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“Holy shit. I bet it’s Mom and Richard!” Samantha jumped out of his embrace as if she’d been burned. “Did you know they were coming?”

“No, I hadn’t a clue. I was talking to my brother a few days ago and he never mentioned it.”

“What in the hell are they even doing here now? They haven’t visited even once since I got here.”

“I don’t know, Sam.”

“What are we going to do?”

He frowned. She’d lost him. “About what?”

She motioned between him and herself. “Us? You know, about them not knowing.”

“Shit.” He removed his hat, raked his fingers through his hair in frustration and placed it back onto his head. “I guess we tell them.”

“Are you insane!”

“No. Your stuff is all in my room. They’re going to know eventually anyhow.”

“Ummm, guys. They’re parking,” Jacob butt in.

Connor turned to Jacob. “Listen, I need you to keep Sam and I a secret okay?”

“Why, Boss?”

“Just do it.” Connor jerked his head toward the milking parlour. “And tell the rest of the staff to keep it to themselves.”

Connor looked back to the front of the car. Max had heard the vehicle approach and was stalking the car, waiting for someone to emerge. He was thankful for the few minutes Max was buying them to get their thoughts together.

The driver eventually got out and walked around to the back passenger side door. Once he seemed sure the dog wasn’t a threat, he opened the door. The first to step out was Connor’s brother, Richard, followed by Sam’s mother. No doubt Virginia wanted Richard to exit first to be the target of any assault that the wolf-dog might decide on.

~*~*~*~*~

What in the hell are they doing here?
Samantha asked herself as she watched her mother step out of the back of the limo, looking dressed to kill. She took a few steps, stumbled and was lucky to have Richard there to steady her. She giggled, seeing her mother fight to walk across the gravel.

“Did I look that ridiculous when I first got here?”

“Yup,” Connor confirmed.

“Kinda starting to see why you called me Princess.”

He chuckled. “Yup.” He jerked his chin toward their relatives. “Come on, let’s go see what they’re doing here.”

“She’s barely called me since I arrived.” She crinkled up her nose as she stared at her mother and Richard.

“Maybe they’re here to take you home?”

“I’m not going.”

“You don’t have to, Sam. I hope you don’t. I’m just saying that could be a possibility.”

She wondered what her mother was going to say when she informed her that she wanted to stay on the farm. Her mother would be shocked, no doubt about it. She looked up at Connor. Should they just tell them about their relationship? They were both adults so it’s not like they needed any approval.

“How about we keep quiet about our relationship, then, once we find out why they’re here we fill them in.”

“All right. I can agree with that.”

They were a few yards away from Virginia and Richard when her mother spotted them. “Oh sweetheart, it’s so great to see you.” Virginia’s eyes scanned Samantha. “You look… Ummm… Well…” She looked up at Richard and he shrugged. “You look healthy.”

Richard cleared his throat, not willing to comment.

Samantha looked down at herself. Sure she was a little dirty and wasn’t wearing a stitch of make-up and her clothing was nothing she’d have ever worn before, but still. She thought she looked okay.

“Thanks, Mother.” She stepped forward and gave her mother and Richard a quick, formal-like hug. Her mother cringed when she hugged her, no doubt scared she was going to get her clothing dirty.

“We’re going to stay for the night, if there’s room, Connor.”

Samantha looked over her shoulder at Connor, pleading with him to say no, she could already tell the visit with her mother wasn’t going to be a fun one. They spent many years butting heads. She already had an idea of what her mother was going to say when they were alone. She’d be called lazy for not doing her make-up, scolded for gaining ten pounds and then told living on a farm didn’t mean she could let her appearance go to hell. To Virginia Wil
kes appearances were paramount.

“Of course Richard, Virginia. We’d love to have you.” Connor walked past them and took their suitcase from the limo driver. “I’ll take this to the spare room for you guys and give you a minute with Sam.”

“I’ll go with you.” Richard hurried to catch up with Connor and they disappeared into the house, leaving her alone with her mother for the first time in almost three months.

“Darling, I came here for a reason.”

“I suspected that much.”

Max brushed up against her mother, making her mother cry out and take a few steps back, attempting to distance herself from the dog. Max was persistent, however, anxious for some attention from the stranger.

“Samantha, get him away from me. Ohmygod!”

Grinning, Sam called out to Max and the dog obediently turned and sat at her side, leaving her mother alone. She now knew why Connor had laughed so much over her first experience with Max.

“Can we go in the house Samantha?” Not waiting for a reply, Virginia stumbled her way over the gravel to the front porch, Sam and Max following behind.

Once inside, there was no sight of the men, but her mother’s eyes were taking in every inch of the foyer. She eye landed on the entranceway to the kitchen and she strolled in, expecting Sam to follow behind.

“We need to have a talk, Samantha,” she said as she began exploring the kitchen, going as far as to peer into the fridge.

“All right mother.” She sat at the table and watched her mother’s expression.

“No wonder you’ve gotten so fat!”

Oh, here we go. Samantha knew the weight would be an issue. “I haven’t gotten fat, Mother.”

Virginia closed the fridge and leaned against the kitchen counter, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m your mother and I know you’ve gained weight, as soon as my eyes laid sight on you. How do you expect to be a top couture model if you’re fat? You’re getting old you know, you don’t have much time to hot the top.”

“I’m not fat, Mother. And for the love of God, I’m not old!”

Her mother huffed, giving her a dubious stare. “Please, Samantha. But it doesn’t matter, when you get home we’ll get you a personal trainer and it’ll take a month or so but we’ll get you back to your normal beautiful self.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s time for you to come back home, Samantha. Why do you think we’re here?”

“I don’t know, Mother, I was wondering that. And what makes you think I want to go back?”

Virginia spread her arms, motioning to the kitchen. “Come on Samantha, you’re not fooling me, you don’t belong here. This whole get-up and the weight gain, it’s to get back at me. I get it, I figured you’d be resentful of me forcing you here. But it’s time to go home and go back to your career. Your credit cards, bank accounts, you can have it all back.”

“What? So you can freeze it all again when the fancy strikes you?”

Her mother let out an exasperated sigh. “Come home and we can look into removing my access to the accounts.”

Chapter 16

Connor didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but he found himself standing on the other side of the wall listening in on the women in the kitchen. His brother was unloading the suitcase and made him promise they’d go out for a beer at the tavern later that night. Upon listening to the way her mother was speaking to Sam, he really didn’t want to leave her.

If he hadn’t understood why Sam was the way she had been when she arrived he was getting the picture now. She’d been Virginia in training, which made him wonder what in the hell his brother saw in Virginia, aside from the fact she was a stunning woman – an older, more polished version of Sam.

“Come on, be serious Samantha. Why on earth would you want to stay here? Look at you, you’re a mess!”

Anger boiled up within him. He didn’t give a damn whether it was her mother saying the words or not, he didn’t like the way she was being spoken to. And quite frankly offended by the way she was disrespecting his home.

“Just let them work it out Connor,” his brother’s voice whispered from behind him.

Connor turned to face Richard. Despite his rising anger he kept his voice low so not to be overheard. “What the hell is up with that, bro?”

Richard motioned for him to follow him outside. Connor followed his brother and they took a seat on the wooden bench outside the house.

“So, what’s the deal?”

Richard sighed. “Look, Virginia is very…”

“Ignorant? Arrogant?” Connor offered.

“Connor, that’s my wife you’re talking about.”

“Then you should know it better than anyone. You never told me where Samantha got her attitude from. No fucking wonder.”

Richard sighed. “Yes, she can be difficult. But I love her. I’ll admit that part of the reason I suggested Samantha come live with you for a while was because I saw the issues. But, I also worry about you.”

Connor nodded. “You sent Samantha here because of Rebecca…”

“Something like that.” Richard looked over at Connor. “I want you to be happy. You’ve played the role of grieving widow long enough. I’m not saying jump in the sack with Samantha, but…” His voice trailed off, his eyes scrutinizing Connor’s expression.

“What?” Connor shifted uncomfortably under his brother’s intense stare.

“Holy shit. Is that why she doesn’t want to go back to New York? You two have…”

“I don’t…”

“Well, this was slightly unexpected. Damn. I know I wanted you to start putting yourself out there, but not with my wife’s daughter. Virginia is going to shit.”

“Why in the fuck would she shit?” But he knew without asking the question. Despite her sending Sam to the farm, just hearing her criticism of Samantha made him realize she expected Samantha to be a carbon image of herself. She just didn’t want the scandalous behavior.

“She has high hopes for Sam’s career. She wouldn’t want Sam stuck here with no prospects.”

“Has anyone ever bothered to ask Sam what she wants out of life? In fact, I think she’s more herself and happier here than she ever was in Manhattan.”

“So is it serious, or are you just having a little fun?”

Connor didn’t even have to consider it. “It’s getting serious, Richard.”

“Just do me a favour and keep your relationship with Sam under wraps for now. We leave tomorrow afternoon, I assume after discovering this new information it’s going to be without Sam. Give it a few months before you fill Virginia in. Can you do me that favour?”

“Yeah, Sam isn’t too keen on the idea of letting her know anyhow. I really don’t feel we should be keeping it to ourselves just to appease your wife, but fine. It’s none of my business anyhow.”

“Thanks.” Richard gave him a pat on the back as he stood. “Let’s go see how the women are doing. Hopefully they haven’t killed each other yet. If Sam truly isn’t going home with us there’s no doubt going to be fireworks tonight.”

~*~*~*~*~

Connor was just seconds from falling to sleep when the soft creak of his door being opened woke him.

“Connor?”

He chuckled, hearing Samantha’s voice in the dark. Lacing his fingers behind his head he looked into the darkness, toward the sound of her voice, until she padded barefoot across the wooden floor until she was highlighted in the beam of moonlight peeping in through
the window. A smile spread across his lips and his dick jerked alive at the sight of her, wearing nothing but one of his plaid flannel button-down shirts.

“What are you doing in here darlin’, you know we’re supposed to be keeping things quiet, which means you need to be sound asleep in your own bed come morning.”

Her smile faded and a pout touched her lips. “But it’s lonely all the way over there.” She fingered the first button on his shirt and undid it.

“It’s the next room.”

“It’s still lonely.”

“I know what you’re thinking and do you think it’s wise with your mother already on a rampage and you and Richard intent on keeping us a secret from her?”

She took a step closer, undoing another button. “She’ll never know.”

A smile spread across his lips. “Do you even realize how loud you are?”

Another button came undone – two more to go – the fabric parting and exposing one of her perfect breasts. “I can be quiet.”

“I doubt that.” One of the sexiest things about her was the variety of noises she made, getting louder the closer she came to orgasm. He was getting hard just thinking about it.

“Ummm. Come on.” Stepping up to the side of the bed, she finished unbuttoning the shirt and parted it, displaying her fully nude body underneath. She gave a sexy little shrug. “Besides, knowing they’re in the other room and could catch us is really hot.”

“I’m saying no exactly for that reason.” And it was damned hard especially considering if he had the choice she’d be just coming clean.

She chewed at her lower lip as she eyed him. “How about I sweeten the deal?”

He cocked a brow at her. “Sweeten the deal? How do you plan on doing that?”

She spun around and walked across the room and to the closet. Opening it up she pulled out one of her suitcases, unzipped it and rummaged through until she seemed to find what she was looking for. Quickly she put her suitcase away and padded her way back to the bed.

She didn’t hesitate, climbing onto the bed and straddling his waist. His eyes landed on what she had in her hands. One hand held a bottle of lube and the other a vibrator.

“Did you bring those with you?”

She shrugged, a mischievous little smile spreading across her lips. “I didn’t know if I was going to get any action for a while. I needed to come prepared.”

“Sure, sure.” His cock had become rock solid considering the possibilities.

“So I’m thinking I’ll give you something I know you want.”

“That so? And what is it that I want?”

“You can have my ass while using the vibrator on my pussy.”

“And how do you know I want that?” It was taking every ounce of restraint to keep from flipping her over and doing just what she suggested.