Same Time Next Summer by Holly Jacobs

Author:Holly Jacobs
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2008-05-20T16:00:00+00:00

ON THE SHORT DRIVE TO the Burger Shack Stephan worked at entertaining Emma with tales of his and Carolyn’s childhood exploits. “…and then your mother decided to tell the kids in the front row to stop being so rude. Did I mention they were football players here in Port Clinton…high-school football players?”

Emma laughed, showing off her new gap-toothed grin. “No.”

“Well, they were. But your mother wanted to see the movie and wasn’t going to let them interrupt it, so she went up, tapped the biggest player—”

“I tapped the first one sitting in the end seat. It’s not like I went looking for the biggest player.”

Stephan ignored her interruption. “And she said, pretty as you please, in her under-five-feet way, ‘You are being a bore. All of you need to sit down and be quiet so the rest of us can enjoy the movie.’ Then without another look back, she stomped back to her seat.”

“I’m sure I didn’t stomp. Walked in a stately manner. Ambled even, but not stomped.”

Again he ignored Caro’s interruption. “I’m pretty sure bore was your mom’s word of the week. It means someone who’s not very bright and makes you feel bored. She didn’t have a word of the day until she was in high school,” he added for Emma’s benefit.

“What…happened?” Emma asked.

“Tell her I didn’t stomp,” Carolyn insisted.

“Oh, she stomped all right.” He glanced into the backseat at Emma. He couldn’t get over how much she’d improved in just a month since he’d last visited her in Cleveland.

“Uncle Stephan?”

“Oh, right, the story.” He tried to remember where they were. “Stomping. So, there your mom was stomping to her seat and I figured I was going to have to take on that whole football team singlehandedly, or at least take on the big guy who got up and followed your mother. But instead of picking a fight, he came up to your mom and simply said, ‘Sorry.’ Then went back to his buddies without even giving me an opportunity to defend your mom’s honor.”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake, Stephan.” Carolyn rolled her eyes in his general direction. “Emma, don’t listen to him. He’s embellishing. It means adding on things that didn’t happen.”

“Oh, it happened, Emma.” He turned to Carolyn. “And I’d have taken him, defending your honor.”

“He’d have pulverized you. Even then I was perfectly capable of defending my own honor, thank you very much,” Carolyn bristled.

“See, she’s still every bit as touchy as she was then.” He paused, and added, “or should I say, peevish? Wasn’t that one of your words for the week once?”

“Emma, now you see how it was when we were younger. Stephan has always done his best to aggravate me at every turn.”

“Or, you could use the word exasperate.”

He couldn’t help teasing. It had always been one of his favorite pastimes growing up, and he couldn’t imagine, even as their relationship was deepening, that his delight at picking at her would diminish. She looked so cute, all red-faced. He would have liked to pull the car over and kiss her right then and there, but with Emma in the backseat, he refrained.

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