Coming Home: (Contemporary Christian Romance Boxed Set): Three Stories of Love, Faith, Struggle & Hope

by Debra Ullrick

  She’d had another sleepless night. Chase’s words haunted her dreams, “I’m the man who’s going to make you happy.” Shaking those words from her mind, she hurriedly dressed and headed down the stairs. When she reached the dining room door, she heard voices and groaned. Everyone was already eating breakfast.

  She laid her hand on the door ready to push it open when she heard her dad’s voice coming from the den. “We hate to see you go, Chase. You have really been an asset to this ranch. I don’t think we’d ever been ready for the sale if it hadn’t been for you.”

  Easing over to the door of the den, she listened without going in.

  “I’ve really enjoyed working here, Sir. But, with Brent going back to work today and Gus coming back at the end of the week, I know you don’t need me anymore. Besides, I knew it was only temporary when Miles hired me.”

  Sami’s heart slammed into her ribs. Was it already time for him to leave?

  “I believe I can find a place for you. It never hurts to have an extra hand around.”

  “Sir, I appreciate it. But, I also have my own ranch that needs my full attention. I’ve neglected it long enough.”

  “I understand. Can you finish out the week for me until Brent and Gus can get caught up to speed with everything?”

  “Yes, Sir, I can do that. It’ll give me time to say good-bye to everyone.”

  As Sami peeked in the door, she saw her dad stand to his feet and extend his hand. They shook hands. Her father walked around his desk and slapped Chase on the back. “Let’s go have breakfast, or there won’t be anything left once Miles hits the table.”

  Sami hurried to the front door and slipped out onto the porch. She sat down on the front steps, leaned against the post and stared out at the angry black clouds hovering over the ranch.

  She couldn’t imagine what it would be like around here without seeing Chase’s smiling face every day. She was going to miss him more than she would ever admit to anyone.

  “What are you doing out here? You haven’t even had breakfast yet.”

  She turned around to see Maggie standing behind her. Why can’t she just leave me alone? Sami let out a tired sigh. “I’m not very hungry.”

  “Those clouds look awful. It looks like we’re in for some rain.”

  Sami’s mood had clouded her mind to the point she didn’t even care about the coming storm. “Looks like it.”

  Without being invited, Maggie sat down on the step beside Sami. “Is something wrong, Sam… Sami?”

  “No. Everything’s fine. Everything’s always been fine. Everything will always be fine, but thanks for asking.”

  Sami started to get up, but before she made it all the way up, Maggie softly laid her hand on her arm. “Wait. Please.”

  “Wait? For what?” Sami heard the chill in her own voice when she turned and looked into Maggie’s face. So many words. So many she wanted to say to this woman, scream at this woman. And yet what would that get her? She’d already tried and been slammed down so hard it had cracked her heart right in two so that now there was nothing left but exhausted surrender.

  “Can we talk for a little while?” Maggie’s eyes pleaded right along with her voice.

  Sami sighed. “Look, I need to get to work. Maybe later.”

  “Please. I’ve given you plenty of time to get used to me being here. Will you please just talk to me?”

  Turning her face away from Maggie, she stared at the dark clouds and calmly said, “We don’t have anything to talk about, Maggie.”

  “I think we do. Sami, there’s a lot you don’t know about why I left. I would like to explain it to you, if you’ll let me.” Her voice was soft and tender, pleading almost.

  “Oh, but I know more than you think I do. I know you walked out on three young children who needed their mother. I know you never looked back. I also know you didn’t even have enough decency to say good-bye. How am I doing so far?” She hiked a brow at the woman, completely prepared to continue down the list she had been making all these years should she ever get this chance.

  “It’s not what you think, Sami. Let me try to explain.”

  “I don’t need an explanation from you. I needed one when I was a child, something, anything that would help me understand why you left. But, I don’t need one now. Because there’s nothing you can say or do that will change the fact that you chose to leave. You chose it. Not me.” Sami stood with her back to Maggie, her stomach twisting in knots. “I loved you, Maggie, and all I got in return was being abandoned by you. I wondered all those years what I had done to make you leave. Wasn’t I the daughter you wanted? Wasn’t I good enough? What did I do that was so bad?”

  “Oh, Sami, it wasn’t you.” Maggie grabbed hold of Sami’s arms from behind.

  Sami remembered the last time Maggie grabbed her arm, and Sami had to suppress the urge to push the woman down again. Instead, she jerked her arm away, spun around on her heels, and looked Maggie right in the face.

  “You know, I heard you that night.”

  Maggie gave Sami a puzzled look. “What night? You heard what?”

  The laugh Sami let out was soft and filled with hurt. “It really doesn’t matter now.”

  “Oh, yes it does. I want to know what you heard, Sami.” Maggie’s voice swelled. “Talk to me.”

  “Okay.” Sami lifted her chin, determined not to let the emotion get to her. She wouldn’t give Maggie the benefit of the tender feelings she had nursed for so long. “I was hiding in the hallway the night you left. I heard everything you said. I was ten years old, and I heard my own mother say, she hated her life. Weren’t your children your life? How could you hate your own children?”

  Maggie gasped and staggered as if she had been slapped. “Oh, Sami, I didn’t know. I didn’t mean what I said.” Tears formed in her eyes and began to stream down Maggie’s face. Her body shook with sobs. She grabbed Sami and pulled her into her arms. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you or cause you all the pain that I have. I thought I was doing what was best for you and the boys. I never…”

  For a brief moment, Sami felt safe and comforted by her mother’s embrace. Her mother’s embrace? Since when did she think of Maggie as her mother? She shuddered at the thought even as she shook out of the woman’s arms. Silently, she groaned wondering why couldn’t she just be normal and let this go, like everyone else had. Why couldn’t she just forgive Maggie and forget about the past? Why did she have to hold onto it as if it were a lifeline to her sanity? But, she just couldn’t let it go. Gently but firmly she pushed Maggie away.

  “You did hurt me, but I’m over it now. Let’s just leave things the way they are. Okay? I don’t know why, but Dad seems to still be in with love you. So, for his sake I’ll just have to tolerate you being here. But to me, you’re no more than my father’s girlfriend. Let’s just leave it at that.” Sami turned and headed toward the barn with Scruff tagging along behind her not to mention all the excess baggage of her past.

  ♥♥♥♥

  When Chase stepped into the barn, a feed bucket went sailing through the air and flew past him only inches from his head. “Whoa!” Thankfully, he dodged it, or he would have been sporting a black eye.

  “Oops. Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

  “It’s a good thing I was at least ten feet away or you would have taken my head off. I take it you’re upset about something?” Chase reached down, picked up the bucket, and carried it back over it to Sami. “You want to talk about it?”

  “Why does everyone always want to talk?” she huffed out, her frustration coming through loud and clear. “Maybe I’m not in the mood to talk. Or maybe I just don’t have anything to say. Maybe I’m tired of listening to people tell me what I shouldn’t be feeling or that I just shouldn’t feel altogether. Ever think about that?” She threw her head back and blew out an exhausted breath. Even though, at that moment he couldn’t see her face, he knew she had just rolled her eyes.

  “What’s bothering you?”


  “Bothering me? Well, first, it’s Maggie. Why can’t she just leave me alone? I don’t want to reconcile with her. I don’t want to talk things out. She comes back in here after all these years and thinks all she has to do is say I’m sorry and everything’s forgiven. Well, it’s not.” She wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed them as if she were cold. “Why can’t I get over this, and move past it? Every time when I think I’m dealing with it, something else happens that throws me right back to the starting line again.”

  “I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could do to help you get through this.”

  “I don’t think there’s anything anyone can do.” When she lifted her eyes to meet his, he saw a flicker of pain in her eyes. “And, speaking of you being here when I need you, I overheard you and my father talking this morning, and here, guess what, Chase? I find out you’re leaving this week? I thought you said you weren’t going anywhere.” Hurt splashed across her face and into her tone.

  “Sami, it’s not like that.” He placed his hands on her upper arms, ran them down her arms until he reached her hands, and then he entwined his fingers in hers. “You knew the position was only temporary when I started working here. But, I will tell you one thing, you can’t get rid of me that easy. I’m like an old stray dog, you can keep throwing rocks at me, but I’ll keep coming back.”

  Chase saw one corner of Sami’s mouth twitch. “Don’t make me laugh. I want to stay on my pity party.” She puffed out her bottom lip, causing them both to laugh.

  A booming sound of thunder shook the entire barn. The sound startled Scruff causing him to ram into the back of Sami’s legs, pushing her into Chase’s chest.

  “I’m not going anywhere, Sami.” He caught her and held her as if she weighed nothing. “You’ve stolen my heart.” He placed his hands on the sides of her face, lowered his head, and kissed her.

  She ran her hands up his chest and up around his neck. “Chase,” she whispered.

  His heart lurched madly at the sound of his name on her lips. A quiver surged through his veins, weakening his knees. No other woman’s kiss had ever set his heart on fire like this one did, a blazing fire that burned deep into his soul.

  Voices outside the barn caught their attention as the others walked past.

  Sami pulled away from him and took a step back. “I guess it’s time to get to work.”

  “I know. My head agrees, but my heart just wants to stay here with you.”

  “Got to go. See you at lunch.”

  “If I can wait that long without being near you.” He clutched his hands to his chest, smiling.

  Sami shook her head and giggled before she slipped out of the barn.

  Chase watched her disappear out the side door, and then he smiled again. He knew it was just a matter of time before he would win Sami’s heart. Because, he knew his heart completely and totally belonged to her.

  ♥♥♥♥

  Chase’s kiss had taken Sami’s breath away. She held her hand over her chest and tried to steady her breathing. Her heart played musically against her ribs, and her hands trembled. She knew without a doubt she had fallen in love with Chase.

  She laid her head back against the barn and smiled. “How did you do it, Chase Townsend? How did you make me believe I could love someone as deeply as I love you?”

  Suddenly, the skies opened up and it began to pour down rain. She made a dash toward the house and quickly ran up the steps. But, just as she reached the top step, her foot slipped out from under her. She tried to regain her balance, but it was no use. She fell backward, landing hard on the ground, and rolled a couple of times in the dirt that was quickly becoming mud.

  “Sami! Are you hurt?” Chase shouted, running toward her.

  She pulled herself up into a sitting position and started shaking mud off her hands. “No. Apparently, I’m just taking a mud bath.”

  He bent down in front of her with his elbows propped on his knees. A smile stretched across his face as the rain dripped off his hat. She knew he was trying his best not to laugh. Her first instinct was to be angry, but his smile rushed the feeling away. She reached up, grabbed the front of his shirt, and pulled him down in the mud with her, causing a mud war to begin.

  Sami thought they must’ve looked like two pigs wallowing in the mud when she heard Aunt Edna yell, “What in the world are you two doing? Ya’ll are going to catch pneumonia. Get up here on this porch, right now.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.” Chase answered and struggled to get to his feet. When he steadied himself, he bent down and pulled Sami to her feet. He wrapped his arm around her and they ran up onto the porch.

  “Good heavens!” her aunt said, shaking her head. “I’ll fetch y’all some towels.”

  “You seem to always see me at my worst.” Sami wrung the rain out of her ponytail.

  “I don’t think you have a worst. Whether you’re covered in paint or covered in mud, it doesn’t matter to me. You’re still beautiful.”

  She was thankful the mud hid the flush in her cheeks. “You know we can’t go inside with all this mud on us. Aunt Edna would have a cow.”

  “What do you suggest?” He bobbed his brows up and down with a playful grin.

  Sami bobbed her head back out toward the rain and giggled like a teenager. “What about a God made shower?”

  He grabbed her hand, pulled her to him, and dropped a mud-splashed kiss on her lips. “I’m right behind you.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  The morning of the Barbecue finally arrived. People began showing up as early as nine o’clock. Every woman Sami saw had a covered dish of food in her hands.

  “This is exhausting,” Aunt Edna said and wrapped her arm around Sami’s shoulder.

  “And, you love every minute of it.” Sami grinned.

  “You know me too well, don’t you?”

  “This whole week, every time I saw you and Maggie together, the two of you were planning this thing. I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be huge.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  “Edna, where do you want us to put this food?” one of the women from Edna’s quilting club called out.

  “I’m being paged.” She smiled. “I’ll see you later, dear.”

  “You go do what you do best, Aunt Edna.” Sami watched her aunt hurry over to the crowd of women waiting for her full attention. Crossing her arms over her chest, she observed her aunt with all of her quilting club friends. One single phrase came to Sami’s mind… Hen Party. Those women flurried around the food table and strutted like proud mama hens. Sami laughed at the sight. But, one thing stood out in Sami’s mind above everything else… These women were jubilant!

  “Hello again.”

  Sami turned and there stood Haley. “Hello, Haley. Are you looking for Brent?”

  “Yes. I can’t seem to find him. I’ve looked everywhere.”

  Sami locked her arm in Haley’s. “Come on. I’ll help you look for him. I think I know right where he is.”

  Sure enough, Sami spotted him at the corral with all the other young cowboys. They were waiting to sign up for the Calf Roping event for youths between the ages of thirteen through seventeen.

  “Brent!” Sami yelled.

  He turned and looked their way. A smile stretched across his face when he spotted Haley. He loped over to where they were standing.

  “Hey, Brent,” Haley softly said.

  He reached out, took hold of her hand, and pulled her close. “Hi, Haley. I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “Me, too.” Haley giggled and batted her eyelashes at Brent. “Thanks, Sami, for your help.”

  “You’re welcome. I hope you enjoy yourself today.”

  “Oh, I will, as long as I’m with Brent.”

  Sami snickered when she saw Brent blush. “You two have fun. I’ll see ya’ll later.”

  “Sami! Sami!” Her name echoed in her ears. She immediately recognized the sound of Kaylee’s precious little voice. Sami turned around and saw her running toward
her. Emily and Chase followed behind her.

  “Hey, Kaylee.”

  “I’ve been looking all over for you,” Kaylee said as she hugged her waist.

  “Well, you finally found me.” Sami returned her hug as a flutter tingled her belly. Sami was growing very fond of this little girl.

  Emily rushed up to Sami and threw her arms around her neck. When Emily pulled away, her eyes were filled with tears. “Thank you so much, Sami.”

  Assuming Emily was talking about the pony, she smiled. “You’re welcome. I’m glad Kaylee likes her horse.”

  “Oh. I do want to thank you for the pony, but there’s something else.” Emily glanced at Chase.

  He smiled and nodded to Emily. Then he looked at his niece. “Come on, Kaylee, let’s you and I go see if Nana needs our help.” Chase took Kaylee’s hand, and they walked off together.

  Emily turned back to face Sami who had no idea what was going on. “I wanted to tell you how grateful I am to you for helping Kaylee understand what happened to her father. I don’t know what you said, but whatever it was, made such a difference in her life. She seems to understand now that her father isn’t coming back, and she’s okay with it. Thank you for taking the time to help my daughter.” Tears trembled on her eyelashes as she hugged Sami again.

  When she pulled back, Emily laughed. “I need to go and help mom with the food before I blubber all over you.”

  Several minutes later, Chase walked up behind Sami and took hold of her hand.

  “You’re an extraordinary woman, Sami Lawson, and you don’t even realize it. We just found out last night about the conversation between you and Kaylee. She didn’t tell us much about what the two of you talked about, but, whatever you said helped her to understand why her father’s not coming back. And, she’s okay.”