Free Prelude: Prequel to The Lewis Legacy Series by Joann Durgin Page B

she might have offended him.
    “No worries. You didn’t. Just making an observation.” Shifting onto his side, Sam faced her, supporting his weight on one elbow. The action seemed natural yet intimate. She liked how comfortable he apparently felt in her presence. The give-and-take. The teasing. The closeness. This was Sam, her friend. Not Sam the military man. Not Sam the vice president of Rockbridge Savings & Loan. Not Sam her regular customer at Perry’s Diner, although he always seemed more relaxed there.
    “The way I see it, it’s the people in your life that make it interesting, more fulfilling,” he said. “Your job and the joy you find in it also make a big difference. I know you love working at the diner, but you’ve yet to enjoy that satisfaction in a career you love. It’ll happen soon enough.”
    “I hope you’re right. Sometimes I feel like I’m stuck in a time warp. I mean, how have I changed since high school? I’ve been out of school for three years, but what do I really have to show for it?” Stealing a glimpse at her companion and meeting his eyes, Sarah marveled at their intensity before returning her focus to the creek.
    “Trust me, Sarah. You’ve changed quite a bit.”
    His statement sounded like a compliment. Or maybe she was imagining too much. “You think so? It was meant more as a rhetorical question, but now you’ve intrigued me. Name one way.”
    His lips upturned. “For one thing, you’re much taller now.”
    “Not really. I reached my full height at fifteen. Name another one.”
    He scrunched his features into a comical frown. “You’re not as much of a tomboy.”
    That observation made her laugh. “Stick around.”
    “Notice I said not as much of . Very important qualifier. Okay, here’s another way. You also seem more articulate.”
    She glanced at him in surprise. “No fair. Now you’re mocking me? You know that’s definitely not true. You witnessed my social gaffe with Kathy Parker in the diner. We shared a conversation about it, as I recall.”
    “Notice I said you’re more articulate.”
    “As opposed to falling-over-my-tongue tactless? You and your qualifiers. Where I come from, those comments could be considered backhanded compliments.” She blew out a sigh.
    “As a general rule, you’re agreeable and don’t let others provoke you to speak your mind.”
    Smirking, she tossed a small pebble at him.
    He caught it one-handed and winked. “Kathy Parker is enough to make anyone lose their cool.”
    “Tell me something. Do they also teach cadets how to wink at girls in the military or do you have some kind of weird twitch?”
    “A twitch. Nothing more. Except when I’m sitting beside a pretty girl. Then all bets are off.”
    She mock gasped. “You’re a betting man now? For shame.” He thinks I’m pretty? At the thought, a shiver of pleasure coursed through her, all the way down to her Spicy Plum painted toes.
    “Figure of speech. That’s all. And what’s with the misperceptions of the Air Force Academy? Our national security doesn’t depend on military officers knowing how to flirt.”
    Feeling silly, she giggled. “Sorry. Sam, do you remember that day when we first met?” Stretching her legs, Sarah dipped her feet into the water again. “I still can’t believe what I said to you. I went into semi-seclusion after that, you know.”
    “That explains why I didn’t see you around for a while. I figured your parents had you carted off to a private school.”
    “Watch it.” Grabbing another pebble, Sarah tossed it at him and then stretched out beside him.
    “Or else you were playing with your dog morning, noon and night.”
    “Well, that much would be true,” she said. “Here’s another confession, and I can’t believe I’m going to tell you.”
    “No one’s forcing you.” Humor laced Sam’s words. “You seem to like confessing things to me, so who am I to stop you?”
    She shrugged. “I don’t know why, but maybe the Holy