Page 40 of Dragged Home for Christmas

Sam said nothing for a moment, but took a long drink from the bottle.

Finally, he sighed. “When I first came to P-town, I met Tony. Great guy, great sense of humor, fun to be with.” His face darkened. “Until things started going wrong. His business took a nosedive, and he drowned his sorrows and frustrations in a bottle. When it got to the point where I was taking three empty wine bottles a day to the recycling, I knew he had a problem.” He swallowed. “Unfortunately, I mentioned it.”

“What happened?” Mike knew whatever was coming wasn’t good. Sam’s face contorted, and he shifted on the blanket as though he couldn’t get comfortable.

“I tried to get him to seek help. That didn’t go down so well. Tony didn’t think he had a problem. It took one hell of a shock to make him realize how bad things had gotten.”

“What kind of shock?”

Sam winced. “The night he mistook me for a punching bag.”

“Oh God.” Mike couldn’t help himself. He took Sam’s hand in his.

“A friend drove me to the nearest hospital to get stitched up.” Sam smiled. “That was Nick, by the way. He sat with me while I waited to be seen, he wiped away my tears, held me—and told me there was a room for me at the Velvet House. He even offered to arrange for some friends to meetus back at Tony’s place to help me pack up.” Sam expelled a sigh. “He didn’t want me staying there a moment longer.” He gazed at their joined hands but made no effort to pull away.

“How did Tony react to your leaving him?”

Sam stared out at the ocean. “He didn’t say a word. I think he was too ashamed of what he’d done—and that everyone in P-town got to know about it. Not long after that, he sold up and left. I have no idea what became of him.”

“Thereissomething I’d like us to discuss.” Sam gave him an inquiring glance, and Mike sighed. “It’s about Nick. His death, specifically. His lawyer made it sound as though the heart attack was unexpected. Who was with him? Was it really out of the blue?”

Sam stared at him. “I don’t believe this.”

His heart hammered. “Surely I can ask about my own uncle’s death.”

“That’s not what I meant. I…” Sam pulled his hand free of Mike’s, took another long drink, then expelled a breath. “I brought you here for three reasons. The first was because we damn well earned it after the day we’ve had. The second was to show you the best sunset ever. Which should be in about five minutes, by my reckoning.”

“And the third reason?”

“I was going to tell you about Nick.” Sam stared at the blanket. “Ant was partially right, you know. Polly leaving might have contributed to his death. I only found out at the end that he’d made his will after that.”

Mike stared at him. “You’re saying he knew something was wrong?”

Sam shrugged. “Maybe he had an inkling. If he did, he didn’t share it with any of us. He saw the doc in August last year, and got the bad news. A triple bypass. So the day of the procedure, we went with him to the hospital. They wouldn’tlet all of us into his room, so I stayed with him. That was when he told me about his will. He… he also gave me a letter he’d written the night before.” Sam looked Mike in the eyes. “It was addressed to you. He said I was to give it to you when you came to P-town.”

Mike’s pulse raced. “A letter? Why am I only hearing about it now?”

“Because I forgot about it, okay? He died over a year ago.” He gave Mike a hard stare. “And we’ve had a lot on our plates, remember? Such as trying to not be forced out of our home.”

“You’ve all had quite a year, haven’t you?”

“You can say that again. Anyhow, I shoved the letter in a drawer, and it was only last night that I remembered. So I decided to bring you here, to a place Nick loved.” Sam swallowed. “Nick died on the operating table. A massive heart attack. And I guess itwasunexpected—for us.” He sighed. “We were all sitting in the waiting room, and then…”

Mike put his arm around Sam’s shoulders, and Sam leaned into him

“Thank you for being there for Nick,” Mike murmured.

“The letter’s in my room. I’ll give it to you when we get back.” Sam pulled back and glanced at Mike. “Can I ask you something?”

“Ask whatever you want.”

He smiled. “Can I kiss you?”

Mike’s heart leaped into a higher gear. “I’d like that.”

Sam cupped his cheek, closed the gap between them, and pressed his lips to Mike’s.

Mike cradled Sam’s nape, unwilling to let the kiss end, breathing in the scents, a mixture of Sam’s cologne and the sea air.

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