Only You (Stevens Book 12)

Chapter 5

Two months later.

Once Sam hit the bridge, he rolled down the windows to his truck and let the fresh fall air sweep away the day's stress. He completed multiple surgeries and saw too many patients to count, but now his workday was complete, and he was ready for a workout, a beer, maybe some Chinese food, and some mindless television.

It was Halloween season, and Sam enjoyed looking at all the yard decorations as he wound his way through the streets on the backside of the little island where he lived. It was a drive that always calmed him. The sunlight was dappled as it snuck through the oak trees covered in moss. The road he drove down was like a tunnel of moss, which never failed to enchant him and make him feel like he was entering another world.

Sam looked in his review mirror and noted an old jeep behind him that had been there since he left the hospital. It wasn't that weird. It was a somewhat small town, and it wasn't an odd occurrence for someone to stay with him for most of his drive. Still, he had seen the Jeep on and off over the past year, and what had happened to Mave made him more paranoid that he was being followed than before. However, if it was a person who lived in his neighborhood, it wasn't unusual. As he pushed the button to open the gate to his drive, he watched the Jeep to ensure it kept going, which it did, so he quickly dismissed his worry.

He noticed a large truck he didn't recognize in his drive. It was older and had Texas plates, so instantly, the Stevens family popped into his head. It wouldn't be odd for his mother to give them the code to the gate, but he couldn't think of why one of them would be visiting him unless it was Mave.

Sam's heart stopped as he cut his engine in the circular drive and looked for someone on the porch.

He loved his house. He had purchased it from the parents of a family friend, Ben Emerson, when they downsized and moved into town to be closer to Ben and his wife, Lia. It sat on the intercoastal waterway, with a dock and a large sloping lawn that made its way down to the water. There were plenty of large oak trees covered in moss that swayed in the breeze to give the property an old-world atmosphere. What he loved most about the house was the large wrap-around porch that sat ten feet off ground level and massive windows that would catch the breeze on a day like today and move it through the house.

Sam closed his truck door gently as he threw his dress coat over his arm. Then, taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart, he climbed the steps to the porch. When he reached the top step, he noticed Mave asleep on the porch swing, and he paused, taking in her thin appearance.

She looked so peaceful that he didn't want to disturb her, so he sat in a chair beside her and allowed himself to watch her. Mave must have sensed him because it didn't take long for her eyes to open and focus on him.

Sam reached out and traced her scar, allowing his finger to trail along her jaw, tilting her head up so he could place a long, gentle kiss on her lips.

"It took you long enough," he whispered and pulled her into his lap as she began to sob. He would patiently wait for as long as it took for the tears to subside. He knew this was just the beginning of the healing process and that there would be many more tears.

*******

Mave curled up into Sam and cried. She had quit the meds a few weeks earlier, and her emotions were all over the place. She had been living with her parents for the last two months and couldn't take it anymore. They were always hovering and wanting to do the simplest thing for her as if she were a child again.

It had been so upsetting that she had left, telling them she needed time away from them because they were smothering her. They seemed almost relieved at her outburst.