Page 34 of The Hermit on the Hill

"Why not invite them for Christmas?" I couldn't take my eyes off him, but he didn't seem to notice. His attention rested on the picture of an obviously happy day.

His laugh made warmth bloom in my chest. Without meaning to, I leaned into the sound, wanting more of it. "They're a wild bunch. I've worked too hard on this place to let their drunk asses destroy it."

I opened my mouth to ask another question, but he moved up a step and pointed to the next picture. In it was a woman who looked younger than my mother. Her hair hadn't even gone fully gray, though she had smile lines around her mouth and crow's feet. A little blond girl sat in her lap and Sam stood next to the rocking chair where they sat.

"That's me and Brittany and Nana." Sam's voice, so deep and rough, made me want to lay my head on his chest and listen to it reverberate. I wanted to sink into that sound and live there.

"She looks so young."

"She was. My mother was the youngest of four kids, all born in five years, so my Nana was only twenty-four when she had my mom and my mom was only eighteen when she had me. Nana wasn't yet fifty in this picture."

"Is that a tabloid she's reading to Brittany?"

"Sure is. Money was always tight, but Nana never came back from the store without a tabloid. She loved that garbage, and I have to say it made for more interesting bedtime stories than most of the kids' books I've ever seen."

"I bet. I think I would have liked your Nana."

He moved up another step without a word in response. "This is my mother. Sara. She and my dad were killed in an accident when I was a month old."

I moved up with him to see a photo of two women. One of whom had Sam's eyes, though her hair was blond. The photo had caught her partially in profile, looking out into the forest, the wind blowing her hair back.

She was beautiful, but the sort of person I'd back away from. Untouchable. I'd thought the same of Sam the first time I'd seen him. He was so far out of my league, I doubted he'd even hear me if I said hello. And then he'd spoken to me, wrapped me up in his charm, and I'd felt like the most beautiful woman in the world. I'd felt seen and wanted. And it had all been a lie.

"She was beautiful."

"A lot nicer than me, according to Nana." He swallowed hard. "Anyway, that woman next to her is Brittany's mother. Evelyn."

That gave me pause. "I thought—"

"Yeah." Sam shoved a hand through his hair. "Evelyn dropped Brit off at Nana's when she was four, said she couldn't take care of her anymore, that she was a bad kid. I've never met the woman, but according to Nana, Evelyn was a spoiled, selfish girl who expected everything in life to come easy."

"You think of Brittany as your sister."

"She is my sister in every way that matters. When Brit moved in, I was seven. Old enough to know how families work. Nana said, 'Sammy, this here's your sister. Anyone asks, that's what you say.'" He smiled. "So that's what I told anyone who asked and after a while I sort of forgot Brit wasn't really my sister. Evelyn signed over her parental rights and Nana adopted Brit when she was six. I wish Brit would forget she ever had a mother other than Nana, but she goes to see Evelyn at least once a year."

"You don't think Brittany should be in touch with her." It wasn't a question, because I already knew the answer. Sam's expression and tone said it all.

Sam looked at me, his gaze intense. "Every time Brittany visits Evelyn, she disappears for at least a month after. She won't talk to me or even tell me where she is. Evelyn hurts my sister over and over again, and Brittany just keeps going back for more. Do me a favor, if Evelyn ever contacts you and, once she finds out about the baby, she will, don't engage with her. Let me handle her."

"I can handle toxic people. I won't break."

He reached a hand out, but stopped before he touched my cheek. "I know you can, but you shouldn't have to."

He moved to the next picture. The woman in the photo looked to be in her early fifties and her smile was warm as she stood next to a teenage Sam in his cap and gown.

"My aunt," he said. "Annette. She took me in after Nana died. She doesn't like to travel much, but we'll take the baby up to see her after he's born." He hesitated, but didn't look at me. "I'll take the baby to see her, if you're agreeable."

"Of course." I wasn't sure how I felt about letting my baby travel so far without me, but I wouldn't keep him from his father, no matter how much it might hurt.

I didn't notice the baby gate until I got to the top of the stairs. My heart thumped with a mix of fear and fondness. "A little early for this, isn't it?"

He looked back at me, confusion clear on every line of his face. When I tapped the gate, he smiled. "That's for Fluffy. It's better if he stays upstairs in case that damn bobcat sneaks inside."

I stared at him as he turned away, all nonchalant, like he'd just told me what he was making for dinner.

"Wait. A bobcat just walks into your house?"

Sam turned back and sighed. "You already agreed to stay here. No backing out now."

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