Chapter 3

Three

Sam

Living so near the ocean had so many perks that it took a lot to get Sam down. Back home, when she had lived in the Midwest, she had been so stressed with her job that a rainy day could sabotage her week. Here, in Love Beach, kicking back on her screened-in patio, coffee mug in hand, Sam could watch it rain all day.

When she had come outside earlier, she tucked a book under her arm, but she had yet to open it. Instead, she had curled up on her favorite lounge chair and simply watched the rain fall. The light tap of the drops on the roof soothed her. Why hadn't she made this move sooner? She had loved teaching once upon a time, but the shine on her career had tarnished over the years.

She missed the kids—well, some of them.

Sam sipped from her mug and licked her lips. The first students she had taught were nearing their 30s by now. That blew her mind. She had taken her first position when she was twenty-one, not too much older than her eighth-graders. It had taken her a while to find her voice, her confidence, when facing a room full of young teenagers, but once she had, things had been good for a long time.

And then they just weren't.

Kids in general had changed. Sam got tired of the attitude, the sarcasm and entitlement. Parents coming in to talk to her to ram the same down her throat, rather than wanting to work with her to bring their kids' grades up and prepare them for high school. Parents who wanted her to ignore their kids' academic struggles because they wanted their kids on the athletic teams.

Parents—dads—who had acted inappropriately. None ever got handsy, but there had been dads who flirted with her. Married dads as well as divorced dads. Sam shut it down any time it started. Some of the dads brushed it off as if their comments weren't innuendo. Some got pissy about her lack of interest and challenged her for the rest of the year.

Still, she had talked to a few of her students since she moved here. Two of the girls in her class the last year of teaching had sent her a cute card. Sam wasn't thrilled that any of them knew her address, but with the internet, there wasn't really a way around that. Some of the students from her first year of teaching had friended her on social media. She didn't mind that. Some of them had kids of their own now, and she loved the pictures and stories they shared.

The rain let up a bit as she neared the bottom of her coffee mug. She reached for her phone, wondering what Mia was up to, and dialed before she could change her mind.

"Hey."

"Busy?"

"Getting ready for work," her sister told her. "Some of us work real jobs."

Sam laughed softly. "Some of us work nights," she reminded Mia.

"Drinking wine and reading books."

" Selling wine and books."

"What's up?" Mia asked.

"What're you doing?"

"Literally getting ready for work. Putting mascara on right now."

Sam glanced at her phone screen. Seven o'clock here meant it was six where Mia was.

"What time do you go in?"

"Gotta clock in at seven."

"You could move down here."

"I have a job."

"Love Beach has banks."

Mia snorted. "What would I do with Mom?"

"Bring her with you."

"Right." Mia groaned. "She's seeing someone now."

Sam blinked at the bottom of her mug. "What?"

"You heard me."

"Mom's seeing someone?"

"See? Every word."

"Who? What? When did that happen? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I just heard about it last night."

"Who is he?"

"Some dude named Hal."

Sam's parents divorced when she was nineteen and Mia was fifteen. Their mother had dated a bit not long after the divorce, but as far as Sam knew, it had been years since she had talked to a man other than the plumber or the mailman.

"He's not a plumber, is he?"

"What? No. He's a retired firefighter."

"Oh." Sam hummed and nodded. "Nice. Have you seen him?"

"Mmm." Mia's laugh was throaty, a little bit sexy. "Not with her. But yeah, I know who he is."

"Hot?"

"Gross." Mai cleared her throat. "Yes."

"Damn." Sam dropped her head back to rest on her chair and closed her eyes. "Mom's got a boyfriend, and neither of us do."

"Speak for yourself."

"You're seeing someone?"

"No, but I've been talking to a guy."

"Another guy from the dating app?"

"No, I work with his brother. Seems like an okay guy."

Sam heard Mia moving around and assumed she was leaving her bathroom. From the clicking of her heels, she figured she was heading down the hall to her kitchen.

"I gotta go."

Sam sighed. "When are you gonna come and see me?"

"I was just there last month."

"Yeah?" Sam shrugged. "That was a month ago. Come back and hang out with me."

"Why don't you get on a dating app? There's a new one you could try. It's called Flirt."

Sam's laugh was loud and harsh.

"Yep, I'm such a flirt."

"You used to be," Mia reminded her. "Remember Craig?—"

"Nope!" Sam cut her off, still laughing. "Nope. Not doing that. Call me later this week."

"Love you."

"Love you." Mia ended the call, leaving Sam alone and listening to the gentle rain. She didn't mind it. The news that her mom was seeing someone surprised her, but she loved it. Her mom was too young to be alone. Her parents' marriage had been a disaster for a long time before they finally divorced. Sam wanted her mom to be happy. She hoped Mia found love someday, too. Mia wanted the happily-ever-after, the grand love affair, the McMansion and house full of kids. As Mia's big sister, Sam wanted that for her, too.

But she liked her solitude here in Love Beach. Which wasn't to say she didn't love time spent with Vivian, whether it was during working hours or not, nor was it to say she didn't love it when her mom and or sister came to visit her here. But she was happy just like this. On her own.