Yours Again (River City Series) (15 page)

The
wonderful aroma of the steaks still lingered in the air, and the dog wandered
in through the open door to sniff for more. Taos met his brothers’ shocked
expressions.

“What
was t-that?” Darren curled a protective hand around what was left of his steak,
as Taos’s eyes settled on the meat.

“A
trip to the woodshed.” Taos grumbled. Jimbo rubbed up against his leg and he
reached down and scratched the dog’s ears. “Got off kinda light, didn’t I boy?”
The mutt wagged his tail mindlessly and wandered out the back door.

Darren
and Charlie finished eating quickly and took off for a night in town.

Taos
went to his office and rummaged through the cabinets for a partial bottle of
whisky. At this rate he was going to have to start buying it by the case. He
poured a drink and propped his boots upon the desk. The chair squeaked in
protest.

He
should go up and apologize, not sit here and drink. It was never like him to
shy away from a confrontation. ’course it wasn’t like him to apologize either. He
would just go up, knock on the door and get it over with. He pictured tears glistening
in Samantha’s green eyes right before she slammed the door in his face. He tossed
down another shot. Nope, he couldn’t stand her rejection sober.

Taos
looked around the office. He hadn’t spent any time in here the past few weeks,
and it looked like a new place. Every surface had been cleared and polished to
a high shine. He pulled his feet off the desk and wiped away the dirt his boots
had left.

It
was the first time in a year he had even seen the top of the desk. Jake had
always kept everything neat and orderly when he was alive. Taos smiled. His Dad
would have liked the woman Samantha had become. The fiery liquid began its
numbing effect, and he tossed down another shot.

Thoughts
swirled through his mind as he watched the last orange glow of sunset fill the
room and cast shadows on the walls. He slowly pulled open the desk drawers one
by one. Everything seemed to have a place, not that he would be able to figure
out what she had put where. It seemed she had some kind of system: bills in one
drawer, blank paper in another, letters in another.
Letters.

He
sat up suddenly and rummaged through the desk drawers, looking for the letter. Had
she seen it? He’d left it on the desk, so she’d had to put it somewhere. Did he
seal the envelope? He stopped and tried to think through the fog in his mind.
No, he hadn’t had an envelope. Had she read it? He searched every drawer, then
searched them again. His heart pounded double-time.

He
went to the secretary and pulled open drawers and rummaged through them. Nothing.
He sat back down and breathed in a deep breath. Calm logic struggled to the
surface. It had to be here. If she’d read it, she would have said something.
Make that, yelled something. Maybe.

He
opened the first drawer in the large desk and methodically went through every
piece of paper, every note, every scrap. No letter.

He
pushed the what-ifs to the back of his mind and concentrated, opening and
searching each drawer in succession. He paused and wiped small beads of sweat
off his forehead. One drawer left. His fingers trembled a little as they
stretched toward the handle. If that letter wasn't in this drawer, this could
be a hole too deep to climb out of.

Chapter 16

Samantha
tossed aside the covers and swung her feet to the floor. The thought of Tommy
lying in bed hungry crowded out any possibility of sleep. She pushed her arms
through the long sleeves of her robe and opened the door. A little snack
wouldn’t hurt anything, and she might finally be able to relax.

Quiet
permeated the entire house as she crept down the stairs to the kitchen. The
last light of day splashed across the rug on the kitchen floor. The dishes had
been washed and everything put back in its place. At least they had cleaned up
after dinner. She poured a glass of milk and wrapped two large chocolate
cookies in a cloth.

Her
bare feet chilled as she walked back toward the stairs. She paused and looked
down the hall. The closed office door offered no clues, but she could feel his
presence as surely as if he had reached out and touched her. Hopefully he felt
as rotten as she did. Not only had he been overly harsh with Tommy, but he’d
destroyed the plans she’d spent the whole day dreaming up to clear the air
between them.

She
stared at the glass doorknob. This night could have turned out very differently.
She certainly wasn’t in the mood to talk to him about anything right now and
the letter only added to her uncertainty. It seemed like every serious
conversation they tried to have only intensified the jumble of emotions within
her. She didn’t know if she wanted to slide into the comfort and safety of his
arms or shoot him, and at this point it could go either way. She forced her
gaze ahead of her and started up the stairs. Distance could be a good thing.

Samantha
opened Tommy’s door quietly. A little sniffle greeted her in the darkness.

“Tommy?”
She whispered.

“Uh-huh?”

She
placed the goodies on the table next to the bed and lit the small lamp.

The
boy rubbed his red eyes and sat up. “Are those for me?”

She
nodded and sat on the edge of the bed. Tommy crunched into the treats, sending
a shower of crumbs onto the sheets.

Samantha
laughed. “Slow down there. I can go get you some more.”

He
took a swig of milk, leaving a white mustache across his top lip.

“Are
you okay?” She brushed his unruly bangs from his face as he nodded.

“It
wasn't too bad.” He munched another bite. “Didn’t know I had a sister, though.”

Samantha
stared. Taos had told him about the baby? “What about your sister?”

“Pa
said she died when she was little and that’s why he planted those special
roses.” He paused “If I'd a knowed that, I wouldn’t have picked ’em.”

“I’m
really glad you wanted to give me something. Thank you.”

Tommy
smiled. “Pa told me it was nice what I did for you and all, but I need ta ask
next time.”

“I
think that’s a good idea. Now maybe both of us will stay out of trouble for a
while.” Samantha paused, she hated to pump the boy for information, but
curiosity got the best of her. “What else did he say?”

“Pa
said my sister's name was same as yours.”

She
nodded.

“He
must like you a lot.”

That
comment caught her a little off guard and left her speechless for a minute. “Well,
maybe.”

Tommy
frowned and stared at the remainder of his cookie. “Are you gonna leave?” He
turned his big hopeful eyes on her. “I’ll do more nice stuff if you don’t
leave.”

“Why
would you think I would leave?”

“Nate
says my momma left cause she didn’t want us. Me or Pa neither one. I like you
lots, and I don’t want you to leave ’cause we wasn’t nice to you.”

Tears
stung the back of her eyes and she cleared her throat. “You don’t have to do
nice things to get me to stay.” She folded the covers over his chest as Tommy
settled down into the bed.

“I
know pa’s real sorry he threw your clothes out the window.”

She
leaned over and kissed his forehead.” Don’t you worry about that. No real harm
done.”

She
stood and turned down the light.

He
was asleep before she got to the door. Samantha stood in the hall and stared at
her bare feet. Tommy’s words tugged at her heart. She didn’t want to leave, no
matter if Taos had sent the letter or not. She didn’t care. The realization
came as a bit of a surprise, and it wasn’t just about Tommy. She was thoroughly
attached to this place, this man.

She
smiled to herself. Who was she kidding? She found Taos frustrating, irritating,
and irresistible. Even as angry as she had been seeing her clothes dance across
the countryside, it was kind of funny too. This might be the perfect time to
clear the air. Besides, he needed to know that Tommy was already hearing things
about his mother. Taos needed to talk to him.

Samantha
found herself standing in front of the office door in a matter of minutes. She
forced the doubt and fear to the back of her mind and rapped her knuckles on
the door. She peeked in. “Are you busy?”

Taos
slammed a drawer with a bang. Samantha flinched and raised both eyebrows at his
expression. He looked like a rabbit trapped in a snare. She recognized the
contents of several desk drawers scattered on the floor around him.

“Um,
yes. I mean no. Um, I mean, come in.”

Samantha
stood in front of the desk. He had obviously been looking for something.
The
letter
. This worked out perfectly. “Looking for something?”

He
shrugged and stared at her.

“A
letter, maybe?”

No
comment.

“A
letter to Boston, maybe?”

“You
saw it?”

“Yes.”
She paused, waiting for an explanation. The quiet pressed in on them as the
minutes ticked by, but she waited.

Finally,
Taos cleared his throat. “I just wanted to be sure someone didn’t send you here
for some other reason, that’s all.”

“You
didn’t send it. Why?”

He
hesitated. “It was right at first, and I didn’t know what to make of you
showing up here so suddenly, is all.”

She
weighed his answer in her mind. He seemed sincere, and really who could blame
him for being a little suspicious with her showing up unannounced like she had.

“Maybe
you should send another.” She took a deep breath. “If this is what it takes for
you to finally believe me.”

“I
don’t think that's necessary.” Juices rolled in his empty stomach as he watched
her slip around the side of the desk. The white robe covered her from neck to
ankles, but glowed with an almost angelic light in the growing darkness. Dry
cotton filled his mouth, and the air seemed suddenly thick and heavy, like the
calm before the first thunderclap. She leaned back on the desk and smiled at
him. To Taos she looked like ice cream on the hottest day of the year. Her
scent floated toward him, an enticing blend of rose petals and summer breeze.

His
eyes followed her every move. The robe molded to her graceful form as she
crossed her arms over her waist.

Ice
cream with curves.
Would she melt in his mouth? He closed his eyes for a
moment and tried to will his mind into self-control, but the mutiny was already
well underway.

“I
talked to Tommy. He said you told him about his sister.”

Taos
stared at her lips as she spoke. They drew him in, mesmerized his heart,
stirred his soul. He couldn’t seem to resist the urge to touch her. Their fight
this afternoon probably put any chance of that on hold for a while. He clasped
his hands to his knees to keep them away from her, but he couldn’t help staring.

“Taos?”

“Oh,
yeah. I thought it was time he knew.”

“Did
you say anything about his mother?”

He
shrugged. “Not really.”

“He’s
been hearing things in town.”

“Things?”

“He
said Nate told him that she left because she didn’t want you or Tommy.”

Taos
stared at her.

“You
might want to talk to him.”

“And
tell him what? That what he heard was the truth?”

Samantha
shrugged and turned to leave.

He
didn’t want her to go. “I’m sorry about your clothes.” He tried once again to
drag his gaze away, but couldn’t. “I’ll replace any that are ruined.”

Silence.
Her unreadable expression offered few clues.

“Anything
you want. Really.”

“Are
you alright?” She reached out and placed her hand on his forehead. “You’re
warm.”

If
he had been standing, her caress would have buckled his knees. The need to
touch her was so intense, he laid his hand over hers and silently begged for
one more minute of heaven. If he was just warm, then the sun was made of snow.

Samantha’s
eyes softened and her lips parted. He didn’t need any more of a hint. Taos
turned her hand over and pressed his lips to her palm. Her fingers cupped his
cheek and trailed down his jaw over his slight whiskers making a run for dawn. He
opened his mouth slightly and she leaned in, accepting the invitation.

Their
lips touched, then melded together. He tugged her waist gently and she slipped
onto his lap, the chair squeaking like a tattletale with a secret. Growing
darkness was the only indicator that the world still turned.

A
ripple of pleasure followed his fingertips as he traced the slim column of her
throat. His lips caressed and nipped at her earlobe.

Sudden
movement startled Taos as she swiveled and straddled his lap. His world moved
slowly, like a beautiful dream. This was one area he was glad not to control.
With most women it was a guessing game as to what they liked or didn’t like in
bed. But there was something about Samantha’s sexual advances that made him
feel wanted, needed.