A warning voice echoed in her head, reminding her he wasn't a social worker and he was a threat to Sam's place in Zoe's well-loved family. But the truth didn't change the desire churning inside her or the need he inspired.
She'd never let her emotions take over common sense, but then she'd never met a man like Ryan.
"Zoe! Come hang with me and Ryan."
Sam's voice snapped her out of her musings and she approached warily, completely aware of the one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn Sam's attitude toward Ryan Baldwin seemed to have taken.
"What have you and Ryan been talking about?" Zoe asked. And just when had Mr. Baldwin, the social worker with the stick up his butt, become just plain Ryan? Zoe wondered.
He dug the shovel into the dirt and leaned on the handle, his entire look and attitude providing a more rugged, outdoorsy appearance than she would have associated with him after their first meeting.
"We're discussing the finer points of raising pigs." He rubbed his sweaty hands on his khakis, leaving a trail of dirt behind.
Zoe wondered what his Boston relatives would think if they saw him now, but with Sam around she couldn't ask. She could however remark on the unusual nature of his task. "What's going on?" She pointed to the patch of dirt where grass used to be.
"It's a place for Ima to root," Sam explained. "The books Ryan brought me said that if we give Ima a place of her own to dig and play in, we'll cut down on her doing it in inappropriate places."
Zoe's gaze flew to Ryan. "You bought her books?"
"And magazines," Sam added.
"I see." Zoe nodded slowly.
"I showed up at her birthday party empty-handed. It was the least I could do." He shrugged as if the gesture meant nothing.
Zoe knew that for him, the gift was a huge offering. Symbolic of something Sam couldn't begin to understand or comprehend. Zoe wondered if she should question his sincerity, but then decided it was a petty thought, unworthy of her.
"So I read a few pages and now we're giving Ima a place of her own." Sam grinned and gestured to the patch of dirt Ryan had created.
Zoe glanced down. "In the yard."
"Yep."
"Where Elena's daffodils bloom in the spring." She leaned closer to inspect his handiwork. "Interesting choice," she said, looking into Ryan's stunned eyes.
"Sam said that was an empty spot." He blanched. "She said that nobody would care if I dug here. In fact, young lady, you begged for me to dig in this very place." He raised his voice at Sam, obviously caught himself, then moderated his tone. "You said it would be fine."
Sam flung her arms in the air, typical teenager style. "Hey I didn't know, okay?"
The muscle in his jaw that ticked when he was agitated started up again. "Then maybe you should have asked for permission first."
"Hey— "
"Is for horses," Zoe said in an attempt to diffuse the situation.
Not that Ryan would know, but Sam wouldn't put up with yelling or discipline from a stranger. In her mind, an adult had to earn the right to reprimand her by first proving they cared. The Costas family had already been down that road. Sam had tested them, retested them and now finally believed she belonged. If they punished her, she understood it was because they loved her, not because they were worried the state would take away their monthly foster stipend.
Zoe placed a hand on his arm. She'd meant her touch to calm him, but it had the opposite effect, at least on her. His skin was hot from a combination of the sun's rays and his body heat. Heat she wanted desperately to share in the most intimate way possible, and those butterflies came to life in her stomach once more.
But she couldn't just ignore everything going on around her. "It's okay," she reassured him. "We can replant the daffodil bulbs in the fall and the flowers will bloom again next year. They'll look just as pretty over there." She pointed to a spot a few feet away.
Ryan still looked like he was about to be sick and Zoe was certain the reasons had to run deeper than the fact that he'd messed up Elena's flower garden.
Zoe glanced at Sam. "Honey, why don't you go check on Ima? Take her leash and walk her. She needs to get used to training."
"Cool! I'm gonna take her to meet old Mrs. Morton next door."
Zoe laughed. "Okay, just avoid the spa area, okay? I don't think the clients would appreciate seeing a pig during their visit."
"Okay." Sam started for the house, then turned and ran back to Zoe, throwing her arms around her neck. "This was the best birthday ever."
Zoe's heart melted a bit more and she hugged Sam tightly. Sometimes, despite that Sam was fourteen and nearly as tall as Zoe, her hugs and touches seemed younger, somehow. Sweeter. A lump rose in Zoe's throat as it did each time Sam felt comfortable enough to express her emotions.
As the young girl blossomed, Zoe came to understand just how much she valued her family and why. As a child she hadn't realized how lucky she was to have parents who loved unconditionally and she'd assumed all families were the same way. Sam's background showed just how untrue Zoe's adolescent assumptions had been. Through Sam, Zoe appreciated her clan even more.
Before Zoe could find her voice and reply, Sam continued speaking. "It's been even better than the few I remember with my mom." Her hand shifted to the necklace at her throat.
In six years, Sam's memories of her mother were faded. Because the necklace was the last link Sam had to her mother, she never took it off. Only recently had Sam admitted she'd been with her mother when she'd died from a gunshot meant for the man who'd been her father, a drug dealer Sam never asked about and refused to see. No matter how bad her own choices had been, obviously Sam's mother had done something right in raising her daughter.
Sam fingered the old-looking keys that hung from a silver chain. "Does saying that make me a bad person?" she asked softly.
Zoe shook her head. "No, honey. Just an honest one."
Sam seemed satisfied with that and stepped back, transferring her gaze to Ryan. "You're pretty cool, too, Ryan. Thanks for the books and stuff."
"You're welcome," he said gruffly.
Zoe didn't know which had affected him more, Sam's comments about her mother or the compliment she'd just directed at him.
With a wave, Sam took off for the house, leaving Zoe and Ryan alone.
She didn't know where to begin with him, so she started with the first shock of the afternoon. "You weren't supposed to be here until noon ."
"I finished up early at the bookstore. I couldn't see the point in driving around in circles for an hour when I could just come by here." His gaze locked with hers. "I didn't tell her anything."