“That isn’t what I meant, and you know it.”
He straightened away from the fence. “That’s the last loose board I could find. I don’t think Walter will be getting out again any time soon.”
“I’m thinking of finding Walter another home. I really don’t have time to give him the attention he needs, and neither does Mother. He was Kara’s dog, but she dumped him on us when she ran off with Pierce.”
“He’s a nice dog. Doesn’t seem like much trouble, except for his curiosity to explore—for which I’m grateful, by the way. If it hadn’t been for Walter, who knows how long I’d have lain in that ditch?”
“Okay, he’s a great dog. You want him?”
Sam chuckled. “I think I’d better pass. I don’t think my life would suit Walter.”
“Living on the road, you mean.”
He only shrugged again.
Serena was right on his heels as he carried the tools to the garage. “You’re already thinking about moving on?”
“You’re the one who said I should be making plans for the future.”
That wasn’t exactly what she’d had in mind. She tried to convince herself that she was reluctant to picture Sam walking away because she hated to see anyone with so much potential waste his life. It certainly wasn’t for her sake. Like Walter, Sam tended to clutter up her comfortably predictable routines. She didn’t have time for either of them.
“So, what do you do for fun on a Saturday night in Edstown?” Sam asked, wiping his hands on his jeans.
“Drive to a bigger town,” she answered dryly. “Little Rock’s only an hour and a half away. Most folks go there for excitement.”
“There’s nothing at all to do here?”
She deliberated. “There’s usually a Little League game at the ballpark. A group of guys gather at the pizza parlor to watch wrestling on the big-screen TV there. My mother and some of her friends get together every Saturday evening to play a dominoes game they call chicken scratch. Some teenagers park down by the lake to sneak beers and make out until Dan goes by to break it up and send them home.”
“Do you have any plans for this evening?”
“Actually, I have some paperwork to tackle.”
“That’s no fun. Why don’t you and I find something to do together? What’ll it be, wrestling at the pizza parlor or parking at the lake?”
His cheerfully irreverent question made her eyebrows rise. “I beg your pardon?”
“If it’s up to me, I’d choose the latter, of course,” he added. “Except for the part about Dan Meadows sending us home. He already considers me trouble waiting to happen.”
The image of her and Sam making out in a car like a couple of hormone-flooded teenagers should have been ridiculous. Instead, it ignited a heat inside her that was reflected in the warmth on her cheeks. “Don’t be silly.”
“Surely we can come up with something more interesting than you doing paperwork and me watching TV.”
Even though she knew he was teasing her—at least she thought he was—Serena suddenly gave in to a rare, mischievous impulse. “As a matter of fact, we can. Meet me at my car at seven. And bring an appetite.”
His smile turned quizzical. “That sounds interesting.”
“Don’t be late,” she added lightly, even as a part of her wondered what on earth she was doing.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Sam was chuckling when they separated. Serena was wondering if she had finally lost her mind.
As they’d agreed, Sam was waiting by Serena’s car at seven o’clock. His limited wardrobe didn’t provide many options, but he wore freshly washed jeans with his denim shirt. He assumed they weren’t going anywhere fancy, since Serena knew exactly what was in his closet.
He had his answer when she joined him wearing jeans and a thin red peasant-style blouse. Obviously a casual evening was in store for them. Though he was mildly curious, he didn’t really care what she had planned. The prospect of spending the evening with her was intriguing enough in itself.
Not that he was expecting anything other than a couple of hours of companionship and diversion, he assured himself. No matter how attractive he found this woman—and she did look fine in her jeans—she was still off-limits to him. At least until he knew for sure there was no significant barrier between them.