N. Walters - Strands of Love

Darian shook his head. “This is where you live. Home is where the people who love and care for you reside. Where are those people, Sam?”

His simple question cut her to her very core. All her family was dead and she was alone.

“Enough.” Jace’s harsh voice silenced them both. “Sam has made her choice.”

Darian spun around to face his brother. “Actually, you made the choice for her when you called the tapestry into existence. Sam never had the full time to make her decision. There is still time. Until the tapestry returns this is not over.”

Sam’s head pounded, she was hot and thirsty, and wanted to get home. She wasn’t up to getting between the two brothers if they started fighting. Home was only twenty minutes away and the sooner she got there, the better. She started walking again and assumed they’d follow her. For a few moments she heard nothing. Then she heard muttering and the crunch of boots hitting the dry grass.

First thing she had to do after she got a shower and changed was to go over to Tim’s place. He and Mary would be worried about her because she hadn’t shown up for dinner last night.

Her life had changed so much since yesterday morning. Not quite a day and a half, but her life would never be the same. She glanced over her shoulder. Darian was studying the surrounding area. She could have told him there was nothing to worry about, not here. The worst they could run into was a snake and they were most likely seeking out shade this time of day. Jace, on the other hand, was staring straight at her.

Angry pale-blue eyes met her darker-blue ones, but Jace said nothing. Sam swallowed hard and looked away. She might not have known them long, but both brothers meant a great deal to her and the thought of not seeing them again deeply hurt her. But the thought of them being trapped here, of them never seeing their mother or home again hurt her worse.

No, as much as she’d love for them to stay with her, she’d do everything in her power to make sure they got home.

Sam stopped and shaded her eyes when she saw movement in the distance. Just beyond the house there seemed to be a bunch of vehicles, including the sheriff’s truck. “Oh shit.”

Jace and Darian flanked her immediately, both with swords drawn.

“Put those down now.” She shoved Jace’s hand, but she might as well have been pushing against a concrete wall. It didn’t move and the sword remained in front of him, and after seeing him practice, Sam knew that Jace sure knew how to use the lethal weapon.

Sam tried again. “Those men have guns, weapons that can kill you from a distance.” She grabbed Jace’s arm and shook it, or at least tried to. “If they see you holding a four-foot sword they might shoot first and ask questions later. They don’t know you and will most likely assume you’re threatening me.”

She turned to Darian, hoping to reason with him and was relieved to see he’d already lowered his sword. “What do you want us to do?”

Sam released a sigh of relief. “We need to hide your weapons.” Both men looked at her as if she’d lost her mind, but she pushed onward. “No, listen to me. We can come back for them later, but you need to hide them for now. Just until I can get rid of the sheriff.”

Jace slowly lowered his blade. “Who is this sheriff?”

“The law. Because I was missing, Tim probably called him.” She motioned to the vehicles in the distance. “They’re probably getting ready to search for me, thinking something happened.”

Sam grabbed a rock and tried to dig a swallow hole, but the ground was hard and dry. She tossed the rock aside. “Just put them here, we can pile some hay over them. Lose the armbands too.”

She heard a shout in the distance. “Hurry.”

Darian and Jace shared a look and slowly unbuckled their swords and placed them carefully on the ground. They quickly tossed their arm- and wristbands beside them. Sam hurriedly threw some dried grasses over everything all the while praying no one would get nosy enough to find them.

She straightened and wiped her hands against her leather pants. Damn, Tim was bound to notice she wasn’t wearing her usual jeans and T-shirt. Well, it couldn’t be helped. She’d figure out how much to tell him once she got rid of the sheriff and the others.

“We’ll say you’re old buddies of John’s. That you stopped by on your way through Texas to visit.” She knew she was babbling, but they were running out of time to get their stories straight. “We spent last night swapping stories about my brother and lost track of time. Okay?”

Jace narrowed his eyes, but nodded. “This is your world. We will trust you.” He glanced toward the men striding across the field. “But we will protect you if the need arises.”

Sam threw her hands into the air and stalked off. She didn’t want to be anywhere near the hidden swords when she met with Sheriff Pritchard. Tim broke away from the group and hurried toward her.

“Sam.” Tim called her name and she wanted to run to him and feel his strong arms around her. He and Mary were all the family she had left. But she forced herself to walk, trying to appear as normal as possible.

“Hey, Tim. What’s all the commotion?”

Tim grabbed her by the arm and thrust her behind him, leveling the rifle he carried at Jace and Darian. “Where the hell have you been and who the hell are these guys?”

Not a good sign when Tim started swearing. Sam swiped a lock of hair off her forehead. “This is Jace and Darian Hunter. They served with John.” Sam carefully pushed the barrel of Tim’s rifle down until it was facing the ground.

Before Tim could respond, the sheriff and the rest of the group joined them. Her two nearest neighbors were there, along with two deputies and, unfortunately, George Rawlins.

“Told you she wasn’t hurt, Tim.” Sheriff Pritchard holstered his gun as he eyed Jace and Darian’s bare chests. Sam didn’t like the smirk on the sheriff’s face and knew what he was thinking. “In fact, looks to me like she was enjoying herself.” The sheriff chuckled at his own joke, but stopped when both Darian and Jace glared at him.

Sam hurried to stand between the Hunter brothers, praying they wouldn’t do something stupid and land themselves in jail. “This is Sheriff Pritchard.” She turned to the sheriff. “I was just telling Tim that this is Jace and Darian Hunter and they served with John. They were passing through Texas and stopped to pay their respects. We were up late last night talking and I wanted to show them the farm before they left.”

“You weren’t answering your phone,” Tim accused.

“I dropped it out in the field and it smashed on a rock. I need to replace it.” She clamped her mouth shut before she started babbling and said too much. She never talked this much, was usually closed-mouthed about her business. The sheriff was nodding, but Tim was staring at her as though she’d grown two heads.

George stepped forward and reached for her, but she took a step back and brought up solid against Jace’s chest. Jace’s large hands dropped on her shoulders. She wasn’t sure if it was to comfort her or simply to keep her there. Beside them, Darian shifted slightly, bringing him into a better defensive position. Both men were ready to fight if necessary. She couldn’t allow that to happen.

George stopped in his tracks and his eyes narrowed. “Who did you say these men were again?”

Sam had had enough. “That’s none of your damn business, George. I’m a grown woman and can invite whoever I want to stay at my farm.” George’s face grew red, but she ignored him and turned back to the sheriff and her neighbors. “I’m really sorry you were worried and I appreciate you coming out here, but I’m fine.”