Catching Sam: Book 2 of 5: The MacDonald Brothers by Emily Matthews (free novels .TXT) 📕

I suppose you’ll find out eventually. You should know anyway, before we get too chummy. It may influence your decision to hang out with me,” she said with a sigh.

“That sounds ominous.”

“Hm. Well, here’s the Reader’s Digest version. I mentioned I was divorced. Wayne is my ex-husband. We got married right after college. He was the only person I’d ever dated or, quite frankly, the only one who ever showed any interest in me. I settled, thinking he was the best, and perhaps only, chance I had at getting married and having a family. He was nice enough at first, but not too long into our marriage, he became controlling and demanding. He forbade me from seeing my family after getting tired of them asking for our money.” She made air quotes on the word our. “He didn’t work much,” she explained.

“That sucks.”

“Then, after he lost his job and couldn’t find work for several months, he started losing his cool more and more.”

“Did he ever hurt you?” he asked, struggling to keep his temper in check. This guy sounded like a real asshole.

“Me? No. But he’s in prison because he got into a bar fight and accidentally killed a man. He’s doing three years for involuntary manslaughter.” She looked up, presumably to gauge his reaction. When he didn’t jump and run, she continued. “Anyway, he’s the reason I hadn’t talked to my family for so long. For once, I was grateful for his controlling ways. It gave me the excuse I needed to break ties with them.”

“I’m sorry,” he said simply.

“Why are you sorry?”

“That you’ve had to deal with all that. That you can’t rely on your family. That your ex is a douche. That so many people seem to take advantage of you. You don’t deserve any of that.” He pulled her into a hug and held her. He thought he felt a tear or two land on his arm, but she pulled it together quickly.

“Well, I do have my grandpops. He’d do anything for me. He’s in a nursing home back in Hayward. I moved him there to be taken care of because I didn’t trust my family to do it properly, and he didn’t want to come to Washington with me. I do miss him.”

She shook her head and perked up. “But enough doom and gloom, I’ve come a long way, baby.” She smiled. “Moving up here is a new beginning for me. I left all that shit in California and won’t be going back anytime soon. Enough about my dysfunctional family life. What’s your family like? I bet they’re great.” She stayed curled up in his arms and laid her head on his shoulder.

“I hate to gloat, but yeah, they’re awesome. I have four brothers. You sort of met one at the bar last week. He’s a bit of a player, but harmless. He came out here to stay with me several years ago and never left.” He laughed. “He’s a state trooper and lives on a little farm not too far from here.”

“A trooper? That’s exciting.”

“Definitely. He has a lot of crazy stories. I’m actually the only one in my family who didn’t go in to some sort of emergency service career. My brother Johnny is an ER doc, Alex is a firefighter, and Mitch, the youngest, is a police officer. Those three brothers and my mother all still live in New York City. That’s where I grew up.”

“I can tell. Your accent comes out every once in a while.”

“Yeah, I get harassed about that. It seems to come and go depending on what I’m doing and who I’m with. Whenever I watch the Knicks, it comes out pretty strong.”

“Are you close with your family, even though they’re so far away?”

“I’d say so. I get out there as often as I can. Mitch is getting married this summer, so I’ll definitely be there for that. It was a little weird to hear the news that the youngest was going first, but I’m completely overjoyed for him,” he said with a grin. “He’s had a rough go the last few years, and meeting Maggie really helped him.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s the one who’s a police officer. About three years ago, he and his partner responded to a bank robbery, and Jimmy was shot and killed. They’d been partners for several years, and Jimmy was more like a father or a brother to Mitch. It messed him up.”

“That’s so sad.”

“Yeah, Mitch didn’t take it very well. Spent two years in a funk. It took Maggie and a new, supportive partner to help him out of it.”

“You’ve met her then?”

“Oh, yeah. She’s great. They’re getting married at Maggie’s grandpa’s place in the Hamptons.”

“The Hamptons? Wow, they must be rich.” Annie was still curled up next to him, and he was absent-mindedly running his hands through her hair.

“Yes, she comes from money. Good thing Mitch made some money off my company so she doesn’t think he’s a gold digger.” He laughed. She didn’t.

He knew exactly what she was thinking. If their relationship continued and anyone found out about it, that was what everyone would say about her. Luckily, she seemed too tired to make the argument right now.

Her eyes were half-closed, and her head got heavy on his shoulder. Sam shut up and continued to stroke her hair until she nodded off. Not long later, she woke with a start and apologized.

“Don’t,” he said. “I’m the one who barged in here uninvited. You’ve been working hard all day and need some rest. I’m going to head home so you can sleep.”

She may have wanted to object, but he was right, and she knew it.

“Okay,” she agreed. “I probably could use a good night’s sleep before the workweek starts. I’ll walk you out.” She got up slowly and held his hand while walking to the door.

“Thanks for the plant,” she said.

“Thanks for the pizza,” he replied. He bent and kissed her on the lips.

“Hey, you didn’t ask permission for that,”