by Debra Kayn
"Are you afraid I'll leave after Labor Day?" Bobby glanced over at her.
She turned the music up louder and ignored his question. He reached over and switched off the radio, and she flopped back in her seat and huffed. She knew she was acting like a moody teenager whose parents changed the car stereo from the rock station to classical music, but she wasn't in the mood to talk.
"We'll work something out, Sammy. I'm not going anywhere. Not without you." He gathered her hand in his and gave it a squeeze.
She stared out the front of the truck and fought the tears blurring her vision. Words stuck in her throat, and she wanted to scream out in frustration and beg him never to leave her.
She needed to tell him about Parker, and how much she loved him and owed it to him to make his life better. Yet she sat there, speechless, unable to express herself, and clueless on how to say it so he understood.
In the end, she did what she did best. She blocked it all from her mind and forced herself to forget about it. If and when he left, she'd deal with it then. Tonight she'd rather be his lover and forget about what would happen if Bobby left.
Samantha rolled her shoulders back. "Where are we going, by the way?"
For the last few miles, he'd driven along a rough gravel road with rocks much larger than the normal size used for roads. The sun sunk lower in the sky, casting shadows through the towering trees lining the road. In her limited time in Skamania, she'd never traveled this far out of town.
"We're almost there." He flashed his boyish dimple. "It's a surprise I want to show you."
She grinned back, warming at the sight of his dimple. She was a sucker for a man with a great smile, and Bobby's was the best. Irresistible and adorable, Bobby's smile held some powerful medicine.
The truck topped a rise in the road and settled between a break in the trees. She scooted forward on the bench seat and gazed out the window at the most serene lake she'd ever been blessed to view.
The obsidian-colored water of the lake reflected the surrounding area on its still surface. The distant sunset painted the view with vivid pink and orange rays along the treetops, lighting the lake in an eerily peaceful mood.
"I've never seen such a place in my entire life." Samantha's mouth hung open.
"It's pretty impressive. The lake is on government land and not opened to the public, so few people get to view the magic of this place."
"Are we supposed to be here?" she whispered. "I don't see anybody else."
Bobby winked and gave her a confident nod. "I know a certain forest ranger that can travel in and out of these places. Come on, let's go sit down by the lake."
He grabbed a blanket from behind the truck seat and offered her his hand. She accepted, and together they strolled down to the water's edge.
The moment they arrived at the sand, she slipped off her heels and wiggled her feet into the grains. The sand squeezed between her toes, and she laughed.
She helped Bobby unfold the blanket and spread it out on the ground. Ready to enjoy the night, she lowered herself between his outstretched legs, leaned against his chest, and gazed out on the lake. This was where she belonged.
"Thank you for sharing this spot with me. I can't believe how beautiful this place is." It surprised her that the oasis of the area seeped into her soul and calmed her down from her earlier worries. Right here, in this place, it was possible to overcome all of life's troubles.
"There are many more places in this area I'd like to show you. I do have to admit that this is my favorite spot, though." He wrapped his arms around her body and rubbed her bare arms. "Are you cold?
She shook her head. "Bobby, tell me more about you."
His hands moved from her arms to twining a strand of her hair between his knuckles. She refused to pressure him and hoped he'd willingly share the details about his life. Guilty of keeping her own secrets for this long, she also knew it was time for her to open up to him more.
They'd rushed into a relationship based on sex and stealing a few hours here and there. It was time to slow down and deepen their relationship. She wanted to know what made Bobby into the man he was today. The one who she had fallen in love with.
"What do you want to know?" His voice came out husky, and Samantha turned in his arms.
"Tell me what you were like as a kid. Your family. What kind of ice cream you like." She smiled.
"I was a quiet kid and got good grades in school. I played football and basketball in high school." He shrugged. "Pretty much the normal child, I guess."
"I bet the young girls were crazy for you." She laughed.
"Yeah, they sure were." He winked and ran his hand through his hair.
Samantha slapped his hand and laughed. "You're not supposed to admit it."
Bobby turned her around and pulled her down on the blanket with him, so they lay face-to-face. She warmed with love for her big Ranger Man and wished the night could last forever.
"Tell me more." She propped her head up on her hand.
"I have one sister. She's ten years older than I am, married with two girls. Amy and Abigail." His smile softened. "Beautiful girls."
She grinned. "You're an Uncle Bobby! What about your parents?"
His smile faded, and he gazed off into the trees. "Mom passed away last year. Dad died from a brain aneurysm when I was a teenager."
Samantha sat up into a sitting position. "I'm so sorry."
"Thanks. It was rough... It's still rough sometimes, but I know they're together somewhere, and that helps." He cleared his throat. "You've lost your parents too, you know how it feels."
She nodded. "Yes."
Death had paid them both a visit and removed parents from them earlier than any child should have to endure. She brushed the tear falling down her face, reached across and caressed Bobby's cheek, and mourned with the man who'd lost his parents.
She leaned over and laid her forehead against Bobby's. "Some days I miss them so much, I would do anything to bring them back."
"You've never said what happened, but you seem like you were close." He kissed her.
"A car accident two years ago." Samantha's tears overflowed. Not only did she mourn the loss of her parents, but she realized that if they were still alive, none of the trouble with Parker would have happened. On her own, she'd failed to keep her brother out of trouble.
There wasn't anything stopping her from trusting him. He'd always told her the truth, and over the last several weeks had shown that he wanted to involve himself in her life.
"I have something I want to share with you, but I'd like it if you kept it to yourself." She shook her head. "That didn't come out right. It is my secret, but because it affects someone else, I would like it if you respect my wishes to keep this between us."
Bobby raised his eyebrows. "Sure. Yeah, Sammy. You know I will."
She crossed her legs, sat up straighter, and put some distance between her and Bobby. To get through the whole story, she needed to remain strong, and if Bobby touched her, she didn't think she'd be able to finish without falling apart.
"I have a brother, Parker, who is eighteen. He got framed for robbery with a loaded gun nine months ago back in Portland. He's now serving his sentence at the Washington State Penitentiary." Samantha inhaled deep and blew out a shaky breath.
"Parker went along on a car ride with his friend, Cameron. They were only riding over to the store, except when Cameron arrived, he told Parker to stay in the car. Parker sat in the car and turned the radio up." Samantha paused and remembered that day like it was yesterday.
"The next thing he remembers is Cameron running out to the car and tossing a handgun in his lap, and police sirens getting closer. The police surrounded the car, and Parker was caught with the loaded weapon."
Bobby sat up. "But what—"
"The other boy moved off to the side and pointed at Parker. The store owner said he couldn't be sure it was Parker, but Cameron's dad, who happens to be the chief of police in Portland, said his son was a wi
tness to Parker running out of the store with the weapon."
She ground the heels of her hands over her eyes. "The whole police force backed up the chief and his son in court. Parker didn't stand a chance. Right before the trial, Chief Hamilton caught me walking up to the courthouse alone and told me that he takes care of his own. He used those exact words...'I take care of my own.'
"After Parker was taken away, I couldn't drive to work without Hamilton or one of his men pulling me over and harassing me. They pulled me over for broken taillights, and when I walked behind the car to check, he kicked the light and ticketed me. Same with speeding tickets, parking tickets, you-name-it tickets." She lifted her chin.
"After the fifth court appearance, I gave up. I bought the clinic in Skamania, and I'm working my butt off to provide a good home for Parker when he gets out."
The dam broke, and she fell to her side on the blanket, her knees drawn up to her chest. A moan buried so deep tore out of her, leaving fresh wounds in its wake.
Bobby curled his body around her and pulled her to his chest. He remained silent, but his hands roamed her body in comforting strokes. The sun fell behind the trees, and the air grew cooler, yet neither one moved out of each other's hold.
Samantha's chest loosened, her breathing regulated, and her extremely heavy eyelids lay closed. Unsure if the crying had finally died out, she inhaled a big breath and let it out with no catch in her chest.
"Bobby?" Her voice came out raspy and odd.
He turned her around, never losing his hold on her. "Yes, baby?"
"That's why I'm here. I wanted to live closer to Parker. They have visitations every Sunday, but lately he refuses to see me." She stared into his eyes. Too tired to cry more, she let him hold her and closed her eyes.
"What a couple we are, huh?" He chuckled. "We'll figure all this out. I'm glad you told me. I hope you know you can tell me anything, right?"
She nodded. "I didn't plan on getting into my sorry life story tonight. I must look a mess." Samantha fixed her gaze out on the lake and rubbed the tears off her cheeks. "Plus, you never told me what kind of ice cream you liked?" She gave him a wobbly smile.
"I'm a vanilla type of guy. That way you can add toppings and change it up and it tastes different." He grinned.
She caught another glimpse of his dimple, threw her head back, and laughed.
Chapter Fifteen
Bobby stopped to pick up ice cream at the gas station mini-mart on the way back to Samantha's apartment. After they arrived, she threw the treat in the freezer and shed her clothes, no longer in the mood for food. Bobby was the only thing she craved. Tonight she'd bared her soul and he had helped her accept the things she couldn't change.
"Come and get me," she purred, posing her nude body in the doorway of the bedroom. She licked her lips and gazed upon him undressing down to his birthday suit. Obviously he didn't care about the ice cream in the freezer either.
He slipped on a condom and stalked toward her with determined steps. He pressed her up against the wall in the bedroom and Samantha lifted one leg and hooked it around his hip. He slid his arm under her knee and brought her other foot off the floor, raising her up to the perfect height to meet him halfway.
He kissed her. Hard. Hot. Demanding. Drawing out every drop of pleasure with just his mouth on hers. He feathered his lips across her jawbone. Her eyelids. Her cheek. Her forehead. He nuzzled her neck.
Her body spasmed, and then she melted against him. She dug her nails into his back. The swift, hard thrust of his manhood entered Samantha. She gasped. Bobby's hand came down to hold her other leg, and she linked her arms around his neck to hold on. "Oh, God!"
The sex matched the emotional night they'd had. Fast and needy. Each of them taking what they needed and giving double back. The desire to stay emotionally connected to Bobby after sharing her past with him accelerated her need to share the last thing she could offer him—her body. Not alone in her feelings, his movements showed her how desperately he needed her too.
Her breath came in little pants. Bobby suspended Samantha in the air. Her head fell back, and her breasts came up for him to enjoy. He swirled his tongue around a dusky nipple, and she moaned. Her moist womanhood tightened around him involuntarily.
He pumped, faster and faster.
Using her hands, she braced herself on his shoulders as she crested. "Bobby!"
He weaved around the room on legs weakened with release. She laid her head on his shoulder and dragged in deep volumes of air to catch her breath.
"I didn't mean for that to end so fast or be so rough." He kissed the side of her neck.
She slid down, stood on her own two feet, and flopped down on the bed. With not a smidgen of shyness about her naked body, she sprawled out in all directions. She leaned up on her elbows and wiggled her eyebrows at him.
"I did. I needed that. It was exactly what the doctor ordered." She laughed. "Exactly what Dr. Samantha James ordered. Besides, we have the whole weekend to make love, slow and sweet," she added.
"Sam...Sammy, I won't be able to be here all weekend. That's actually why I wanted to see you tonight and take you out to the lake. I have business to take care of that I can't put off." He gazed at the foot of the bed.
She jerked up on the bed, reached over to where her bathrobe lay on her pillow, and pulled it around her.
"What do you mean? I didn't think you had to work on weekends."
"I usually don't, but I'm...I'm on call this weekend." He gathered his pants, not looking at her.
"You've never once stayed after we've made love." She narrowed her eyes. "Why isn't Darryl ever required to work on the weekend?"
"I don't know. Look, Samantha, if I could change the way my job is, I would." He zipped up his jeans and searched for his discarded shirt.
"Look at me, Bobby." Samantha stood. "Look at me and tell me the truth. Are you more interested in keeping our relationship sexual? I thought...after we talked...we wanted the same thing."
Bobby buttoned his shirt, refusing to meet her eyes. "No, of course not. It's just...you don't... I can't explain it now. I really have to go. I spent longer here than I realized. You'll have to trust me."
He was lying. He didn't even look at her and stumbled over his excuses left and right. Why in the world had she decided to trust him enough tonight to share everything she held dear to her? What if he revealed the truth about Parker to the town? It'd ruin everything she'd carefully planned in her attempt to start over fresh.
He never spent the whole night with her. The rare times they did go out, it ended with them coming back to the house for—no surprise—sex. Next thing she knew, he'd get a phone call and hit the door. Oh, God, what if he's married?
"Are you okay?" Bobby lifted his leg and slipped his boot on.
"No, I'm not okay!"
Without thinking, she squared her shoulders and stepped right in front of him, blocking his exit. Right now, it didn't matter that she only came to his chest. She was angry enough to beat two grown men and planned to kick his butt to the curb without breaking a sweat.
"I feel like the only thing you want from me is sex. I've been so stupid, falling for you hook, line, and sinker. Well, let me tell you something, Bobby Thorn..." She poked him in the chest. "Get. Out." She pointed toward the door.
"Hang on a minute, Sam..." He raised both hands, his boot dangling from one of them.
"Don't tell me to hang on. You really played me for a fool tonight and after I revealed everything about me to you." Samantha looked around the room. She needed something to throw.
She found a shoe, picked it up, and sent it sailing toward him. It missed and hit the wall beside his head.
He ducked. "Hey! Stop it. Just—"
The other shoe she found hit him in the leg. She advanced. He retreated from the room.
"Don't you 'Sammy' me anymore. Only my brother is allowed to call me that. You...you...dog!" She clutched a medical journal. "No, a dog is too good for you. You're a scum-suckin
g bacteria who feeds off pathetic women!"
The journal hit him in the back, and he stumbled down the stairs. She quickly followed behind him. If nothing else, she wanted him gone before he could lie to her again. Bobby paused at the front door of the clinic. Her whole body trembled. If he could lie so easily to her, he wasn't trustworthy enough to keep the secret about Parker. If anyone else found out, she'd have to move again. Parker didn't need to pay for her mistakes.
He stepped toward her. "Samantha, you don't understand. There are things about me I can't tell you."
"I don't want—"
He pulled her forward and planted his mouth on hers. Kissing to shut her up might have worked yesterday, but not tonight. She pushed him away. A flicker of guilt showed up on Bobby's face.
Her back stiff and lips compressed together, she fought for control. He moved away and opened his mouth to speak, but she raised her hand, palm out.
"Get. Out. Now."
Chapter Sixteen
The last of the herb seeds she'd purchased lay in the dirt alongside the clinic's front wall. She brushed her grubby hands off on the back of her jeans. With any luck, by next spring, sprouts of parsley, mint, and chives would sprinkle the flowerbed. She knew she didn't have the green thumb her mother had when she was alive, but she enjoyed the challenge.
The dirt beneath her fingernails and the cool, moist ground distracted her in a good way. It didn't matter that the seeds would probably never grow into flowers. She still gained pleasure from trying to garden. This time she vowed to remember to water them and protect them from frost.
Samantha used every free moment away from the clinic to work around the apartment, tidying the grounds around the building, and making the place more appealing. She bought an old lawnmower from a teenaged boy and kept up on cutting the grass out front and along the sides of the clinic. Without a spare moment to feel sorry for herself, she was able to get through each busy day without breaking down.
She stood back and admired the new flowerbeds. Besides the seeds she'd planted, she'd also transplanted geraniums, a couple of rose bushes, and fast-growing bugleboy.