N. Walters - Strands of Love

Sam pushed her way between the two Hunter brothers and faced George. “Don’t come back. You’re not welcome here. I’ll sell to anyone else in the world before I’ll sell my land to you.”

“No one around here will buy it if the time comes. I’ll see to that.” George grabbed the door and slammed it shut. “You’re lucky I’m not pressing charges against him.” George jerked his thumb toward Jace.

“You do that, George, and I’ll tell everyone in town you slept with me so you could cheat me on the price of my land. Then we’ll see who loses.”

Sam hadn’t told a soul, not even Tim, what had happened with George. As far as anyone else knew, she’d sold off some land and pocketed what it was worth. She hadn’t kept silent to protect George’s reputation, but to keep herself from appearing foolish. Maybe she should have spoken out, but she’d been too raw, too hurt at the time. By the time she was over it so much time had passed there hadn’t seemed to be any point in making a big deal over it. But she would if it meant protecting Jace.

George’s face darkened with anger, but he started his truck and drove away. She’d seen the last of him, for now. But he’d be back. She could count on that as easily as she could count on the hot, dry Texas summer.

“Well, that wasn’t pleasant. Sorry about that.” She barely had the words out of her mouth when Jace grabbed her by the shoulders and lightly shook her.

“You are going to lose your land? Your home?”

Jace’s concern was a soothing balm against the harshness of George’s nastiness. Sam shrugged. “Maybe. But that’s my problem, not yours.”

Jace frowned, his eyes narrowing, his jaw tightening. He dropped his hands and stalked off toward the barn. Beside her, Darian sighed. “He worries about you. We both do.”

Darian took her hand in his and pulled her until she was resting against his chest. “I know you say you must stay, but that doesn’t lessen what I feel for you, what we feel for you.”

Sam breathed in the fresh scent of soap Darian had used in his morning shower. Both men had been fascinated by the shower, each of them spending almost a half hour there. Thankfully, neither of them seemed to care when the water went cold on them.

Sam gave a rueful laugh. “Right now I’m thinking Jace finds me more of a nuisance than anything.”

Darian sighed again and this time it ruffled the top of her hair. “Don’t let his outward appearance fool you.” He pulled away and led her toward the porch. “Let me tell you a story.” He sat in one of the Adirondack chairs and pulled her down onto his lap.

The air was still and warm and thick, but it was slightly cooler beneath the shade of the porch. Bees hummed as they flitted from one sunflower to another that grew along the edge of the porch rail.

Sam stared out over the land. For as far as her eyes could see belonged to her family, to her. It was dry, harsh land, but it was theirs and they’d managed to hack a living from it even during hard times. She wouldn’t be the one to throw in the towel and give up. She couldn’t. Not without tainting everything her family had sacrificed their lives for.

Darian’s big palm cupped the back of her head and eased it down onto his shoulder. “Our father was a good man, but not a wise one. He and his brothers squandered the wealth of our home, what our forefathers had built up. There were hard winters, hungry winters for our people.”

And for him and his brother too. Sam knew without him saying that neither brother would have a full belly if there were others in need. It pained her to think of them as two little boys, cold and hungry.

“What about your mother?” She hadn’t spent much time with Edwina, but the woman seemed very kind and compassionate.

“She did what she could when we were boys. I remember going with her when she visited the homes of Hunter Keep bringing grain and whatever vegetables she could scrounge. She started hiding part of the harvest from my father and uncle, storing it in a cave at the base of the mountain.”

“Wise woman, your mother.”

“She is.” Darian paused and Sam felt his lips brush the top of her head. “We grew older and started taking more of an active role in the running of the keep, but our father’s word was law and there was only so much we could do. The stables grew thin as he sold off the best of the stock, the sheep herd grew smaller and smaller. It was hard on all of us, but especially Jace. The land and the people are his to protect, his very soul, his reason for being.”

“I know.” And she did. It was one of the reasons she respected him so much.

“It was as much a blessing as a curse when our father and uncles were killed in a freak landslide. We all mourned deeply, but we now had the power to change our lives. Jace threw himself into rebuilding our home. I’ve never seen my brother let anything get in the way of his plans for Hunter Keep. We’ve come a long way, but still have a ways to go. A strong woman by his side would be a great help to him, to us.”

Sam stilled. “Are you trying to convince me I should be with Jace?” Honestly, she still had a hard time wrapping her brain around this whole idea of sharing herself with two men.

Darian flashed her a mischievous smile. “With him, with me. It’s one and the same. We make our own rules behind closed doors. The children will have one father, but we will both care for them.”

Children. The thought of two little boys with blond hair and blue eyes left her breathless. She’d always wanted a family, but had put those dreams on hold when her brother died and her parents fell into a depression, bad health and eventually died.

“For the first time in our lives, there is something more important to Jace than the land and the people under our care.”

“What?” Sam couldn’t imagine Jace not being focused on Hunter Keep. There was no doubting his love of the land, his family and all those who lived there.

“You, Sam.” Darian tipped his arm so she was looking up at him. “He cares deeply for you. That is why he is acting so aloof. He is trying to protect himself from the hurt he will experience when we return home without you.”

Sam swallowed the thick lump in her throat. What could she say? She cared deeply for both men, but enough to give up her home, her legacy, and live in an unfamiliar land? That was too much for them to ask of her. Wasn’t it?

“What about you?” she blurted out. “Why aren’t you hiding your feelings?”

Darian kissed her gently on the lips. His mouth lingered on hers until she sighed with pleasure and kissed him back.

“Ah, Sam. Because I still have hope that things can work out for all of us. I want you to come home with us. We can offer you a land to replace what you’ll be losing, people who will grow to care for you, a mother who will treat you as her own daughter, and two men who will love you and put you before all others.”

Slightly breathless, Sam stared up at Darian, not quite believing what he was offering. She’d believed a handsome man once before and where had that gotten her—cheated and alone. If she went with them to Javara and it didn’t work out, there was no going back. She’d be stuck there for the rest of her life.

Darian stood and let her body slide down his. “Think about it, Sam. And I will think about staying here if you refuse to return with us.”

“What?” To say she was dumbstruck was like saying a twister was a slight breeze. It went far beyond dumbstruck into total disbelief. “You can’t stay here. Your life, your family is in Javara.”

Darian cupped her face, his eyes filled with emotion. “But you are here, Sam, and you are my heart. What man can live without his heart?”