Life intruded in such an way that this chapter too far to long to write and I apologize. Since last I wrote, I've traveled nearly 3500 miles and moved house. Even my partner wondered if I'd ever get it done. However, In a very odd way, my life has been paralleling Ginny's. My life turned upside down and two sweet mischievous little pups to deal with on a daily basis. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Lots of twists and turns.
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Sam sat eating her dinner under an awning watching the sun set. She had just finished her salad when she heard someone come up beside her.
"Would you mind if I sat with you?" he asked.
Sam looked up to see the man who had rescued her hat from the wind. He was nice looking, and about her age. There was also something familiar about him that she just couldn't put her finger on.
"No, not at all. Please join me," she said. "I'm Sam."
"Lewis. Nice to meet you," he said.
"Thank you again for rescuing my hat this afternoon. Have to admit though that the damned bandana means more to me than the hat," she said.
"Oh?" asked Lewis as the waiter brought him a dinner salad.
"It belonged to a dear friend of mine who passed a few months ago," Sam said.
"I understand," said Lewis.
"Bloody hell! The old man must have been nearly 120!"
he thought. "A lover?"
"No, just a very dear man who was rather misunderstood," said Sam.
"How was he misunderstood if you don't mind me asking," said Lewis.
"Well, I need to explain a few things first," said Sam between bites of seafood pasta. "I run a B&B up in the mountains. One afternoon, this older gentleman showed up asking if he could have a long term agreement with me for a room. We talked and I agreed. You see, I think he expected he would die rather soon. He spent most his time up in the mountains and only came home late in the evenings," said Sam.
"Okay, so what happened that changed things?" asked Lewis. He'd ordered his meal and the waiter had motioned that he'd be right back. He was listening very closely to what Sam was and wasn't saying.
"Well, for one, he didn't die. By then, I was use to his comings and goings and so I just continued to let him rent the ground floor room. Wasn't like anyone was using it," Sam explained. She had this feeling that she knew the man sitting across from her, but couldn't shake it or explain it.
"That was nice of you," said Lewis. "So this man became a friend and then what?"
"Well, I had a couple visiting and she fell and broke her nose and twisted her ankle. While she was convalescing, they got to know the old man who would sit with her when her mate... um husband couldn't," said Sam.
"Shit!"
"That was nice of the old man. Why didn't the couple just go home?" he asked.
"And she just slipped up and now is frustrated with herself. Hmmm..."
he thought.
"Well, their house was being worked on and there really wasn't anywhere to go," said Sam.
"And after this couple did go home? What happened then?" Lewis asked. He poured Sam another glass of wine from the carafe on the table.
"Please don't stop talking!"
"Well, he began to decline very rapidly and he died in my arms. The paramedics got all upset because I wouldn't let them haul the old man off to the hospital. They made a real stink of things. The young couple who'd become friends came up to help me with all the details. They had really liked the old man. When we went through his stuff we discovered that he was a relative of the woman," said Sam.
"Now that is extraordinary!" said Lewis.
"I have cousins?!"
he thought.
"Yes it was. It was a little rough after he died, what with the paramedics making such a fuss. The young couple and another couple who are friends of theirs helped me run the B&B. In fact, the second couple have gone in as partners with me," said Sam.
"Now that is some turn of events. Are you comfortable having two near strangers running your business?" asked Lewis.
"Well, I was a bit nervous at first. However, the two of them have been of such help and I don't mind a bit," said Sam.
"And that's the absolute truth even though I didn't realize it fully until just now. Funny that. And why on earth do I feel like I know this man?"
she thought.
"And you're so comfortable, that you've gone on this grand vacation?" he asked.
"Yes. I haven't been away from the B&B in thirty-seven years. Angie and George are very good at handling the B&B. Figured it was time I saw a bit of the world," said Sam. "Now, I've done all the talking, tell me a bit about yourself."
"Well. um... I'm a businessman from Canada. Logging, paper products and such. And I have to admit something. I feel a bit of a bastard. Um... Oh hell. You'll either believe me or you won't," he said. "I haven't been totally truthful."
"Lewis, what's going on? What do you mean I'll believe you or I won't?" asked Sam trying to figure out if he was a nutcase or if she was in danger.
"I... oh hell. Pardon my language, but the last thing I expected out here in the middle of the Pacific was to pick up a hat with that scent on it," he said.
"Here's hoping she knew what Buster really was,"
he thought with trepidation.
Sam looked at Lewis and blinked. "Scent?"
"Your hat. That bandana. Buster wore that bandana didn't he?" Lewis asked feeling totally exposed and ready for her to scream any second. He really didn't know of a better way to try and explain things without revealing too much. He just wasn't good at this sort of thing.
"Buster? You know it was Buster's?" Sam asked going pale under her newly acquired tan.
"Yes. How could I not know my great grandfather's scent?" Lewis said quietly hoping that her question meant that she did know what Buster was and wouldn't scream.
Sam just sat there dumbfounded. Then she took a better look at Lewis. She realized why he looked familiar. He looked like Buster in those photos. She also wasn't sure which one of them was more scared. "Lewis, if you hadn't used the name Buster, I would have thought you some kind of scam artist. However, not once this evening have I mentioned his name or nickname," she said.
"No, you didn't. You were very careful to not say his name," said Lewis.
