She let Steve buy her a piece of pie for desert, but only after he promised to join her. The other men soon had pieces of pie in front of them as well, making Jim wink at her as he emptied the pie case on the counter. They were all laughing at a joke when Sam walked into the restaurant, he looked around the room for a place to sit, then spotted Julie’s table in the corner. He began to scowl, looking at the group of men then at Julie, clearly not pleased with what he saw.
Julie didn’t see him until he was standing right next to her chair glaring down at her. “Well looks like you’ve made some new friends,” he said, not hiding the sarcasm in his voice. “And here I was worrying about you all alone in your cabin.”
Julie was shocked by Sam’s nasty attitude and immediately went on the defensive. “It’s not your job to worry about me, Sam, but thanks for the effort,” she said, then turned back to the group of men who’d gone silent.
“Julie, I’d love to show you the waterfall sometime,” Steve said, filling the silence.
“Oh, I could take you to Deadman’s Drop,” another of the men piped up.
Several of the other men at the table made similar offers listing off a half dozen locations she just had to see in the canyon. Sam only snorted and said, “Like she’s going to have time to go sightseeing. We have work to do.”
Julie ignored him, a small part of her pleased to see that he was jealous. “I’ll tell you what, boys, I’ve only got a week before Sam and I hit the trail, since Steve asked first I’m going to accept his invitation, but I’ll keep the rest of you in mind when I get back.”
Sam was clearly not pleased with her answer. “Julie, could I talk to you alone for a minute?” he asked, through clenched teeth.
As if he’d given a signal, the men all took one more sip of their coffee and got up to leave. Steve was the last one to get up, clearly reluctant to leave Julie with Sam, but having no choice, he said, “I’ll get a hold of you tomorrow and we can plan our ride. It was wonderful to meet you and I can’t wait to hear more about the moose.” Then he walked away, but not before giving Sam a dirty look.
Sam sat down in the seat next to Julie and said, “Looks like you’re popular around here already, but then again there aren’t that many women in the park.” The minute the words were out of his mouth, he was sorry, but they were out there floating in the silence.
Julie felt the stab of his words in her heart and was immediately on her guard, she’d leaned from bitter experience that Sam’s words could wound her deeply. “Thank you for your kind words and advice, but I think I can handle myself,” she said, trying to keep her voice even and steady, no way was she going to let him see that he’d gotten to her.
Sam opened his mouth to say more, but looked into Julie’s eyes and saw the hurt there. “Shit, I’m sorry, Julie. You know I didn’t mean that,” he said, taking her hand in his.
Julie pulled her hand away. “Let’s get something straight, what I choose to do with my personal life is my business. I’m a grown woman, I know how to take care of myself, you helped teach me that. I don’t need you to watch out for me.” Then she stood up and marched out of the restaurant, her anger carrying her all the way through town to where she’d parked.
Firing up the four-wheeler, she headed back into town, mad at Sam or not, she still needed some groceries. As she shopped, the anger began to fade, but not the conviction that Sam had stepped over the line. Julie had no plans to become involved with someone in the canyon, but it would be nice to have someone to have fun with when she had off time. Steve seemed like a nice guy and she was definitely going to go on that ride with him, Sam just needed to mind his own business.
Chapter 4
When they met at work the next day, neither said anything about the night before. Julie hadn’t forgotten Sam’s harsh words, and Sam knew that he’d acted like an idiot, so they just ignored what had happened and got on with planning their trip. When Steve called to plan their ride, Julie stepped into her office to take the call not wanting to stir up any more trouble, but determined to go on the ride whether Sam like it or not.
Sam had always been the jealous type and when they’d been together before she’d always gone out of her way to make sure she didn’t do anything to make him jealous, but they weren’t a couple anymore and he had no right to be jealous. When she came out of the office Sam didn’t say a word, although she could see that he really wanted to.
“So, are we all set then?” he asked, then added, “We leave in less than a week and I want to be sure we’re prepared.”
“I’ll be ready. I just need to run into town and pick up a few supplies,” Julie said, rolling up the maps they’d be taking with them. What she didn’t tell him was that she still needed to purchase most of the gear she’d need, Marissa’s check was still sitting in the bank unspent since she hadn’t wanted to drag equipment with her across the country.
“I could use a few things,” Sam said, when in truth he was as prepared as he’d ever be. “How about we go together, get our shopping done, and then have dinner before we come home.”
Julie wanted to refuse, the idea of spending an entire day with Sam filling her with both excitement and dread. No matter how much she wanted to believe that what had been between them was gone, she knew that it wasn’t, not only was Sam’s jealously a sign, the pitter patter of her heart when he was near, told her that he wasn’t the only one still feeling something.
But in the end, she couldn’t refuse his request. “Okay, I guess that would be okay.” If she couldn’t make it through a shopping trip to town, then she’d never be able to make it through weeks alone with him in the mountains.
They met the next morning at the lab and took his truck, but when he pulled away from the building, he surprised her by turning left instead of right. When she looked at him surprised, he said, “I thought we take the other road to town, it’s a lot better.” But Julie knew Sam well enough to see that there was something else going on, what she wasn’t sure.
The road cut across the canyon and ended at the sheep ranch and veterinary hospital, both beautiful new additions to the park in the last five years. Julie, unaware that Sam was hoping to get a glimpse of one of his brothers, said, “We should stop and introduce ourselves, if anyone could help us find the moose it’s going to be the herders and drovers who work the cattle and sheep up in the high pastures.”
The last thing Sam was ready for was to meet his brothers face to face, not only was he not ready, but they might take one look at him and figure it out. He’d studied the picture of his father over and over, noticing so many common features that it was impossible not to see the resemblance. He still hadn’t decided if he was going to tell them who he was and wanted the decision to be his own.
“That’s a good idea, but let’s save it for another day,” he said, shutting down the conversation.
Julie looked at Sam, surprised by his harsh words, but then remembered that Steve worked at the ranch and assumed it was his jealousy again, so she shrugged her shoulders and turned to look out the window again. After that they rode in silence all the way to town, Sam lost in his thoughts about his brothers, Julie confused about her feelings for Sam.
When they got to town, Julie suggested they split up, but Sam insisted on going with her. “I really can do this shopping on my own,” she said, not wanted to tell him how much she had to do.
“It’s fine, I don’t mind,” Sam answered.
Julie was finally forced to tell him the truth. “I have a lot of shopping to do. I didn’t bring much of anything with me, it could take a while.”
“Nothing? That doesn’t sound like you,” Sam said, surprised to find that Julie was unprepared.
“Unlike you, I had to travel all the way across the country. I decided it would be much easier to get what I need here,” she shot back, but didn’t add that unlike him she had to watch her money carefully.
“I guess that makes sense,” Sam said, then remembered that unlike himself, Julie had
been living the life of a starving student for the last twelve years. “Do you have enough money?”
Julie shot him a dirty look. “Yes, Sam, I have enough money.” Remembering how he’d spent money on her that summer they were together, then thrown it in her face. “I’m fine.”
Sam wanted to hit himself, wishing he hadn’t just said that, the memory of what he’d said to her about money on the day they’d broken up. “Okay, then I’ll meet you for dinner at the café, I’ll find something to keep myself occupied for the day,” he said, wishing that he’d stayed home.
Julie was instantly sorry she’d been so gruff with him. “I’m sorry, Sam, it’s just…”
“No, it’s my fault. I’d forgotten what I said to you that day,” Sam said, taking her hand. “You know I didn’t mean any of that stuff I said. I was hurting and I took it out on you.”
Julie looked up at him and saw the sincerity of his words. “It was a long time ago. I should be over it,” Julie said, avoid talking about the day they’d broken up, nothing good could come of rehashing why they’d broken up.
She gently removed her hand from his and started off down the street, Sam following. When they reached the hardware store where Julie knew she could find all the camping equipment that they would need, Sam followed her in. “I really do need a few things,” he said, shrugging.
Julie spent the day shopping, losing herself in the task which she found enjoyable since she finally had enough money to get everything she wanted. By the middle of the afternoon, she had all the camping supplies she needed, a new pair of hiking boots, and some of the best outdoor clothing she’d ever owned. She made a quick stop at the pharmacy to pick up some personal products, then headed for the diner where she was supposed to meet Sam.
She was hours too early, but exhausted and ready for some down time. Among her purchases was a book about the history of the area, complete with pictures and maps, it would keep her entertained for hours while she waited for Sam. But to her surprise he was already there waiting for her when she walked in the door, looking as handsome as ever, and for a moment she thought it was eight years ago.
When he saw her struggle in the door with her hands full of packages, he jumped up to help her. “Looks like you got your shopping done,” he said, laughing as he took the bags out of her hands.
“I’m afraid there’s more, I had to leave it at the store, we’ll need to pick it up on our way out of town,” she said, grimacing when she realized just how much she’d bought. “I had no idea shopping could be so exhausting.”
They’d just gotten themselves seated when a loud group of men came into the café and began rearranging the tables. Everyone in the café turned to stare at them until one of the men said something obscene to the room, before long the café had emptied out except for Julie, Sam, and the men. Sam looked at Julie to see if she wanted to leave as well, but she shrugged her shoulders and picked up the menu on the table.
“I’m starving,” she said, trying to ignore the men.
“Well, then let’s eat. We can start back early,” Sam said, picking up his menu.
While they waited to order their food, they talked about the upcoming trip, the earlier friction between them gone. As the minutes ticked by and the waitress still hadn’t come to take their order, Julie began to think that it might be a good idea for them to go somewhere else, she could see that the waitress was having a hard time dealing with the rowdy group of men and felt bad for her, but she wanted food and soon.
“Maybe we should go somewhere else,” she finally suggested when the men produced a bottle of whisky and began passing it around the table.
One of the men sitting next to them over heard her and got up from the table and walked over to them. “Well, what do we have here? Looks like you two are on a date, hope that isn’t the case thought, cause you see I don’t like to see that kind of thing,” he said, leaning against Julie’s chair.
Julie could see Sam getting angry and when the man took one finger and trailed it down Julie’s arm, she thought he was going to come up out of his seat. “I think you better move on now,” Sam ground out between clenched teeth.
“Oh yeah, and who’s going to make me?” the man said, then pulled out a chair and sat down next to Julie. “You know if all of you people looked like you do, I might have to change my mind.”
It wasn’t the first time in Julie’s life that prejudice had touched her, she’d been dealing with both being as woman as well as African American her entire life, this was nothing new. She ignored the man and said, “Sam, let’s let these gentlemen have the place to themselves,” hoping that Sam wouldn’t act on the anger she could clearly see on his face.
The last thing Sam wanted to do was get in a fight which was exactly where the conversation was headed. “I think that’s a good idea,” he said, his eyes never leaving Julie’s face.
Together they got up and gathered her packages and left the café, relieved when the man didn’t follow them out, only yelled disparaging remarks at their back as they left the café. As they were leaving they ran into the sheriff who was coming in the door, with two deputies following him.
“You folks okay?” he asked when he saw them.
“Yeah, we’re fine, but those men are being pretty disruptive. They chased us and everyone else out of the café,” Sam said.
The sheriff looked over his shoulder at the men in the café. “We’ve been chasing them out of town all summer, claim their hunters scouting out their next hunt, but there’s no hunting for miles around here.”
Sam looked back inside at the men, he knew the type only too well. Loud and obnoxious, usually drunk, they were dangerous, especially if they had guns. “Poachers?” Sam asked.
“Probably, I heard that there’s been some problems up in Coldwater Canyon, but haven’t been able to catch anyone so far. You want my guess, it’s these guys here,” the sheriff said. “You folks steer clear of them.”
Julie had every intention of doing just that, but she could see the wheels turning in Sam’s head as they walked away. “We have to do something, if those guys are poaching on park land, they’re going to hear about the moose eventually,” he said, cracking his knuckles.
“You need to let the sheriff handle them,” Julie advised.
“It just makes me so mad, most of the time guys like that are only after the kill, they won’t even eat the meat.” Sam was getting himself worked up.
“Let’s just go get something to eat, we’ll tell Scott and Marissa about then when we get home,” Julie said, taking his hand in hers as they walked.
The feeling of Julie’s hand in his brought Sam up short, bringing his anger to a halt. It felt so nice to touch Julie, even if it was only holding hands, the warmth of her touch made him smile. “Okay, but if I find those guys in the canyon, I won’t let it go so easily.”
After they’d finally gotten something to eat, they headed back to the truck ready to go home. “We’ll just swing by the hardware store and pick up your stuff and head back,” Sam said, as they walked along Main Street.
Julie thought that sounded like a good idea, Sam had finally calmed down after their confrontation with the hunters and it was a two-hour drive home. But when they walked into the parking lot where they’d left the truck it was full of other trucks, each with a several guns prominently displayed in the back window. Sam’s anger seemed to come bubbling to the surface, especially when he saw the decal on the side of a trailer attached to one of the trucks.
“These must be their trucks,” he said, knowing Julie would know exactly who he was talking about.
“Sam, don’t do anything stupid,” Julie said, recognizing the angry glint in his eye.
“I’m just going to poke around a little bit, go keep watch, I want to see what’s in this trailer. Look it’s not locked, seems like the lock is broken,” he said, smashing a rock on the lock and breaking it.
Julie watched him horrified. “Sam, if they catch us messing with their stuff�
�”
“Just go keep watch,” he ordered.
Knowing that Sam was going to do what he wanted, she stood on the sidewalk and watched for the men, part of her amused to find that Sam hadn’t really changed that much in the last eight years. This wasn’t the first time she’d watched him do something stupid to protect the animals, it made her insides shiver with desire, much as it had that summer so long ago.
She could hear Sam mumbling to himself in the trailer and cabinet doors opening then being slammed shut. Then Sam cursed and she couldn’t help but ask, “Sam, what did you find?”
He poked his head out and said, “I found a map of Coldwater Canyon and it’s got red x’s all over it.”
Julie knew all too well what that meant, she’d worked with law enforcement on poaching cases before. The x’s represented where animals had been sighted, and it was not a good sign that the hunters had one. Sam shoved the map into his jacket and jumped down from the trailer and just in time, the men had just come out of a bar down the street and were heading their way.
“Sam, I see them, they’re a couple blocks away. We need to get out of here,” Julie said, heading for the truck.
“Wait, stay there for a second,” Sam said, and pulled the knife on his belt out of its sheath, then methodically punctured every tire on the trucks and two on the trailer.
“Have you lost your mind? They’re only a block away,” Julie was hissing now, so scared they were going to get caught.
“Hurry come over here and act like you’re helping me load the truck,” Sam said, lowering the tailgate.
Julie let him lift her into the bed of the truck where she began sorting through the bags and boxes as if they were just loading everything up. “This isn’t going to work, they’re going to see those tires.” Now not only was she scared, she was mad.
“When they come around the corner jump down and get in the truck like everything was normal,” Sam ordered, then said loudly, “Okay, we’re all loaded up,” just as the men came around the corner into the parking lot.
Have My Child: BWWM Romance (Brothers From Money Book 14) Page 4