She whirled in his arms and shoved against his chest until he backed up a step. Like his brother, Jace was naked except for his leather pants, which hung low on his hips. His hair fell around his shoulders with the familiar skinny braids on either side. A lot of men would have looked awkward or even feminine wearing two braids in their hair. Not Jace. If anything it accentuated the sheer masculinity of his face.
“He can’t stay. I already told him that.” Why wouldn’t either of them listen to her?
Jace frowned. “You do not wish him to stay?”
“What is wrong with you?” She drilled her index finger against his chest. “He’s your brother. Don’t you want him to come home with you?”
Sadness suffused his face. “I want one of us to be happy.”
The implication that he didn’t want to leave her almost sent her to her knees. This situation was getting worse by the second. Sam spun away and walked to the edge of the porch.
She stared out over the familiar landscape, not really seeing it.
“Sam.” She ignored Darian and continued to stare at the sky. For the first time, she noticed the clouds building on the horizon. Rain. It would be a godsend to all the farmers in the area. A healthy crop would allow her to pay off her existing loan and maybe even give her some breathing space to try some of her experimental crops. If not, she could put that off for yet another year. But the farm would survive. She would survive.
Why wasn’t she happier about that? It was what she wanted.
Dust flew in the distance. “What now?” she muttered. She hadn’t even had a cup of coffee yet.
The familiar truck came into view. She should have known Tim wouldn’t stay away today. She turned and found both Darian and Jace watching her intently. “We’ll talk about this later.”
Jace’s features hardened while Darian’s filled with sadness. “There is no later, Sam. Today is the day.”
But it hadn’t happened yet. The tapestry hadn’t appeared. Maybe it wouldn’t, and all this worry would be for nothing. Of course, if it didn’t come, she’d be worried about their mother and the people of Hunter Keep.
Sam hurried down the steps to greet Tim, needing a familiar face, one from her past, from her world. “Morning, Tim.”
He swept her into his arms, hugging her tight. As she always did, she returned his embrace and soaked in his caring, his love.
Tim released her and brushed a stray lock of hair off her forehead. “You okay, little girl?” His gaze shot to the two men standing on her porch. “Everything okay?”
“Oh, Tim. What am I going to do?”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and turned her toward the house. “Whatever you want to. It’s your choice, Sam.”
Her choice. The words struck her hard. In her entire life, had she ever done anything that was her choice? She’d worked the farm because it was expected. She loved it too, but there was never talk of her doing anything else. She’d worked harder when her brother had been killed. She’d taken care of her mother after her father died. And then she’d taken care of the farm after her mother passed. Sam had spent her entire life simply reacting to the situation at hand and doing whatever needed to be done.
She was tough and resilient. A survivor.
But wasn’t life supposed to be about more than simply survival? What did she want? Now that was a loaded question. “I need coffee.” Avoiding the question for now, she pushed past all the men and went into the kitchen.
The men came in behind her and she heard the sound of chairs scraping over the scarred wooden floor and knew they were sitting at the table watching her.
Making coffee was a familiar task and it only took her seconds to have a pot brewing. “What brings you out here this morning, Tim?” Oh, she knew why he was here, but she needed to break the awkward silence.
“I came to check on you.” Tim was nothing if not blunt. “And to see what these two young fellers were doing.”
“I am staying,” Darian announced. He sat across from her, massive arms crossed over his chest, almost daring her to disagree with him.
“You can’t.” The words felt as though they were strangling her even as she said them. The denial was automatic, but really, Darian could stay. It was his choice. He was being proactive, deciding what he wanted. Unlike her, who always seemed to be reacting to whatever situation arose.
Jace leaned against the wall, getting tenser by the second. Sam turned back to the counter and poured coffee for her and Tim. Neither brother liked the bitter brew and preferred to drink water or juice. She handed Tim his coffee before she went to the refrigerator and got the orange juice. She pulled two glasses out of the cupboard and filled them. Her hands were shaking slightly as she gave Darian, and then Jace, the juice.
Silence surrounded them again and she couldn’t take it anymore. “I’m going for a walk.”
Jace straightened. “The tapestry.”
“If it comes the same time it did when it brought you here, it shouldn’t return for a few hours yet.” She softened her tone slightly. “I need some time alone, time to think.” Sam turned to Tim. “Are you staying?”
“Yeah, I’ll be here when you get back.” He stood and ruffled the top of her hair. “Go and do your thinking.”
Sam took her mug of coffee with her and left the kitchen and the men behind her.
Jace watched her walk down the porch stairs and across the yard, the ache in his gut growing with each step she took. Every moment with her was special and he resented losing even one of them. But he understood her need to think. There was a lot at stake.
He glanced at Darian and met his brother’s even gaze. He swallowed hard, shoving the emotion down. He would lose both Sam and his brother today.
“So you’re staying?” Tim’s question gave both brothers something to focus on other than Sam’s slender figure retreating in the distance.
“I am,” Darian acknowledged.
“But you’re not?” Tim asked him.
“I cannot.” Jace had to force the words out of his mouth. He loved his home, his mother and his people, but a man should never have to choose between his heart and his honor. Losing Sam was like losing his heart, but he owed his people everything he could give them. They depended on him. They needed him.
Sam would have Darian. They would be fine together.
Sam sipped her coffee as she walked and when the mug was empty she longed for more. There wasn’t enough coffee in the world to help her make this decision.
Why was she staying here?
Because it was home. It was familiar. It was her family’s legacy.
But what did she want?
Now that was the big question. She wanted a family. She wanted to be loved and needed. She wanted children.
She could have all of that with Jace and Darian. All she had to do was leave behind everything she knew, everything that was familiar. She’d have none of the modern conveniences. Not that she needed much. She didn’t need fancy clothes or jewelry or computers.
What did she want to do with her life?
What she’d always done—farm. She loved to grow things. She loved the horses and animals, the sense of satisfaction with planting something and seeing it through to harvest.
Why was she staying here?
Because she was a coward. Because it was easier to stay than to take a risk and go with Jace and Darian.
How could she let Darian stay and Jace go?
She couldn’t. Either both men stayed or both men went home.
The first drop of rain hit her on the nose, startling her. The clouds had blown in while she’d been lost in thought and the sun had disappeared. The next drop hit her cheek and made her laugh.
Rain. The drought was over.
Sam laughed and spun in a circle with her arms wide open, embracing the life-giving rain.
As quick as her elation came it died. There’d been nothing in the day’s forecast about rain when she’d checked the weather station this morning
. If anything, they’d been predicting another day of dry heat. The tapestry. Jace had told her the tapestry had first appeared to them during a storm.
The rain came down heavier, soaking her and the ground beneath her feet.
Sam tossed her mug aside and started running. What if the tapestry appeared and she wasn’t with Jace and Darian. What would happen?
Legs pumping, heart racing, Sam ran as fast as she could toward home. As the house came into view she started to yell their names.
The three men sat on the porch and watched the sky grow darker each passing minute. “I don’t like this.” Darian paced from one end of the porch to the other, searching for a sign of Sam.
“Wasn’t any rain in the forecast today.” Tim leaned against the railing and stared out toward the horizon.
“It’s the tapestry.” Darian turned to his brother. Both of them were completely dressed and had their swords strapped on. Even though he was staying with Sam he wanted to honor his own culture one final time before he embraced hers.
He started to remove his sword. “You should take this home with you.”
Jace put his hand on Darian’s arm, stopping him. “No, it is part of your heritage. Keep it and tell your sons and daughters about us.”
Darian swallowed hard. “I will.” He grabbed his brother, hugging him tight. “I will miss you.”
“And I you.”
“Rain is coming down harder now.” Worry tinged Tim’s voice and both brothers walked over to stand beside him. “Don’t want Sam out there if it comes to thunder and lightning.”
“Where is she?” Jace growled. Darian knew his brother feared he might not see Sam again before the tapestry appeared to take him home.
Then he saw her. She was a dot in the distance at first, but she was coming fast. “There she is.”
He stepped off the porch into the driving rain with Jace beside him. When they heard her yell their names they took off, sprinting toward her as fast as they could. Darian reached her first, but only because Jace held up at the last second.
“Sam. Sam.” He caught her as she threw herself into his arms. “Are you all right?”
“You’re still here. You’re still here,” she chanted over and over. “I was so afraid. The tapestry.” She was breathing heavily, having obviously run a long distance.
A bolt of lightning lit up the sky. A clap of thunder quickly followed it. “Come on. We need to get out of the storm,” Jace yelled. He grabbed Sam’s arm and the three of them began to run toward the house.
They were almost at the porch when the air began to shimmer in front of them. They stumbled to a halt. Darian met his brother’s gaze and knew this was it.
The tapestry shimmered into existence before them. Darian swallowed hard and beat down the panic welling inside him. In the distance, Darian heard Tim’s exclamation of surprise.
Sam screamed at Tim. “Stay back.”
Darian gripped her hand and began to pull her toward the house, but she clung to Jace’s arm and wouldn’t release him.
“You have to let him go,” he shouted.
Jace started to pry Sam’s fingers away as the design on the tapestry began to change. “No, I can’t,” she cried.
A powerful female voice rose above the storm. Darian wasn’t sure if he actually heard it aloud or if it was just in his head. You must decide now or the tapestry will decide for you.
The sorceress. It had to be the sorceress who’d created the tapestry.
Fear ripped at him and he tugged at Sam. “Come on. We have to get back to the porch and away from Jace.” It was killing him to leave his brother behind. Jace looked stoic and resigned, but Darian knew his brother well and knew this was killing him too. But he’d survive because it was what he did, what they both did. Sam was a lot like them in that respect.
“No,” she cried. She ripped her hand out of his and stood in the pouring rain, hands on her hips, looking utterly magnificent. “Tim,” she yelled over the driving rain. “Check the papers on my desk. And take care of Arrow.”
Before Darian could figure out what she meant by that, Sam grabbed Jace’s arm and yanked him close. Then she reached out to him. “Hurry.”
Darian locked his hand around her wrist as the wind started swirling around them.
“You have to go,” Jace yelled at Sam.
“I know.” Darian could barely hear her voice over the din as the world itself began to spin. It was too late. Whatever would be, would be.
Then he was ripped away from Sam’s world. He yelled her name and Jace’s as the black voice swallowed him whole.
Chapter Sixteen
Jace came awake in a rush. He leapt to his feet and drew his sword, but there was no enemy to fight, no foe to vanquish. He was back in Javara at the lake beyond Hunter Keep where they’d taken Sam. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and the mountains rose behind him, tall and majestic.
He was alone.
He roared in anger and pain and dropped to his knees. His sword slipped from his hand and fell to the ground in front of him. His brother and Sam were gone. He was alone.
Jace swallowed hard, ignoring the tears filling his eyes. He was home, but home had never felt so empty before. He wanted to curse the gods even as he was grateful his brother and Sam were together. At least Darian would be happy. It was enough. It had to be.
A low moan reached his ears and he scrambled toward the sound. Lying on the ground was his brother. “Darian.” As much as it pained Jace to see him, he couldn’t help but feel glad he wasn’t alone.
But did that mean Sam had been left to pick up the pieces of her life by herself? What had the tapestry done? Was it Sam’s will that both brothers return home?
He shook his brother’s arm. “Darian, wake.”
Darian’s eyes shot open and he rolled to his feet. Jace slowly stood and faced his brother. “We’re home.” Darian spun in confusion.
“Yes.”
“Where is Sam?”
Jace shook his head and rubbed his thumb and forefinger over his eyes.
Darian roared and Jace could hear his own pain echoed in his brother’s voice. Neither of them would ever be the same again. “Why?” Darian asked. “Why did she send us both back? It had to be her will. The tapestry always allows the woman to decide.”
“Because she loved you both.” The tapestry shimmered in the air, but above it the ghostly outline of a woman appeared, as wispy as morning mist.
Both men took a step back. “The sorceress,” Darian whispered. “I heard your voice at Sam’s home.”
“Yes.” The woman was beautiful and ageless, more mirage than reality. “The tapestry is done with this generation. The magic has been used too much, but there was such need that I allowed it.”
“Why? Why did you allow it if you knew Sam wouldn’t stay?” Jace demanded.
“Jace,” Darian warned. He knew it wasn’t smart to disrespect a powerful sorceress, but Jace didn’t care.
“It is always the woman’s choice,” the sorceress reminded them. Then she smiled. “Live long in happiness. May you enjoy your sons and daughters.” She faded slowly and the tapestry faded with her.
It was done.
“What did she mean by that?” Jace demanded. “Without Sam there will be no children. I will have no other.”
He sat on the ground and stared out over the lake, oblivious to the beauty around him. It all seemed so peaceful, so normal, so very ordinary. This was his home and he loved it, but not even the mountains could fill the empty hole in his soul.
Darian lowered himself to the ground beside Jace. “I would have stayed with her. I don’t understand why she sent us both back alone.”
“I didn’t.” The familiar female voice had both men stumbling to their feet. Just beyond them, Sam stood amid the wildflowers, her hair windblown, her plain, white T-shirt dirty and torn.
“Sam.” Darian whispered her name as he ran to her. “Sam,” he yelled as he lifted her into his arms and twirle
d her around until she was breathlessly demanding he put her down. He quickly set her back on her feet. “I’m so sorry,” Darian began. “I know this wasn’t what you wanted.”
“Wasn’t it?” she countered. Sam looked toward him and Jace wanted so badly to reach for her but didn’t dare. She hadn’t wanted this. But his heart rejoiced that she was here. He would make her love him. Love them.
This was what the sorceress had meant about enjoying their children. She’d known Sam was here with them.
Jace frowned. If the sorceress knew about Sam then she must have known Sam wanted to remain in her own world. “Why are you here?” he demanded.
Sam swallowed hard, wondering if she’d made a huge mistake. Darian seemed happy to see her. Or maybe he was happy because he was home. Jace, on the other hand, seemed more unapproachable than ever.
“You didn’t want to be here,” Jace reminded her.
“I was afraid.” She owed them the truth. “Plus, I got so used to doing what needed to be done and forgot to ask myself what it was I truly wanted of life until Tim pointed it out to me.”
Feeling totally wrung out and exhausted, Sam lowered herself to the ground. The air was so different here, fresh and slightly cool, not dry like back in Texas. Oh God, this was her home now. There was no going back. Her breathing quickened and both men were beside her in an instant.
“Breathe slowly, Sam,” Jace instructed. Like she wasn’t already trying to do that. She kept her gaze locked on his and the calm she saw there helped drive back the terror that threatened to swamp her.
When her heart dropped from a gallop to a trot and she thought she could talk without passing out, she continued. “Home was familiar, what I’d always done, what I was expected to do, you know?”
“I understand.” And she knew Jace did understand. He knew what it was like to do what needed to be done, to fulfill everyone else’s expectations.
“I started thinking about what I really want.”
“And what do you want, Sam?” Darian asked.
“I want a family, someone to love, someone who needs me. I love to plant and watch crops grow. I love to harvest and plan for the next season.”
Strands of Love Page 16