Jesse's Brother (16 page)

“How did you manage to do this to me, Samantha?” he asked aloud, even though the office remained devoid of people. The papers dropped onto the desk before he rushed to the well-stocked mini-fridge for a vodka on the rocks.

“How can you seize me the way you have with your simplistic beauty?” After flopping back into the chair, he put his feet on top of the desk and leaned back. The limit was one alcoholic beverage while working, so he intended to nurse his current one.

He thought about Samantha, the way she laughed, the twinkle in her eye. He loved the way she kissed and how he touched her, tasted her, and the thought made his erection grow tighter against his trousers. Being with her was a whole new experience.

Then the image of her fleeing his home after he had let her into his life disintegrated any erotic images that had started to emerge. Why had she left so quickly? What had he said that caused her to rush off the way she did? Had he scared her? Maybe another lover?

“Damn it.” He glared down at the empty glass, dropping it on the desk a little too forcefully. Who cared if it broke?

He flipped open the calendar on his desk.
Mrs. Iris Hanson 5:15
. “I have time to call Joe.” He lifted the receiver. It was time to get the ball rolling on this. “Joe. I want to expand the job,” his voice boomed over the line.

“Jesse, it’s after hours.”

He rolled his eyes and twirled the melting ice around in the glass. “I don’t care one goddamned bit. I pay you a generous amount of money to have the privilege of calling any time I feel the need.”

“Yeah. Whatever.”

He could picture Joe on the other end of the line. The cantankerous older man was unappealing with his near-toothless smile, shifty black eyes, and greasy hair. It was true that Jesse would never be caught dead with Joe in public but Joe went over and above to get the job done.

“Do you want to continue with gainful employment or not?” he snapped.

“Of course,” Joe said, changing his tone. “You know I’ll do anything.”

* * * *

Samantha decided if she got a good night’s sleep, it would make her feel refreshed. But could she sleep? A nightmare had her jerking up in bed, barely able to catch her breath. In the dream, she and Noah were making love, but before the act had ended, it was Jesse’s face who appeared. She took in deep breaths of air, trying to calm herself down. Instead of springing from the bed as usual, she looked at the alarm clock on the end table, groaned and covered her head with her blanket.

“Life sucks,” she thought with a sigh. The two men flashed into her mind again. “Why hadn’t I seen it for myself? They’re alike in so many ways.”

Still haunted, she didn’t bother changing out of her pajamas before going downstairs. She had a lot of thinking to do, but still wasn’t sure how soon she’d be able to make a decision. After she put on her blue fuzzy slippers, she shuffled down the hall to the stairs.

“Good morning,” she said to her mother as she made her way into the kitchen. “I’m glad I caught you before you started breakfast for me.”

Mom sat at the kitchen table with her hands were wrapped around her cup of juice. Nothing was prepared for breakfast, which wasn’t normal.

Samantha almost missed her mother’s strange behavior because of her own drama. “Mom?”

“What?”

She wanted to ask what was wrong but for some reason couldn’t bring herself to. “I’m not feeling well. I’m going to eat a bowl of cereal in my room this morning.”

Her mom looked up at her as if she hadn’t seen or heard a thing, then got up slowly from the table and walked over to the cupboard to grab a cereal bowl.

“I can do it, Mother,” she said, taking the bowl from her mother’s hand. Any other time, her mom would have ordered her to sit down for breakfast as she cooked for her. Mom wouldn’t have

pointed to the cupboard where the cereal was.

“Over there,” her mom muttered then slid back into her chair, covering her unhappy face with her hands.

Trying to ignore her mom’s sadness, she turned her back and poured the milk in the bowl, then grabbed a spoon. All she wanted was to curl up in her bed with breakfast and a movie on her television. She needed something, anything to take her mind off the men in her life.

After chewing the last spoonful of cereal, she placed the bowl on the end table. She pulled the paper from the end table drawer and dialed the number she’d scribbled on the paper the day in the grocery store.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Tonya,” Samantha said. “The reason I’m calling is because I’d really like to go out. Are you busy tonight?”

“I haven’t been out in awhile. It would be great to hang out with you. Wanna go to The Grill?”

“Where’s that?”

“Downtown Alban. It’s a country bar and loads of fun. I went there once on a date when it first opened.”

They agreed on a time before ending the conversation. This would afford her one full day to give her feelings serious thought. There was no way she could continue with the way things were. Who would be hurt more by her decision? It wasn’t going to be easy, but she’d make her choice.

CHAPTER 20

The Grill was crowded with locals, both men and woman holding beers or glasses filled with bright-colored liquid. Strobe lights followed couples around the dance floor. Twangy country music bounced off the walls. Dressed in a baby blue colored blouse she’d hardly worn and a mini jean skirt with cowboy boots, she fit right in with the crowd.

On the ride over, she promised herself tonight she’d be Samantha, the college student. She wasn’t going to allow herself to be responsible, guilty Samantha.

Tonya bounced up and down toward the back of the bar, trying to catch her attention. She broke into a huge grin when Samantha made her way through the bar.

“Sorry we have to sit way back here,” said Tonya as she gestured at a huge table that would accommodate six people.

Samantha took a seat facing the bar. “It’s okay. This place looks great,” she said right before the waitress popped over to their table.

The woman looked familiar, but Samantha wasn’t sure why. It didn’t matter much to her anyway. Not sure what to order, she let Tonya order her drink first, then ordered the same thing, hoping it tasted good.

She never had been much of a partier. The fact she’d come to The Grill in the first place was something new. She’d never been in a bar before. While at college, she’d had several guys ask her out on dates, often including trips to the bars for a drink, but she had always turned them down.

The waitress brought over two chocolate martinis. Tonya took out a twenty and handed it to the waitress. Samantha reached into her purse to pay her share but Tonya put her hand up.

“First round is on me,” Tonya said with a smile. “I’m glad I got out of the house tonight. I need to enjoy life more.”

“I hear you. That’s what it’s like for me while I’m in school. Work, school, then more work and school. It gets pretty boring.” She took a sip of the brown drink. It tasted pretty good.

“I’m glad you’re back in town. In high school I had always wanted to be friends with you, but you guys were like the three musketeers and wouldn’t let anyone else join the club,” Tonya said taking a sip of her drink.

“I know. I regret that now. I lost out on many friendships. How about we make up for lost time?”

“I’d like that,” Tonya said with a smile.

The two women chatted about high school, then about their current lives. By the time they were on their third drink, Samantha was feeling rather tipsy.

“Hey, ladies, may I join you?” asked a tall cowboy. He wore stylish jeans that were way too tight across his butt, a western shirt and cowboy boots. An expensive-looking cowboy hat completed the outfit, and he looked like every other guy in the bar.

“Sure,” replied Tonya.

Samantha had no interest in the guy. There was no need for another man to join the mix, no matter how attractive he was.

“What are you ladies up to tonight?” It was no secret. The man’s thick southern drawl meant he wasn’t from Alban.

“It’s a girl’s night out. I’m Tonya. This is my friend, Samantha.”

He grabbed each of their hands and planted beer-dripped kisses on their palms. Samantha yanked her hand back. The thought of Noah’s kisses flooded her senses. Each time Noah kissed her, shivers rocked her body.

“Waitress!” she called while raising her hand up to get her attention. “Another drink, please.” Another drink would erase Noah from her mind for sure.

The cowboy sat between them at the end of the table. “I’m Andrew Lane. I’m probably the luckiest man in this place,” he said before taking a pull of his beer.

“Why’s that?” purred Tonya.

Samantha laughed as the waitress handed her the drink. She quickly brought it to her lips, praying it would erase the images of Noah and Jesse.

“Because I’m sitting with the two prettiest women in the bar,” he said leaning toward her.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. Another man stood next to her chair.

“Would you like to dance?” he asked.

“Sure,” she said as she put her hand in his.

He led her to the dance floor and the room spun around her.

Good thing it was a slow song, she thought while his arms wrapped around her waist. She put her head against the man’s bony shoulder. Images of her first date with Jesse flooded her mind and the room began to spin faster.

Her legs felt weaker from the nausea attacking her. No longer trusting she wouldn’t throw up right there on the dance floor, she pulled away from the stranger.

“Excuse me… I’ve had too much…”

“To drink,” he said, finishing her sentence.

She could only nod as she held the railing that bordered the dance floor. Her dance partner grabbed her and slid his other arm around her waist to guide her back to her table.