River of Love(28)

“But Cole’s been warning him off for just as long,” Ty added.

They ran in silence for a few minutes, winding up the trail, around a patch of overgrown bushes, and toward a clearing overlooking the river. One of Sam’s favorite spots. He’d have to remember to take Faith up there sometime. Maybe to watch a sunrise or sunset.

“Dude, watch it!” Ty yanked Sam off the trail, and out of his reverie, as a snake slithered across the path.

“Thanks.” Sam shook his head to clear thoughts of Faith, but she’d already seeped into the crevices and found a home.

Nate sidled up to Sam, running beside him as they wound around the clearing toward another trail. “You’re really doing this, aren’t you?”

“Yup.”

“For how long?” Nate’s tone wasn’t accusatory; it was concerned.

He clenched his jaw, wondering if the concern was for him or for Faith. “For as long as she’ll have me. Or as long as it takes to show her how right we are together.”

“You son of a bitch.” Nate laughed. “I never thought I’d see the day that Sammy Braden got bit. Happens fast, doesn’t it?”

“I keep telling myself I’m not going over the falls. Self-preservation, I guess. But every time I think of her, which is all the damn time…” He paused, trying to collect his thoughts. “What was it like with you and Jewel? I know you loved her forever, but at some point you put aside thoughts of any other woman. Was it overnight? Because, man, looking back over the last year or two, it was like Faith was there all along. Lingering in the back of my mind like an itch I couldn’t scratch. I was looking for her without realizing I was doing it; when we were out, every weekend at Rough Riders, I was just hoping to catch a glimpse of her.”

“That’s exactly how it happens,” Nate answered. “One minute you’re living your life, and the next you can’t live it without her.”

Ty blew by them and turned, jogging backward. “Do not breathe on me, share a drink with me, or come near me for that matter. I’m happy for you two, but whatever you’ve got, I don’t want it.” He laughed and fell into step beside them.

“I was right where you are two weeks ago,” Sam told him. “This is so much better. You have no idea what you’re missing.”

Ty scoffed and changed the subject to his next climb, which was fine with Sam. He missed Faith so much that even talking about her was making him want to run over to her apartment just to see her smiling face.

The conversation turned to work, and Nate filled them in on the trials and tribulations of owning Tap It. “Can you believe I caught two of my waitstaff fooling around in the supply room?”

“I’m surprised it took this long.” Sam chuckled. “Come on, Nate. Think about being twenty again.”

“No shit,” Nate said. “I swear I should hire all girls or all guys. The mix is like hormone overload.”

“Do you have any admin staff you don’t need?” Ty asked. “Sam needs an office manager before his desk disappears.”

Sam filled them in on his trial run with Lira. “So far she’s doing great. She got more done in one day than I would have in three. She’s already got a Google calendar set up with the excursions that we have through next winter. I had it all on spreadsheets, but this is so much easier. With groups of ten or more per trip, I’ve got to have someone who can keep things organized, track insurance papers along with deposits and full payment, and someone who’s not afraid to stand up to the creature-comfort seekers who want their money back because they decide Friday at seven that the twelve-person weekend outing they booked two months ago doesn’t sound as fun as staying home and drinking in their living room.”

“She’ll definitely need a spine of steel. I can vouch for that,” Ty said. “Corporate outings can be nightmares.”

“You’re not kidding. Anyway, I’ll let you know how things go with Lira, and in the meantime, just in case she can’t commit, or it doesn’t work out, keep your eyes and ears open.”

“Can’t help you there,” Nate said. “All I’ve got are hormone-infused kids looking to get laid. But I’ll ask around.”

After their run they tossed their shirts on the porch and paced the yard to cool down.

“Lake?” Ty arched a brow.

Nate slid a look to Sam, the challenge of their youth playing in his eyes.

“Aw, shit, really?” Ty’s eyes bounced between them; then he took off running toward the lake with Nate and Sam on his heels.

Their laughter filled the air. Sam ran ahead, and Nate’s heavy hand yanked him back and tackled him to the ground. Ty blew past, his deep laugh sending Sam and Nate to their feet. How many years had they raced to the water at their parents’ house? Some things never changed, and as Sam jumped Ty from behind and took him to the ground, and Nate piled on top, he was glad for it. This competition, fed by years of loyalty and brotherly bullshit, was what life was about. They rolled around on the ground, tackling and challenging, and finally flopped onto their backs, panting between bursts of laughter.

Ty pushed himself up and raked a hand through his hair, reaching a hand out to Sam. “Come on, asshole. Let’s go for a swim.”

Sam reached for his hand, and Ty took off running, laughing like a fool.

Sam and Nate exchanged an eye roll, and a second later they pushed to their feet, sprinted down the dock, and pushed each other into the water. As Sam broke the surface, searching for his brothers, each one bobbed to the surface, and his mind shifted to new, startling territory. At almost thirty-one-years old, for the first time ever, he considered his interactions for more than the here and now. He wanted this one day. A family of his own, kids who played hard and loved harder.

Nate and Ty disappeared below the surface and Sam’s mind reeled back to Faith. As his brothers dragged him under, his mind swamped with thoughts of Faith, he went down without a fight.


**

FAITH SPENT THE day running from patient to patient, handling follow-up calls and whatever else needed to be done, but nothing could sour her mood. When she’d finally fallen asleep last night, after a long unexpected surgery with Jon, she’d dreamed of Sam. One dream after another, each more sexual than the last, progressing from his transfixed gaze, to his hands and mouth all over her body. She’d awoken with a start, drenched in sweat and on the verge of orgasm. She’d had no choice but to close her eyes, delve into her mind for images of Sam, and surrender to the pleasures of her own hand—pretending it was Sam’s.

It was nearing five forty-five, and Faith was back at her apartment waiting for Sam to pick her up for their appointment with Brent. She’d showered and changed and was sitting on the bed with her cell phone pressed to her ear, listening to Vivian breathe. She’d gone silent after Faith told her she was seeing Sam.

“Are you still there?”

“Yes,” Vivian said with a serious tone. “I’m processing.”

“Viv, I know what you’re going to say. He’s dangerous for me. He’s everything I should stay away from. I know that’s what we thought about him, but he’s not at all like that when we’re together.”

“Of course he’s not. What’s he going to do? Pick up girls when he’s with you? Faith,” she said with a softer tone. “I just don’t want you to get hurt. Promise me that you won’t do what all of us do and rationalize his bad behavior because you wish he was a certain way.”

Faith sighed, thankful that Vivian wasn’t riding her as hard as she’d expected she might. “I promise. But he’s really not like that. He’s not even rationalizing it. And he thinks of me first, Viv. I know that’s hard to believe, given his past, but he does. He doesn’t even want to go out in town until he’s sure I won’t go back to seeing him as that guy when girls come up to him.”

“Seriously? Call me jaded, but that sounds like he’s thinking about himself, not you. He doesn’t want to be in a position to have to shut them down, so he flips it to being about you.”

Faith had thought about that, but she’d pushed those thoughts aside. Was she rationalizing?

“Hey? You still there?” Vivian snapped.

“Uh-huh. Just thinking.”

“I’m not trying to cause trouble, but maybe you should test that out, see how he acts when you’re in his stomping grounds. See how you feel about him in that situation. The last thing you need is to fool yourself into believing he’s the man he shows you when he’s not in taxing situations.”

“That’s what he said he’s worried about. What I’ll think of him.” Her stomach fisted into a knot. Could he have bamboozled her with his good looks and sweet words? With his endless attention and thoughtfulness? With his honesty? No way. She didn’t believe it.

But then again, maybe Vivian was right.

“It’s the tough stuff that makes or breaks us.” Faith’s mother’s words came without thought. She wasn’t sure if she was saying them to herself or to Vivian.

“Right. Thanks, Mama Hayes.”

They talked for a few more minutes about Sam, then moved on to WAC, the resource gathering Faith had been doing, and finally the impending meeting with the lawyer. By the time Sam arrived, Faith’s thoughts were tangled and confused. She trusted him. Really trusted him. But she’d been hurt before, missed signs she probably should have seen.