Savage Love by Jodi Woody

guess I’ll see you later.”
         “Yep, grilling and fireworks!”
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 8
    Fireworks
         Later that day they all spent a relaxing evening around the pool. The air was still warm and they ate and swam until everyone was tired. Just before dusk Bryce, Seanna and Leal brought out the fireworks. There were boxes and boxes of them. Leal put the kids in charge of reading through all the instructions and hauled them all over to the area that Leal had mowed down. Samantha and Trisha moved chairs and snacks to the viewing area and last of all Leal helped Daffyd to get comfortable in one of the lounge chairs. Trisha fetched a warm blanket for Daffyd for the evenings tended to get chilly. Bryce and Seanna had a grand time planning out which fireworks to start with and which ones to save for the grand finale. Leal drug a garden hose out, just in case, and they all watched as the two youngest lit some small ‘snakes’ and ‘poppers’.
         Soon the sun was setting. Daffyd, Trisha and Samantha got comfortable and allowed Leal to supervise the show. Bryce was quite the gentleman and allowed Seanna to light the first one. Soon they were oohing and aahing over the beautiful colors and different shapes and sounds.  Even though Daffyd was tired beyond belief he didn’t want to miss a thing. The air was finally cooling. Trisha had run for some more drinks earlier and had thought to grab herself a light sweater. The three firework handlers were staying warm with all the excitement and moving around, and Daffyd was snuggled into his blanket. Daffyd noticed that Samantha was chaffing her arms and curling up in her chair trying to stay warm.
         “If you are cold, you could scoot your chair over. There is room for both of us under the blanket,” Daffyd invited.
         Samantha pushed her lounge chair right up against Daffyd’s and he handed her one side of the blanket. In short time they were both covered with their perspective halves. She was much warmer and was able to enjoy the night without shivering. Conversation was limited with all the noise and the flashing of the fireworks, but Samantha was enjoying the night, especially the closeness of sitting next to Daffyd. Why is it I feel more intimate with Daffyd under this warm blanket, than all the years I shared a bed with Richard? We aren’t even touching. Samantha spent a few minutes analyzing her feelings. She wasn’t attracted to Daffyd. She definitely was not looking for romance. So why the comfortable feeling of intimate companionship? Was she that starved for affection that just sitting next to a man felt so good? A cancer ridden, exhausted man at that? She finally decided it didn’t matter why, she was going to enjoy her evening!
         Daffyd on the other hand knew exactly why he was enjoying Samantha snuggled in on the other side of his blanket. From the moment she came into the movie room the first night, he had been intrigued by her. She was so much different than the women he ran into in his line of work. She was simple and honest and totally refreshing to be around. He knew they would have to leave soon, but he was determined to enjoy their company for as long as he could. As the fireworks continued, Daffyd’s mind was running at full speed, despite his tired body. When all was done and the grand finally had played out its last spark, Leal and Bryce had to practically carry Daffyd back to the house and put him in bed. That left the three girls to clean up. Many hands make quick work, and by the time the garbage was picked up, the guys returned to help shift the chairs back to pool side. It wasn’t until Samantha was tucked in bed that she realized she hadn’t even asked about her car.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 9
    The Confession
         After such a long evening, Daffyd slept late the next morning. Samantha and Seanna had done a quick load