N. Walters - Strands of Love

“And how did the whole tapestry thing come about?” She was doing her best to understand their world, but it was very different from hers in this fundamental way.

“A sorceress.” Darian continued, edging closer to her as the path narrowed. “No one knows where she came from, but when a family decided to try to claim her, she fought back with her magic. The tale came out about our problem and she created the tapestry. Once a generation, sometimes twice, it appears, bringing a woman from another time and place to Javara.”

Sam swallowed hard. “So there are women living here now who come from my world?” That was a lot to wrap her head around.

“Yes.” Jace stopped and faced her, the sunlight and shadows falling across his face like stripes, giving him an even more fierce appearance. “Christina Garen, Jane Bakra, Kathryn Garen, Roxanne Craddock and Audrey Dannon.”

“Umm.” Sam was boggled by the idea of five other women being plucked out of their lives and brought here. Then something Darian said earlier struck her. “I thought you said the tapestry came once, maybe twice in a generation?”

Jace raked his hand impatiently through his hair. “That is how it has always been. But something has changed.”

“Kathryn is actually a descendant of the original sorceress,” Darian added. “Maybe that has caused the change.”

Jace whirled around and continued walking, his long, muscular legs eating up the ground in front of him. Sam hurried to keep up. “Are they the only women who came or did some return to their own world?”

Darian’s hand tightened around hers making her wince. He immediately released her. Her fingers felt chilled after his warmth. “They all stayed,” he whispered.

Great, just great. So she’d be the only one who went home. Maybe the other women had lives that sucked. Hers wasn’t so bad. She missed the heat of Texas, walking on land that belonged to her and her family. It wasn’t wrong for her to want to return to everything that was familiar.

The forest ended abruptly and she stepped into a meadow of wildflowers. The ground looked like an intricately woven carpet, alive with vibrant color. Red, yellow, orange, purple and blue circled and swirled as far as the eye could see.

“Wow, this is incredible.” She’d never seen anything quite so lovely. The mountains loomed high in the distance and the sky was clear and blue. There was no sign of pollution, no noise from jets or planes of any kind. The only sounds were those that came from the gentle lap of the water on the shoreline and the animals that lived around the lake. A bird sang its song as it flew by and Sam caught a glimpse of yellow wings before it disappeared into a tree.

“Come.” Jace stood on the edge of the shoreline, hand extended.

She walked to him, loving how the soft leather boots made little sound. It seemed a shame to step on the flowers, but there was no place to walk where she wouldn’t step on some of them. Their perfume teased her nose and made her smile.

Jace’s hard hand closed around hers and he motioned to the lake with the other. “This is all Hunter land. It goes up into the mountain.”

She could hear the pride in his voice. It reminded her of her father and the way he’d always spoken about Calloway land. “It’s beautiful.”

“And bountiful.” Darian came up on her other side and took her free hand. “The mountains are filled with rare plants that are used for medicinal and culinary purposes. We harvest them for use and trade.”

She peered up at the tall, unforgiving mountain. “That can’t be easy.”

“It is if you know the mountain’s secrets, which we do. Only those from Hunter Keep, and then only a precious few, know the way.”

“We might not have as much wealth as some, but we are rebuilding.” Jace’s voice was as harsh as his expression. Sam could see pain and determination on his face.

“You’ve got the land. That’s more important than wealth.” She knew that better than anyone. It was the same philosophy her father and grandfather had held. If a person had land they could make their way in the world somehow.

Jace turned to her, his frown deepening. “You understand this.” He placed his hand over her heart, which quickly picked up its pace when he touched her. “You know it here.”

She nodded. “I do.” She gazed up at the majestic mountain, which was obviously a huge part of life at Hunter Keep. “I know what it means to have land and a family legacy.” She had to make them understand that her leaving wasn’t due to them. She liked them, much more than she should, considering how little time she’d known them. But they were admirable men, strong men, men a woman could trust.

“My family has been on our land for several generations now.”

“Where are your men?” Jace demanded. “Your father, your brothers?”

Pain lanced through her and she pulled away from them both, moving closer to the edge of the pond. “My brother was killed in a war.” She wasn’t about to go into the politics that led to his being overseas in a foreign country. They were warriors. They understood battle.

A gentle hand cupped her shoulder. Darian. “I am sorry for your loss.”

Sam nodded and swallowed hard. She missed John so much, his big grin, the way he always teased her when they were kids. He’d been the best older brother a girl could have.

“Your father and mother?” Jace prompted.

“My father died of a heart attack six months after we got word about my brother.” She could still remember the heat of the day and the smell of death.

Darian’s arms came around her, offering her solace. “What of your mother?” he asked.

Sam sighed. “She’s gone too. Cancer.”

“Is that an illness of some kind?” Jace asked, reminding her they weren’t from the same world.

“Yes.”

“So you are all alone now?” Jace continued. He took a step closer, boxing her in between the two of them. Darian was behind her and Jace in front of her.

“Yes, but I still have the land. And I owe it to my father and brother to hold the land they loved so much.” Her heart ached for how much she’d lost. How could she lose the land, her last link to her entire family?

She simply couldn’t.

“You will go back?” There was no longer any doubt in Jace’s mind that Sam would return to her world.

“I have to.” There was a wealth of pain in her voice. Jace felt it in his heart. The worst part was that he understood her, even admired her commitment to her family and their land. It was exactly how he felt about Hunter Keep so how could he fault her for it? He couldn’t. But that didn’t keep him from wishing she could somehow transfer that intense love and commitment to him, his brother and their people.

Sam was a woman worth fighting for.

And the battle wasn’t over yet. She was still here and they had two more days before the tapestry returned her to her world.

Jace was more determined than ever to convince Sam to stay. He glanced at Darian and got a slight nod from his brother. Reaching out, he cupped Sam’s face, wanting to erase the sadness he saw there.

“You are here now.” Jace leaned down and kissed Sam. She stiffened at the first contact, but quickly softened, parting her lips slightly as she returned the kiss. Jace ran his tongue along the seam of her mouth before slipping inside to tease, to stroke, to entice.

Her arms came up to twine around his neck and he groaned in satisfaction. He angled his head, wanting to get deeper, to taste every inch of her. How would he live without her when she was gone? She’d given them both a taste of heaven and would take it with her when she returned to her world.