Rocco straightened and looked up. “Nichole mentioned you’ve been up to see Beth every day since the accident.”
Sam stiffened slightly. “Yeah. What of it?” He didn’t mean to sound defensive, but realized he probably did.
“You like her?”
“Not going there for the ambiance,” Sam returned sarcastically.
Rocco grimaced. “Right.”
“Beth’s great,” Sam said, unsure where this discussion was leading. At this point he wasn’t sure what Rocco’s intentions were.
“You feel sorry for her?”
“Of course I do. The only relative she has in town is her aunt.”
“Ever met the aunt?”
“Yeah. Her name’s Sunshine; found out she’s an artist. From what Beth tells me, her work sells for big bucks. Never heard of her myself, so I went online; she’s good, real good. Guess no one would pay that much for one of her pieces if she wasn’t.”
“When did you meet the aunt?”
“Second time I was there. Beth’s coming along nicely now. The staff have her up and taking steps with a walker. Hard to believe they make her walk so soon after the surgery.” Sam was proud of her; it hadn’t been easy, and it was clear walking was more than a little uncomfortable for her.
Rocco nodded and looked down at his feet. “I have to tell you I’m worried.”
“You? About Beth?” Right away Sam wondered if Rocco knew something about Beth’s condition that he didn’t. Perhaps she’d hidden something from him regarding her injuries. It seemed her progress was slow, but then he was no medical expert and he wasn’t sure what to expect as normal. “She’s healing the way she should, isn’t she?”
“Far as I know.”
“Then what’s wrong? Is it something to do with her job? The school hired a substitute teacher to cover for her. Beth told me she can have her job back once she’s able to return to work.”
His friend refused to meet his gaze. “It’s not about her job and it isn’t about her family, either.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Sam wished his friend would get to his point instead of hedging. If there was a problem, then he wanted—no, he needed—to know what it was.
Rocco inhaled a deep breath and then blurted out: “I’m concerned you’re visiting Beth because you feel sorry for her.”
“I do feel bad for her. So what?” He had a whole plethora of feelings for Beth. He liked her a whole lot more than he ever expected he would. He loved watching her face light up like a Christmas tree the instant he walked in the door. A couple times he hesitated before coming into the room, anticipating that smile, wanting to hold on to it for a few extra seconds. Her smile did amazing things to his heart. Just seeing it made him happy, but he wasn’t telling Rocco that, or anyone else, for that matter.
“What about when she’s recovered and her life is back to normal?” Rocco asked.
Sam crossed his arms, disliking these questions. “What about it?”
“How are you going to feel about her then?” the other man asked, more to the point.
Sam shrugged. “How do I know? We aren’t there yet.”
Rocco’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was unsure how to respond.
This was getting a little too personal and Sam took exception. He wasn’t entirely sure what Rocco was trying to say and found himself getting irritated. Rocco might be his best friend, but he was crossing the line.
Rocco looked about as uncomfortable as Sam could ever remember.
“The thing is, Sam, this isn’t like you.”
“So?”
“So,” he said, raising his voice, “don’t lead her on, okay?”
“I’m not leading her on. The most I’ve done is kiss her forehead when she was asleep.”
“That’s just it, buddy. Beth is at a vulnerable point, and here you are, her white knight, bringing her roses and—”
“One rose,” he interrupted, bristling. “I brought her one frickin’ rose.”
“And it was red,” Rocco returned just as quickly.
“So it was red, big deal. It was the only color the gift shop had.” Now that he thought about it, maybe there’d been other colors. That rose just happened to be in the front of the case and the one he reached for.
“And now here you are paying her all this attention. Beth stuck in the hospital—”
“Rehab facility,” he corrected. “She was moved there this afternoon.”
“Whatever,” Rocco muttered. “You get my point. She’s a captive audience and I’m afraid once Beth doesn’t need you any longer you’ll conveniently forget about her.” Rocco exhaled slowly. “Trust me, I didn’t want to have this conversation. You’re as good a friend as I’ve ever had. I know you practically as well as I know myself.”
Rocco did know him, no argument there.
“You told Beth you don’t do relationships and I haven’t seen you in one since—”
“I get the point,” Sam said gruffly, cutting him off. He didn’t need any reminders of Trish and his last disastrous affair.
“I didn’t want to have this conversation, but I felt I had to even if it meant butting into your business. It’s your life and I feel like crap even mentioning it. Nichole thinks I should stay out of it and she’s probably right. From what you said, it sounds like this isn’t anything beyond friendship for you. I’m afraid it’s becoming more for Beth.”
“In other words, you’re suggesting I cool the visits?”
“That’s up to you. I said what I had to say, the rest is your call.”
“Got it.” Sam exhaled.
“We good?” Rocco asked, his gaze holding Sam’s.
He didn’t respond right away, thinking about what his friend had said.
“Listen, Sam, if I’ve offended you—”
Sam cut him off. “We’re good.”
Rocco left soon afterward and Sam was left deep in thought. He returned to the Cadillac with the electrical problem and stared at it for several minutes until one of the other mechanics came to ask him a question and broke him out of his trance.
When he sat down with his lunch, he took a seat outside away from the rest of his crew while he mulled over his conversation with Rocco. Hard as it was to admit, it was time he came to his senses. He didn’t know what the hell he was doing. Sam liked Beth; she was surprisingly good company. He did feel bad about her situation, but he was no superhero ready to leap in and save the day.
From what little Beth had told him, she’d downplayed her injuries to her parents and Sunshine was out of town. Reading between the lines, he suspected they had been suffocating her for most of her life. He wasn’t entirely sure what was going on between Beth and her parents, but what little she’d mentioned said a lot.
He reached for his phone and was about to send her a text. He typed it out, and then for reasons he couldn’t explain even to himself, he decided to phone instead.
“Sam?” Beth answered, and he could hear a smile in her voice, although it felt a bit anxious. “Is it your lunch break?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m glad you phoned.”
Sam exhaled slowly, feeling foolish. Rocco was right. The last thing he wanted or needed was emotional entanglements. “I thought I should let you know I’ve got something tonight and I won’t be by.”
A short pause and then, “Okay, sure.”
Now he was the one who was disappointed. While he’d never admit this to Rocco, he’d been looking forward to surprising Beth. He planned to bring her a thick vanilla malt from his favorite mom-and-pop stand in celebration of her release from the hospital.
“You understand, right?”
His words fell heavy between them and hung there for a long moment. Beth finally spoke.
“Of course,” she assured him. She didn’t sound quite like herself, though.
Sam feared there was something she wasn’t telling him. “Everything’s okay?”