Love Revolution (Black Cat Records Shakespeare Inspired trilogy) (19 page)

Sam had been gripping her cell phone so tightly that her palm bore an indentation from the plastic cover. Pointlessly, she checked again to make sure the ringer was on. JR hadn’t called and wasn’t responding to any of her attempts to reach him. It was nine thirty. He should have been here two hours ago. Desperate for information, she decided to go ask Danny.

No one answered when she knocked on his door. Tears began to burn her eyes. Nagging fears and doubts exponentially grew and multiplied. Like a hydra from Greek mythology, each time she severed one, two more rose up to take its place.

Back in her frilly white on white themed bedroom, she tried to think who else she could call. Her hand shook as she hit redial on Sara’s number again, but it went directly to voicemail like all of her previous attempts. Scrolling through her contacts, she located Keith’s number. With a resigned sigh, she hit send. He answered on the first ring.

“Geez, Samantha what were you thinking?” Keith demanded in an accusatory tone.

“Huh? What do you mean?” she stuttered, twisting the chenille bedspread self-consciously. “Is JR there with you?” Dread made her stomach feel like it was filled with ice. “Can I talk to him please?” she managed to ask.

“Sorry, Sam. He doesn’t want to talk to you and I really don’t blame him. I mean, what’s there to say, anyway? Listen I gotta go. Don’t call him anymore, ok?”

Her hands trembling, she dropped the phone. Tears she’d held at bay began tracking down her face one after the other. She was at a total loss. One thing was absolutely clear, though. It was over.

JR didn’t want her. Remembering how her turned her down last night, she wondered if he ever really had. Maybe she wasn’t pretty enough. More likely her inexperience had been a big turnoff for him. She couldn’t believe how badly his rejection hurt. Her skin burned and her abdomen ached like she’d done too many sit ups. Curling into a tight ball, she buried her head in her pillow.

The sun on her face woke her up several hours later. Looking out the window, she guessed it to be around noon. Her cell phone buzzed on silent mode. Momentarily hopeful, her heart fell when she glanced at the caller display. It wasn’t him. She pressed her lips together, chastising herself for getting her foolish hopes up. If she did that every time the phone rang, she’d quickly become a nervous wreck.

 “Sara,” she sobbed.

“What’s going on? You sound terrible. Have you been crying?”

Sam nodded even though her sister couldn’t see her. “JR… he…” her voice cracked and she had to swallow several times in a row before she could continue. “Something’s happened. I don’t know what, but he won’t even talk to me. It’s over between us.”

“Oh, Sam.” The line was silent for a moment. “I can’t believe it. I’m so sorry. He’s an idiot.”

“Yesterday was so perfect. We went sightseeing. I met his mother and then we went dancing. Everything was fine. I had hoped...”

“Do I need to come get you?”

“No. I’m a big girl.” Sam forced her tone to be even. “I can take care of myself. I’ll call Harbour Air and get on standby for an earlier flight.”

“Good. I’m almost back in Vancouver myself. I’ll meet you at the terminal. Call me before you take off.”

“Wait a minute, Sara. I thought you were going out to Whistler with Chris.”

“I did, but things didn’t work out.” Sara’s tone was as even as the one Sam had employed. “Guys suck. I love you Samantha Anne. I’ll see you soon.”

Too much idle time
, Sara thought as she waited for Sam in the Harbour Air lounge. Her fingers drummed restlessly on the chrome armrest. Pulling off her gloves, her mind wandered back to earlier that morning.

She’d awakened in Chris’ arms, her back nestled against his warmth. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept so soundly or felt so safe.

Easing out of his embrace, she rose slowly being careful not to jostle the bed. She watched him as he slept, admiring his rugged good looks. Age had only added depth and dimension to an already appealing face.

Sara noticed the corner of his mouth was curved up as if something had amused him. She smiled wistfully. Even in his sleep, he had that irresistible sardonic thing going on. The man appealed to her on so many levels. She smirked. If he woke up and caught her staring, he would never let her live it down.

She’d remembered how tenderly he had stroked her hair until she’d fallen asleep. How he’d refused to take advantage of her weakness. No man had ever treated her with such respect. Like what was inside of her mattered most. He was a riddle that she couldn’t seem to solve.

Chris Alex, the sneaky bastard, was trying to thaw his way into her cold dead heart. But she couldn’t let him. He didn’t realize what he would find when he got inside. Her genes were defective, the union of a harlot and a killer. No wonder she had made such a mess of her life.

And now that killer, her father, was up for parole again. Twice he’d been denied, but this time it looked like it might be different. Leann’s update the other night indicated that the lawyers were worried. So was she. Thus the return of the nightmares.

She glanced down one last time at Chris’ sleeping form while she quietly dressed. He made her wish for things that could never be. She was strongly tempted to climb back into bed with him, to tell him everything, to let him take care of her. She shook her head to clear it from that kind of thinking. She couldn’t undo all the horrible choices she’d made before now, but for once in her life she was going to make the right one. And that was to leave. Chris deserved better than her, someone who wasn’t broken.

There. Her brain had won the tug of war with her heart.

Taking a deep breath, Sara moved quickly around the suite, gathering the few things she’d taken out and stuffing them back into her roller bag. Tears pricking her eyes, she softly closed the door and moved down the hall to the elevator.

Sara had given up trying to sort through the tangled mess by the time she heard her sister’s flight number called. Heading outside to the gate, she waited for Sam to disembark. When she saw her cross the dock, Sara’s brow creased. The breakup had exacted a heavy toll that was evident in the way Sam carried herself. No easy smile. No spring in her step. No sparkle in her eyes.

“Hey Munchkin,” Sara said, embracing her. “How are you holding up?”

“Sara,” she rasped, clinging to her sister for a long moment. “Can we please just get out of here?”

“You bet. I’ve got a taxi waiting at the curb.”

Back at the hotel, Sara sent Sam ahead to the room with orders to take a hot bath. Meanwhile, she went next door to the supermarket and picked up a couple of cartons of high calorie, low nutritional value therapy.
Desperate times called for desperate measures
, she mused. When she returned, she called out, “I’m back. I’ve got triple chocolate chip.”

A cloud of steam escaped from the bathroom as Sam shuffled out in a robe and slippers, her hair up in a towel. She flopped on the sofa and flicked on the television. “
Duck Dynasty
?”

“Absolutely. Who needs men, right?”

By the time they’d finished the ice cream and a couple of episodes of their favorite reality program, Sam’s eyes had drifted shut. Sara got up and threw away the empty cartons. Kneeling beside the sofa, she squeezed her sister’s hand. Sam opened her eyes, giving her a sleepy stare.

“I’ve gotta go if I’m gonna make my flight,” Sara said, stroking her hair. “Are you sure you’re going to be ok? I can wait for the eight thirty one in the morning.”

“I’ll be fine,” Sam assured her. “That would be cutting it too close. You won’t have time to rehearse before the show.”

Sara gave her a measured stare. “Are you sure, Munchkin?”

“Yes. Git,” she ordered, managing a wan smile. “And tell Cash hi for me.”

Sam didn’t realize that she had drifted back off until the banging on the hotel door jarred her rudely from sleep.

“Sara! Open this door!”

Bother
. It was Chris.

“Where is she?” he demanded, barging into the apartment, visibly irritated. Sam had never seen him so frazzled. He looked like he’d just gotten out of bed, sporting a half day’s scruff and his normally perfect coif a chaotic tangle.

“She’s gone,” Sam informed him, glancing at her watch. “You missed her by over two hours.”

“Gone where?” he asked, clearly deflated.

“Back to Texas. She has a concert with Cash Beaumont at Billy Bob’s tomorrow. She didn’t tell you?”

“No, she didn’t.” Chris flopped down in the chair, running his hands wearily across his face. “That’s the thing about your sister. I can’t get closer than arm’s length with her.”

That’s Sara, alright
, she thought. “I understand things aren’t working out between you two.”

“Is that all she told you?” he asked with a frustrated sigh.

Sam nodded.

“There’s a little more to it than that.” Chris proceeded to bring her up to speed with an edited for content account of the weekend. “I really care about her,” he confided. “But it’s really wearing me out trying to figure out what’s going on here.”

Sam sat silent and still for a long time before she spoke again. “She hasn’t had those nightmares for years,” she finally admitted. Sara would probably be furious with her, but she had taken Chris’ measure and knew he was good for her sister. She didn’t want to see Sara squander this chance at real happiness. At least one of them should have a happily ever after. “Our parents always had a rocky relationship,” she began. “Papa worked on an oil platform in the Gulf, so he was away from home a lot. And Momma…well, I guess she got lonely.” She sighed. “I don’t remember much about the night it happened.”

She paused and took a deep breath before continuing. “Papa came home earlier than Momma expected. He caught her in bed with another man. Apparently, the guy got out the window, but Papa went back to his truck for his shotgun. Their arguing must have woken us up, because Sara was there in the bedroom when he shot Momma.”

“Holy shit!” Chris exclaimed.

“Yeah, I know. It sounds like a country song, doesn’t it?” she quipped grimly. “Momma’s last words to Sara were to take care of me,” she said, tears brimming. “She died before the ambulance arrived. They sent Papa to the state penitentiary.” She wiped her eyes. “So you see it’s a nightmare that neither of us can ever really escape, especially Sara.”

Chris put his arms around her. “I’m gonna help her try,” he said resolutely.