Jesse's Brother (6 page)

She carried a blanket with one arm and held his hand on the other side.

“Where do you want to sit?” He motioned to the sandy river bank with his free hand.

“In an hour, this place will be packed.” She started walking toward the trail that disappeared into the woods. “I know somewhere better.” They passed several clearings but she didn’t stop at any of them.

All of these spots got crowded quickly and she wanted as much privacy as she could get. Finally, they walked around the bend in the trail.

There it was. It was the spot her father had brought her to as a child and she’d hung out at as a teenager with her friends. Some day she wanted to bring her own children there to swim and play.

Noah waited as she spread out the blanket. When she was finished, he put his arms around her waist while his lips found the curve of her neck, making her relax against him. She loved the way he kissed her. Since they had only shared a few, each one was a new adventure.

After pulling away from his embrace, she slid her tank top up over her head and tossed it on the sand next to the blanket. She could feel Noah’s eyes focused on the cleavage peeking out of her bikini top as she slid her jean shorts over her thighs. The shorts dropped to the sand by her feet. She ran past him and jumped into the water.

Since it was early summer, the water was still cold. A few rocks studded the bottom of the river floor but it was mostly soft sand beneath her bare feet.

They spent the morning swimming, chasing each other, and wrapping their bodies around each other. Floating along with the waves, they flirted, splashed each other and acted like teenagers in love.

They stopped for a delightful lunch once the sun was directly over the river. Each of them tore into the food as if they hadn’t eaten in a week.

“That was delicious,” he said as he threw the napkin and paper plate into the picnic basket.

“Thank you.” She threw hers in as well. “I’m so glad we came here today.”

“It has been a perfect day.” He gently kissed her lips. “We should do this again soon.”

Samantha rose from the sand and walked back to the water. She sat down on the water’s edge, her lower half barely in the water.

Noah stood up from the blanket to follow her over. They were quiet for a few minutes, watching the boats pass.

Letting his hand rest on her thigh, he leaned over to kiss her again. The passion ignited in Samantha as his tongue played against hers. She leaned back on the sand, letting his weight shift onto her. When he pulled away, he played with a strand of her hair as he stared into her eyes. His hand moved down her shoulder and then to her breasts. Her fingers caressed his bare skin, adding fuel to her desire.

A boat went down the river, sending gentle waves over them. Neither broke away. Their hands wandered all over each other. She loved the way his bare muscles rippled under her touch. His shaft throbbed against her leg when he arched his back to let out a soft moan. The temptation to reach down to his erection was hard to resist.

Her eyes drifted shut to imprint this perfection into her memories. Not one of his kisses, touches, or moments should be forgotten. This euphoric phase they were in should be lingered over and not rushed, even though she was tempted. He kissed her neck as she leaned back against the sand, her breaths urgent gasps.

Noah continued to kiss Samantha’s neck, making trails from her swollen lips down her chest and back up again. His hands slid over her barely-covered breasts and the insides of her thighs.

They drank each other in. Neither cared who went by, they wouldn’t…couldn’t let go of each other.

They lay in the warm sand together until the sun started going down. She pulled away from Noah with silent contentment, even though she didn’t want to. She could lie in the heaven of his arms forever. But that wasn’t possible because of the tea with her mother.

Chapter 9

“I got one!” Samantha shouted, running past the house waving the envelope in the air. It should be a happy occasion but instead, anger filled her heart like an over-filled balloon.

Once she reached the side of the house, Noah dropped his shovel and walked toward her. “What did you get?”

“She sent me one! How could she do that?” She flung the invitation at Noah. “Now I have to go.”

He opened the envelope and read the elegant script. “At least you don’t have to go alone,” he said while reading. “You may bring a date. I, of course, would be honored to escort you to this unpleasant event in your life.”

“On such short notice?”

“I need to cancel all my other dates for that afternoon,” he said laughing.

She sighed and playfully punched him in the shoulder.

Samantha took the invitation from his outstretched hand and put it back in the envelope. Jackie was going to marry Wiley Day. She’d have to sit in the church while they pledged their love for each other, then witness their first kiss as man and wife. She kissed Noah, then waved and tramped across the yard back to the house.

She needed to be alone to digest what had happened. She retreated to the safety of her bedroom. The tears were ready to fall and she didn’t want her mother to see. She didn’t want to show weakness to her at all and wasn’t ready for Noah to see her pain. She needed to release the hurt in privacy.

“Jackie and Wiley… married,” she whispered once her bedroom door was shut firmly behind her.

Samantha flopped onto her bed and held the envelope in her hands. She didn’t bother to look at the invitation; those technicalities would matter later. Tears began to flow down her cheeks. Memories of the engaged couple flashed in her mind.

Samantha and Jackie had been sixteen when Samantha first started dating Wiley. Jackie had been the one with a crush on the high school’s football star.

The girls were sitting at the table in the cafeteria finishing lunch when Wiley sauntered over. Jackie had thought he’d be asking her out for sure, since the whole school knew of her crush.

“Hey, Sammy, could we talk a minute?” Wiley had asked.

She’d always found Wiley to be somewhat attractive but not as handsome as everyone seemed to think. The one thing he had going for him was that he was nice to everyone, so she’d gotten up from the table and went along. She shrugged her shoulders and followed him to a deserted corner of the cafeteria.

“What would you like to talk about, Wiley?” She put her hands in her jean short pockets and looked up at him.

“Wanna go with me to see a movie tonight?”

Shocked, she darted her eyes over to her best friend. She could care less if she dated Wiley Day. What mattered to her was Jackie’s feelings. “But Jackie likes you.”

He frowned and looked down at her. “I like you, Sammy, but I understand if you won’t because of your friend.”

“Just a minute.” She walked back to the table. Jackie’s feelings had meant more than a date to Samantha. But Jackie didn’t say no. Jackie had cried out with excitement, “At least one of us gets him!”

Jackie never showed any jealous feelings and seemed to welcome the addition to the twosome. The three of them became inseparable best friends.

Samantha knew in her heart she wanted to leave Alban, to go off on her own and get away from her mother. Getting accepted into the highly ranked West Coast University was a surprise. She’d held onto the letter of acceptance, not sharing it with anyone. She was scared to reveal she had gotten in to the college.

A month later, she finally made the announcement.

“Please don’t go,” Wiley whispered in her ear the night she revealed the glorious news.

She said she would think about it, even though she was already deciding on what to pack.

The goodbyes had been just as hard. Samantha had stood beside her overstuffed car with her best friends. Wiley had wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tight as if he never wanted to let her go.

“Please write to me every day,” Wiley had said as he pushed back the tears.

“I’ll write to you both as often as I can. I love you guys.” And she did. At that time, she really had loved them with her whole heart. Her heart had broken in her chest as she left her two favorite people behind. She needed to do it. She had to spread her wings and fly without the help of her friends or the dictates of her mother.

When Samantha had returned to the farm, Jackie had been busy and Wiley was nowhere to be found. One thing about small towns was that rumors spread like dandelion seeds in the spring wind. It was the first thing Samantha had heard as soon as she stepped foot in Alban city limits.

Wiley had spent large amounts of his time with Jackie. That was expected, since they were such good friends. What concerned the newly independent Samantha was the rumor that Wiley was cheating on her. She had seen them together, but didn’t feel a confrontation was necessary.
She cut the visit short and it was the last time she had seen Jackie or kissed Wiley. It was a goodbye kiss that lasted forever. As soon as she arrived back at school, Samantha severed the ties.

Chapter 10

Damn it! So much for his self control when he was with Samantha. Noah had always taken pride in the amount of willpower he possessed. He’d given in to temptation in the past. When he had sex with a woman, he made sure he was wearing a condom. If he chose to drink alcohol, he didn’t drive until he was sober. He never dated someone in an inconvenient time in his life and had never fallen in love. Until now.

It was Wednesday, a few days after their picnic at the river. He had needed some space to sort things out. The feelings and attraction were still there, even stronger now, but he was trying. Every time he glanced up at the house, Samantha was staring down at him. His heart pounded in his chest like a steel drum.

Over the past three days, he’d seen her around the farm. She would be walking, the wind blowing her curls gently in the wind. She had started wearing her hair down more often, which drove him crazy. Because of that, he had to constantly fight the urge to slide his fingers through those beautiful curls. No matter what he was doing at the time he saw her, he wanted to stop so he could rush to her and scoop her up in his arms. It took all his strength to resist her. He forced himself to work while she waved and blew him a kiss.

He wished she would find something away from the ranch to do. Then, when his wish came true, not knowing where she was drove him crazy. He actually missed her.

One thing was certain. Noah Combs was falling in love.

* * * *

Samantha rose early in the morning. She scrambled out of bed, showered, and was seated at the table for breakfast within half an hour. It was time to spill the beans to her mom. Dad must have already gone to do his morning farm chores, leaving her alone with Mom.