Jesse's Brother (3 page)

“So your secret is safe with me.”

For some reason, she couldn’t picture Noah as a gossip even if he’d known the entire town.

“Let’s go for a walk and maybe I’ll share.” She normally wandered around the farm alone but didn’t mind Noah being with her this time. The long walks had become her solace away from her controlling mother. The only other person she’d confided in had been Jackie, but she’d always been busy doing something else.

“Sounds like a plan. I’m done for the day anyway. Where are we headed?”

“Wherever the ground takes us,” she said, smiling at him. She looked straight ahead to avoid eye contact with him while she spilled her guts. “I don’t get along very well with my mother. She’s the reason why I attend a university so far away from Alban.”

“I see. So what made you come back this time?”

“After talking to my father a few weeks ago, I sensed he needed me here. For what, I haven’t figured out yet. I also had the crazy notion I could fix my relationship with my mother. I’m between semesters and figured it was a good time. I missed it here, but I’m having a difficult time just getting through the first few hours of my visit.”

“Why?”

She’d just revealed her problems to a total stranger. Could she trust this Noah character? He was so handsome and worked for her family. She hadn’t even considered how well he knew her mother, or taken time to evaluate his unexpected presence. Who knew? Maybe she would find her stuff on the front lawn in the morning because Noah would blab everything she said.

Noah shrugged. “Maybe she needs you?”

“I doubt that.”

They walked past the stable toward the woods. Even though it was getting late in the evening, there would be enough light left for a quick walk. The large trees cast dark shadows over the trails. They took a right, which wound back to the main road.

“So what are you opposed to? Marrying a farmer or making your mom happy?”

“That’s a good question, but I don’t have an answer.”

His laughter filled the air around him. “By the way, I can picture you married to a farmer.”

“Oh,” she said with a giggle. “Do I look like a farmer’s wife?”

“No, but you seem to love this place.”

“Really?”

“I can see it in your face when you talk about it.”

“I do love it. The farm is the best place in the world. I would have married someone local, but…”

“Your mother pushed you away?”

A small tree had fallen across the path. Noah held his hand out to help her over. She didn’t want to let go of his hand but he pulled away as soon as she was over the fallen tree.

“Yes, and she continues to do so.”

They reached the main road and saw the lights glowing from the large blue farmhouse in the opposite direction of her parents’ farm. The sight would forever be like a knife in her heart. She took a deep breath. “See that house over there?”

“Yes?”

She turned toward home. “My best friend Jackie grew up there. She’s getting married soon. My mom is so delighted and insists I go to her wedding but I don’t think I’ll be invited. I hope not, anyway.”

“Why wouldn’t you be invited?”

“I promised to write her every week, but I stopped about a month after I went to school. I only contacted her when I was home from school. As far as I know, she hasn’t forgiven me. It was like I just wanted all of this to go away,” she said, holding her arms open wide. “Jackie knew how much I hated my life here but she felt as though I abandoned her.”

“That must be hard to deal with. Will you go to the wedding if you’re invited?”

“No. I don’t think so.” She tucked her hands in the back pockets of her jeans as they walked down the dirt road back to her house. She sucked in her breath and let it out. “Sorry to rattle on about my problems.”

“I invited you to share them, so it’s totally okay with me. You know, if she does invite you and you need a date, I would be honored to go with you.”

She blushed and wondered what it would be like to go on a date with Noah. “Okay…” she said shyly, then looked up at him. “So tell me a little about you.”

His pace quickened a bit. “Not much to tell you. My name is Noah.”

“Noah what?” She bumped her shoulder into his.

“Combs.”

“And?”

He sighed. “I have a parrot named Blue.”

“Anything else?”

“Nope. That’s all there is to know about me.”

“Ever been married? Kids?” Getting him to open up was like pulling teeth. Maybe she shouldn’t have told him so much.

“Neither of those.”

“By the way, I’ve figured it out already.”

“What?” he asked as he played with his small hoop earring.

“You’re better than a dog.”

“And I’m glad you came home.” He looked away, but the smile remained on his lips. “It’s going to be a fun summer.”

Samantha could see the distance between them and the house closing in. Her heart skipped a beat. This stranger took her heart to places she’d never been, and she didn’t want the visit to end.

Being around Noah would make the summer a little more tolerable.

He shook her hand, and walked back down to the barn. Was he really done with the job, or had he been fibbing so she wouldn’t worry about taking his time?

She climbed up the steps to the front door. Should she knock to prove her point to Mom? No. She didn’t need to add to the already brewing pot of problems and that was exactly what knocking would do.

Once the door squeaked open, her mother padded out of the kitchen, no doubt ready to pick up where they’d left off. Samantha held up her hand, signaling she had no intentions of discussing the matter tonight.

“Samantha, your father—”

“I don’t want to talk.” She tried to walk away, hoping her mother would give up but she continued to forge ahead with the conversation.

“What did you do out there?” Mom asked her.

“Nothing.”

“Samantha…”

“I know Dad talked to you about what was said. It’s the same old story each time I’m here. Guess what? I don’t want to talk to you tonight.” She paused half-way up the stairs. “Oh, I met your handsome farm hand, Noah Combs. Daddy sure has wonderful taste in employees. He should’ve hired help long ago.”

She couldn’t keep the singing from her voice when she spoke of him. She most definitely had the start of a school-girl crush. She rolled her eyes as she pictured herself drawing hearts with Noah’s name in them.

Mom’s mouth dropped open but she didn’t say anything. Her suspicious stare burned in Samantha’s direction as she spun on her heel and ran up the stairs.

Once the bedroom door clicked shut behind her, she heard footsteps below. Her mother had gone into the living room located directly beneath her bedroom. The raised voices implied Mom was angry about something. That something was Noah Combs.

CHapter 4

Noah stabbed the pitchfork into the hay, trying to get a head start on tomorrow’s chores and Samantha out of his thoughts.

He always returned to his trailer once the sun went down. He’d had the same routine every night for the last year: work until dark, then home for dinner and a shower. Blue and a good book made great company as far as he was concerned.

Martin didn’t care when Noah ended work for the day as long as he met the day’s goals and took care of the animals. Any night of the week, he could have hung around town meeting new people and scored a date or two. There was even talk about a few of the local women being interested in him. He, for sure, noticed the attention, sometimes even heard the whispers amongst the women as he walked by. Most men liked having their egos stroked, but it actually did the opposite for him. As a result, he stayed away from town as much as possible. It gave him an incentive to follow the same routine he’d stuck to for the past three hundred sixty-five nights.

Not tonight, however. Tonight he had met Samantha Johns, and needed to work off the impact she had made on him. When he’d just finished feeding the animals earlier, he’d spotted her sitting up against the fence. Her tears had done him in when she raised her pretty blonde head to reveal the sadness in her beautiful blue eyes. She’d tried to push the tears away before he spotted them but it had been too late. Her tear-streaked face had been a spear to his heart. He wasn’t sure why, but he had to help rid her of the pain she’d carried around.

After walking out of his family’s life, he’d avoided relationships of any kind. He’d loosened up a bit, working on the ranch. Martin had become a role model to him, but Noah didn’t want to care about anyone else. Not even Samantha. Now he knew her story and wanted to be in her life. It was terrible to be totally alone and Samantha didn’t deserve to be.

“Damn it!” He threw a bale of hay onto the barn floor. “Why did she have to come here?”

Frances, Samantha’s mother, had shown up in the barn a few days before to give him a subtle warning to stay away from her daughter. He didn’t pay any mind to the idea of Samantha being around the farm and hadn’t even asked any questions about her. He’d shrugged and turned back to his work. He was surprised she hadn’t been more like queen bee Frances, ready to sting anyone

within arm’s length. Even though he’d heard stories about her childhood from Martin, he’d never once fathomed the idea that Samantha Johns would indeed be beautiful with those freckled cheeks and dimples. And the added bonus? She was equally sweet.

Samantha’s presence could become a complication in his well maintained life. He didn’t need any extra hurdles. Lord knew he’d had enough of those along the way. Getting involved with someone was complicated enough, but with the boss’s daughter? Probably not a good idea. The fact that Frances hated the very air he breathed made the situation worse.

“I never take the easy road,” he grumbled as he wiped the sweat trickling down his cheek.

What was Samantha doing now? His eyes switched over to the door. It would be nice if she’d come down to the barn.