Page 9 of Surprised By Love

“Hmmm, once or twice.” Vicki laughs. “Now go take a shower. I’ll take Amelia downstairs and get her fed.”

With that, Vicki turns and walks out of the room, closing the door behind her.

After my nice, hot shower, I put on black leggings, an oversized red sweatshirt, slide my feet into my black furry slippers and put my hair up in a ponytail. My go-to style.

I take a moment and sit on the edge of the bed to call Amber. I had promised her I would call when I made it to town.

She picks up on the first ring. “Hey, Sammie. You made it okay? What time did you get there?”

“It was just after one.”

“One? That’s later than you figured.”

“Yeah, I had some car trouble.”

“Oh no. Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, we’re fine. It was raining, and I got a flat tire, so we were stuck on the side of the road.”

She laughs. “Did you actually change the tire?”

“Don’t laugh. I tried. The stupid lug nuts wouldn’t come off. I was pissed.” I try to say in a stern tone, but I end up laughing as well.

“I bet. So, what did you do?”

I debate telling her about Sergeant Prescott. She’s an author, and she’ll have a million questions, wanting to put it in a book. My luck, the guy who stops to help change the tire would be a serial killer.

After a moment of silence, Amber asks. “Sooo, what happened?”

I bite the bullet and tell her everything. “I was trying to change the tire, and this guy comes out of nowhere and scares the crap out of me. Turns out he’s a Sergeant. But he didn’t look like one. He was wearing dark jeans, a white long sleeve Henley with a black blazer and he was hot, like movie star hot. He changed the tire, and that was it.”

“What do you mean, that was it? Did you get his name or phone number or anything? What town does he work in? Ooh, what if he lives in Sunset Creek? Wouldn’t it be amazing?”

“You’re ridiculous. Just because you’re crazy in love and happily married doesn’t mean everyone you know has to be as well.”

“I just want you to be happy too, Sammie. You’ve had a crappy couple of years. You need to find a guy like Dylan. One who will worship the ground you walk on and treat you like gold. You deserve it.”

“Thanks girl, but I want to get Amelia settled in school and figure out what I’m going to do before I even think of dating.”

“You never know…” she sing-songs.

I laugh. “Love you, girl, but I need to get downstairs and make sure Amelia isn’t driving Vicki crazy yet.”

“Alright. I’ll let you go for now, but this isn’t over.” She chuckles.

“I’ll call you soon.” I laugh as I disconnect the call.

I head downstairs and smile when I enter the living room, seeing my favourite place in the house. The window seat with light beige and brown pillows compliment the pale cream walls and hardwood floors. I used to spend countless hours sitting there reading.

A chocolate brown ottoman coffee table sits in the center of the room surrounded by a light taupe couch, loveseat, and chair. The room is so warm and inviting, with its cream walls, hardwood floor, and matching pillows.

There’s a fire in the fireplace and the television mounted above it has a true crime documentary playing. I grab the remote and turn off the show. That is not something Amelia needs to see. I chuckle, thinking of all the times Vicki would call to talk about a new episode she just watched and couldn’t sleep because it freaked her out.

“You kept Gram’s dining room set?” I say, taking a seat on one of the oak chairs. I run my hands over the large oak table that comes with an inset so it can change from a six seater to an eight.

“I did. It is still in great condition. The only thing I added was cushions on the seats. The wood gets a little hard on the bum,” she laughs.

I smile and turn to look at Amelia, who is stuffing a bologna and cheese sandwich into her mouth. “Is that good?”

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