I wished I had thought to wear a lighter shirt under my own frumpy sweat suit.

  I stood by the passenger’s side of the car while Samuel remained at the driver’s. We both stretched our arms and legs, getting ready for a run.

  “It doesn’t really surprise me that you and Andy took up jogging,” Samuel said over the roof of the car.

  “Why is that?” I asked, bending at the waist to press my face toward my knee. The back of my thigh protested slightly, reminding me of my run the morning before.

  “Well...because I was in cross-country and track in high school,” Samuel explained. He was staring straight ahead while doing shallow lunges. “You two kids were always copying everything I did.”

  I wasn’t sure if it was his tone, his reference to Andy and my being “kids,” or his smug attitude that pricked a tiny bit of annoyance in me. “We started running long after you were gone to college,” I announced. “And neither of us joined the track team.” Andy never got into sports the way Samuel had. I’d tried cheerleading during my junior year but gave that up fast. Jogging seemed a good fit for us both. And surprisingly, I was sure on my feet while they were moving fast.

  Samuel shrugged as if my declaration was of no importance. While I couldn’t put my finger on the reason, it annoyed me even more. I quickly pulled my phone from my pocket and started thumbing through music folders.

  “I usually run pretty close to three miles. I hope that’s okay with you,” I said.

  “Should be fine...for starters.” Samuel nodded. “I haven’t jogged in a while.”

  I bit back the retort I felt bubbling up at his offhanded insult. “We run down to Banger’s Rocks before we turn. Do you know the place?” Banger’s Rocks got their unofficial name ages ago. During beach parties, many a young couple stole away to let the large rock formations block them from view while they enjoyed any number of illicit acts behind them.

  “How do you know Banger’s Rocks?” Samuel had his eyebrows raised in surprise. I just shrugged and inserted my earbuds before I started jogging down the beach.

  Samuel only ran behind me for a couple of moments. He caught up quickly and matched his strides to mine. His lips were pressed together tightly, and his face held the familiar expression he always wore when he didn’t approve of something Andy and I were up to. He probably didn’t like the fact that I had evaded his question. No. Unlike half of my high school graduating class, I’d never had sex behind Banger’s Rocks. Still, it was strangely satisfying to imagine him wondering about that.

  Together, we ran side by side. I let a dance track that played in my ears set my jogging pace. Samuel matched his motion to the cadence my feet tapped into the sand. I glanced over at him from time to time, though I tried not to stare at his strong profile or the muscular forearms which were held up against his sides. He had changed a lot since going away to college. But then...so had I. As our feet hit the sand in a shared rhythm, I smiled. It felt great to be running alongside Samuel. For once, I wasn’t chasing behind him. We were finally equals.

  The dynamic changed, however, when our path came across a large piece of driftwood. From where I jogged, it was in my way. I skirted the obstacle and ended up several paces behind Samuel when I got back to the original course. He didn’t slow. I heard the plaintive whine of the little girl in my mind. “Samuel! Slow down! Wait for me...”

  I shook the child’s voice away. I didn’t need anyone to coddle me anymore. I pumped my arms and made my legs work harder, faster. Samuel’s eyebrows rose when he saw me catch up to him from the corner of his eye. Surprised? I grinned smugly and kept jogging.

  We both turned when we got to Banger’s Rocks, and without speaking, we picked up our pace. I looked over at Samuel and caught him stealing a glance at me. His eyebrows lowered, and his lips pressed together in a frown. Interesting. Maybe he thought I should be slowing by now. Feeling sure of myself, I quickened my pace and stepped ahead of him on our path.

  Samuel was by my side again in an instant. We took turns then. He pulled into the lead, and I caught up. I stepped up the pace, and he caught up. My teeth clenched, and my feet slapped hard on the sand. His jaw was set, and he was working just as hard as I was.

  I deliberately positioned myself beside him in a way that guaranteed the upcoming driftwood would not cause me to lose time again. Samuel frowned when he saw it was in his way this time. However, he pushed his feet into the sand and ran straight at it, hurdling over the obstacle and staying a straight course. My mouth popped open at his determination. As soon as his feet hit the sand again, it was
on. Both of us ran at a dead sprint toward his car. I lowered my head, and I watched the gray sand and pebbles fly under my feet. My lungs protested, and my legs were beginning to feel numb. Yet, somehow, I pushed myself to stay neck and neck with Samuel. We reached the car together.

  I put my hands on my knees and leaned forward, trying to catch my breath. My whole body buzzed with an endorphin rush. I felt positively giddy. I wasn’t a little girl anymore. It felt good to be able to match up to Samuel, who had always been the absolute best at everything he set out to do.

  I noticed he stood much like I was. His messy hair flopped damply across his forehead while he took deep breaths. I reached into the passenger’s side of the car and retrieved our bottles of water. I handed one to Samuel before twisting the cap off my own.

  “Thanks,” he said, sounding out of breath.

  “Sure.” I smiled over at him. He didn’t return my pleasant look. Instead, he scowled and took a long drink of water before moving to get into the car without a word. I frowned and joined him.

  After we drove a couple of minutes in silence, Samuel’s surliness was beginning to get on my nerves. Had the fact that I managed to keep up with him really upset him so much? I decided to try again, to lighten the tension I felt between us.

  “Good run,” I offered. “You’re fast. I thought you said you were out of practice.” Maybe a compliment would help to lighten his disposition.

  “Next time we should find a longer stretch and run five miles,” Samuel said stonily. “Three is hardly a workout.”

  I hoped he would have complimented me in kind. Maybe he might have noted it was nice that I could keep up for once. But, no. He had to act like a jackass. Irritated, I propped my leg up on the dashboard of his car and pulled up the elastic at the bottom of my pants to expose my calf.

  “If three miles is too easy for you, next time you should use leg weights like I do.”

  His eyes left the road to see the blue weight that was strapped around my ankle. Then he glared beyond the windshield again with his knuckles turning white on the steering wheel. I turned my head toward the window, so he wouldn’t see my satisfied smirk.

  We didn’t speak for the rest of ride home. Samuel pulled into his driveway and didn’t even have a chance to turn off his car engine before I opened my door to get out of my seat, anxious to remove myself from the tension between us.

  “Bye,” he grumbled from behind me.

  “Yeah,” I replied. I don’t know if he heard me. I really didn’t care. His attitude was not deserving of my attempts at friendliness.

  After a much-needed shower, I felt moderately better. Dad had asked me to make potato salad. The chore gave me something to focus on to help improve my mood. I started off grumbling under my breath while roughly chopping vegetables with perhaps a little too much force. The entire process took a while, but by the time I finished the task, I found my temper had cooled, and I felt a little silly for letting Samuel get to me so easily.

  After my father returned from work and got cleaned up, I made him carry the enormous salad over to the neighbors.

  “Wow. Thanks, Emmy.” Joy smiled, clearing a space on the table she’d set up near the grill. “That looks delicious.”

  “I remember how much these men eat.” I shrugged. Andy alone had a larger appetite than any man I’d ever met. I didn’t know where he stored it all. Joy used to say her youngest son had hollow legs.

  “Where’s Andy?”

  “He and Samuel are still inside.” Her eyes flew toward her back door while she frowned slightly. By the look on her face, I guessed there might be a little tension in the Dalton household.

  “Did Andy tell him about Lil?”

  “Um...yes.” Joy fidgeted with the edge of the tablecloth.

  “I can’t believe you rallied the troops.” I shook my head, chuckling lightly.

  “Well, we knew you wouldn’t be any help,” Joy teased. “You’ve always been on board with any harebrained idea Andy comes up with.”

  “This is true,” I agreed. “Bet Samuel was surprised.”

  “Sure.” She nodded and then sighed. “We’d hoped that Samuel would be able to...”

  “Talk him out of it?” My voice was probably sharper than I’d intended, and Joy quickly looked at me.

  “Talk him into slowing down,” she insisted. “We love Lily. But those two haven’t known each other long. And they’re very young. Samuel has always been a planner. He’s very serious, and thinks about things before jumping into situations...”

  “Unlike Andy, who is more impulsive.”

  “Right.” Joy nodded. “Andy’s happiness is the most important thing. If this is what he wants, then...I’ll just have to get used to the idea. You know we couldn’t deny him anything.”

  “You knew you were going to have to let him go one of these days.” I smiled softly, guessing at an underlying source of her hesitation. “You’ve done a good job, Joy. Your boys are grown. And you’ve raised them right.”

  “Thank you, Emmy.” Her face brightened as we both noticed Andy and Samuel joining the party. “Ah. Here they are.”

  “I smell barbecue!” Andy jogged over to us, a wide, happy smile on his face. “Is that your potato salad?” He pointed at the giant bowl on the table. “Didn’t you think to bring enough for everyone else, Em?”

  “Not even you could eat all that,” I scoffed.

  “Darlin’. I accept that challenge.”

  “One plate at a time.” Joy rolled her eyes. “Go ahead. Dinner’s ready. Dish up!”

  Andy and I balanced our plates on our laps, sitting in folding chairs which had been placed under the tree house. To my surprise, Samuel walked over and took a seat beside me. I shifted uncomfortably on my chair, unsure what to expect from him after the way we’d left things between us earlier in the day. I startled a little when I felt his fingers gently touch my forearm.

  “I owe you an apology.”

  The sincerity in Samuel’s smooth voice caused me to raise my eyes to his. His brown eyes held remorse, and he offered me a soft, tentative smile.

  “An apology?” I asked. He dropped his hand from my arm and nodded.

  “I was horrible to you this morning after our run. I really did have a nice time jogging with you. I...I wasn’t being a very good sport.”

  “Yeah. I heard you kicked his ass in a footrace,” Andy said with a laugh as he sat on my other side. I turned with surprise in his direction before moving back to Samuel.

  “She was fast.” Samuel nodded with a grin. I turned my head to look at Andy once more.

  “I would have paid to see that,” he teased his brother.

  “This isn’t going to work.” I frowned. “I feel like I’m watching tennis.” Samuel stood then and moved his chair to sit facing Andy and me.

  “Better?”

  “Much. Thank you.” I sent him a small smile to let him know I appreciated his effort—and his apology. “So, I heard you two finally had a chance to talk.”

  “Yup. Sammy knows everything now.”

  “Cool, huh?” I asked, pulling up an eyebrow as I looked at Samuel. I was curious about how he had taken the news. To my surprise, he dropped his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

  “At first...Sam thought I had proposed to you!” Andy laughed loudly. “I told him I was engaged, and he asked me what Sully thought of us getting married so young.”

  I laughed too and shook my head.

  “It’s not that funny,” Samuel muttered. “It was an honest mistake. Hey, are those new boards?” He changed the subject, looking over my shoulder toward the tree.

  “I put them up yesterday,” Andy told him. “Em and I are going to have a sleepover up there.”

  “And your new, uh, fiancée doesn’t have an issue with that?” Samuel’s eyebrows rose in a skeptical expression.

  “Why would she?” Andy asked. “Lily knows Em is like a sister to me.” He put his sandwich down and was now frowning at his brother.

&nbs
p; “Lil doesn’t have a problem with our friendship.” I immediately came to Andy’s defense. Samuel rolled his eyes, and I narrowed mine. “What? I can tell you want to say something. Just say it!”

  “It’s just that...it seems strange to me that a man who claims to be mature enough to plan for something like marriage is the same kid who wants to play with the little girl from next door in his tree house.”

  “That’s rude.”

  “You shouldn’t ask my opinion if you don’t want to hear it,” Samuel argued. “This is crazy. I’m clearly wasting my time here.”

  “Maybe you should go eat at the grown-up table, away from us immature kids,” I suggested snidely. Samuel stood with his plate and dropped it into the trash bin before heading indoors. “Your brother has a serious stick up his ass,” I grumbled.

  “He’s just...” Andy sighed and dropped his head. “He’s worried for me. I get it. And he’s all stressed out from just finishing school.”

  “That should make him more relaxed.”

  “Yeah. But he’s already studying for the bar exam. He won’t give himself a break. You should see the stack of books and study material he brought with him. He’s probably going back to it right now.”

  I took a sip of my lemonade and nodded. If Samuel wanted to bury himself in studies all summer, that would be fine with me. So far, our run-ins hadn’t exactly been fun. I’d be happy for an excuse to ignore him completely. Andy’s next words, however, let me know my inner thoughts would not create the ideal situation for my best friend.

  “I miss him. You know? I rarely see him, and we’ve fallen out of touch. I’d really like to have my brother back, and it won’t help if you two keep going at each other.”

  “He’s home, now,” I sighed. “You’ll think of something to get his nose out of those books. Maybe even get him to loosen up a little. He seems really uptight.”

  “I guess. Will you help me?”

  “Yeah. Yeah...I’ll help,” I promised. Not that I was looking forward to the task. However, Joy had been right. No one could deny Andy anything. He made everyone around him happy. It was a natural inclination to want to return the favor.