Free Twist of Fate by Barbara Witek Page B

since he was by the door, he decided to answer.
    “Hackett Construction.”
    There was silence.
    Sam kicked the trailer door shut to drown out the noise of a passing forklift. He pressed the receiver to his ear. “Hello?”
    The line went dead.
    Sam clicked the phone a couple times to see if he’d really lost the connection. Whoever it was would call back if they needed something. He took a look at his watch. He had some reinforcements at the north end of the site to look over. The inspector would be here in fifteen minutes. Sam stared oddly at the phone on the desk before heading out the door.
    Unless the call had nothing to do with business.
    ***
    Sam missed the camaraderie with his crew like he’d had yesterday. He knew he had a great bunch of guys working for him. They’d witnessed first-hand the hell he’d lived through during his rollercoaster relationship with Robin. He’d been miserable and overbearing to each of them, not treating them fairly at all. After all the crap he’d pulled, he was surprised they’d even stuck around. Hell, he hadn’t meant to be such as ass in the first place. Things kind of escalated on their own once--
    No. He wasn’t going to go there. Robin was out of the picture. As far as Sam was concerned, he never wanted to lay eyes on that woman again.
    “Hey...where’ve you been?” Kate’s voice startled him from where he sat in the chair. Her hand rested on his shoulder, and every nerve ending in his body quivered.
    She had no idea what she did to him. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have perched herself on the arm of the leather recliner and slid her hand across to his other shoulder the way she did. She gazed down at him looking all fresh, bright-eyed, and smelling like bacon. He was coming undone.
    “What were you thinking about just now?”
    That should have been an innocent enough question. His heartbeat thundered in his head like horses running the Kentucky Derby, but he didn’t speak. He couldn’t.
    “Must have been good, whatever it was.” She gave his shoulder a playful squeeze. “Wanna let me in on it?”
    Could she possibly know? No matter, there was only one woman on his mind right now. He had all he could do not to pull her onto his lap, kiss those full, smiling lips and make her remember the passion they once shared. He needed to get his mind away from that idea or he’d be taking another cold shower.
    “Nothing for you to worry about.” Sam forced a smile as he stood with his nose in the air. “Mmm, something smells good. Breakfast must be ready.” He hurried past her, hoping like hell feeding his face would remove the troubling thoughts of his past.
    Their meal was quiet, and he could see her studying him from across the table. There was something on her mind, he was sure of it. Shifting in his seat, he watched her clean up the dishes. She poured them both another cup of coffee and then cleared her throat. He lifted a brow over the rim of his cup as he took a sip and watched her sit back down.
    “Something’s bothering me.” Kate placed both hands around her mug.
    “I figured. Have the headaches come back?”
    “No, no. Nothing medical.” Taking a sip, she set the cup on the table. “It’s something here at the house.”
    “The house?” He took another drink, hoping she didn’t see the slight shake of the cup.
    “There’s a bedroom upstairs, and the door is locked.”
    Sam gulped hard to keep the coffee from spewing between his lips. How could he have forgotten that room? He’d locked the door that horrible day and never looked back. The sting of Robin taking his son away was still so fresh in his mind.
    “Hmm.” He twisted his neck, trying to crack the tension.
    “I’m sure there’s a logical explanation why we’ve locked it, but of course I can’t remember.” She tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
    “It’s only storage.” He tried to sound nonchalant while reaching for another piece of bacon.
    “Storage? Then why lock it?”
    “Uh,