For now she sat in the middle of a mini war zone with Sam having entrenched herself in the back, determined not to like Ryan. She'd wanted to bring Ima and though Zoe had agreed, she'd had a gut feeling Ryan would not. So she'd instructed Sam to put Ima in the dog tote they'd bought for her until she became too big to be a lap pet, and Zoe had placed the covered bag in the back with Sam when Ryan wasn't looking. Sam had already learned how to keep the pig happy and relatively quiet and each bathroom trip Sam made, she took Ima with her so the pig could relieve herself somewhere besides the car or the carrier.
Unfortunately, taking along Ima hadn't appeased Sam. She'd spent their first hour on the road sulking in the back seat. Ryan had long since stopped trying to make conversation with her and after a short talk about the Red Sox and Yankees, in which Zoe discovered that being a Mets fan made her rise further in Ryan's estimation, they'd reverted to a silence that included Sam's prolonged sighs and groans.
For her part, Zoe tried not to stare at Ryan's handsome profile or reach out and touch his hand to reassure him that in time he would win Sam over.
"I have to pee," Sam said from behind them.
Ryan glanced in the rearview mirror. "I just stopped for you not fifteen minutes ago."
"Yeah, well, I have to pee again."
Zoe shook her head. Between Sam's language and rest stop commands, she was sorely testing Ryan's patience. Not even Ima, who'd already begun to train, needed to relieve herself that often.
"I'll make you a deal. You watch your mouth, especially when we hit Boston , and I'll stop as many times as you need without complaining." Despite his dark sunglasses, Zoe could tell he was watching in the mirror for a reaction from the teen.
Zoe turned toward the back seat in time to see Sam shrug, but she didn't volunteer a yes or no answer.
Although Zoe agreed that Sam needed to refine her choice of words, she couldn't help but fear that Ryan's demand had more ominous undertones, ones that had roots in his late sister's behavior and the reasons she'd run away from home. Zoe didn't want to see Ryan, the relaxed man she'd come to enjoy in New Jersey , revert to the stuffier man she'd first met. The one she'd seen again when his uncle had arrived.
"I'm waiting for an answer," Ryan said.
Zoe shivered and pushed up the air-conditioning vents so they pointed away from her, but the chill remained.
"I don't see that I have a choice but to follow your rules unless I want a flood back here," Sam muttered.
A muscle twitched in Ryan's cheek. "You just reminded me of my next condition. No more soda until we get there."
Sam started to stick out her tongue, then obviously thought better of it and whipped her head around to the side, glancing out the window. "Whatever you say, oh great one," Sam muttered.
Ryan raised an eyebrow Zoe's way. "Is she always this pleasant?"
Zoe couldn't help but stifle a chuckle. "I have to say she reserves her best behavior for you."
"I feel so privileged." Ryan grinned and they shared their first easy laugh of the day.
True to his word, he pulled off at the next rest stop and drove up to the entrance of a small mini-mart with bathrooms around the side.
Sam yanked on the handle, obviously intent on storming out of the car.
"Come right back," he called after her.
She saluted and marched out of the car, slamming the door behind her.
Zoe rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat. "I hope you don't think you've won this round."
"What does that mean?"
"Just that I expect Sam will stop ordering you to pull over now that you promised her that her demand for pit stops won't bother you."
He lowered his sunglasses. "And wasn't that the point?" he asked with all the confusion of a man unfamiliar with children.
His puzzled expression was endearing, showing her yet another side of this multifaceted man. She shook her head and laughed. "Ryan, you have a lot to learn when it comes to teens. I mean, just don't think she's letting up because you put one over on her or because she's found some sort of respect for you. You just took the fun out of her game. She'll find another way to torture you instead."
He turned in his seat. "Well I'll call it a draw, then."
She inclined her head, giving him this one. Heaven knew Sam would find enough ways to challenge him in the days ahead. But without the frequent pit stops now, Zoe knew they might not have another chance to talk alone.
"Ryan, something you just said bothers me," she stated bluntly. She bent one knee beneath her, accidentally brushing her leg against his thigh. She sucked in a deep breath and tried to focus.
He whipped off his eyeglasses, placing them in the empty cup holder, and his deep gaze bored into hers— so warm, so darn sexy, she thought she'd melt right then and there. She flipped the vents again so the cool air blew directly onto her skin.
"What's wrong?" he asked, sounding as if he truly cared.
She badly wanted to believe that he did. "We already talked about you not trying to mold Sam into some perfect child your family will accept."
He opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a hand, forestalling him. "I'm not suggesting her current language is appropriate or even acceptable. She needs discipline and I agree with how you're handling her."
"Thank you for that." He tipped his head to one side. "Then I don't see what the problem is."
She sighed. How to explain and not insult him at the same time? "The problem is you need to accept her for the free spirit she is. So does your family. Otherwise not only will they have learned nothing from your sister's running away and subsequent death, but you'll end up running Sam off, too."
Despite Sam's frequent over-the-top behavior, Zoe had seen firsthand the fun and joy he experienced watching her just be herself. That was the man Zoe enjoyed, too, and she didn't want to lose him when they reached Boston .
Her fingers twitched with the desire to reach out to him, her emotions warring with her mind. Her emotions won. She placed a hand over his warmer, more roughened one. "Am I making any sense to you?"
Ryan nodded. Her soft fingers wrapped around his hand and the heat shot straight through to his heart. This woman affected him. She made him want to please her in ways he'd never thought or cared about with any woman who'd come before. For that reason he was listening to her concerns and honestly trying to keep an open mind. But the truth was that coming home would mean a reversion of sorts and that included a stricter code of behavior. Especially if he was going to convince his parents to accept Sam, as they hadn't accepted their own daughter.